This is Parang Season in Trinidad and Tobago

 1.
 Mano Garcia, Papa Willie
 Tantan, Sotay, Big Man Ali, 
 All ah we 
 Paranging together.
  
 2.
 Granderson the tailor, 
 Toussaint the teacher,
 All ah we 
 Paranging together.
  
 3.
 We doh know the tune, 
 We cyah play the guitar
 But all ah we 
 Join in the song together.
  
 4.
 Chinee boy Arthur 
 From over the river
 Singing with Sanchez: 
 “Sereno forever”.
  
 5.
 Rivas and Ramlogan, 
 Govia, Didi brother,
 Paranging all over 
 The country together.
  
 6.
 Forgetting the words,
 But feeling the fever.
 Me and my pardner
 In parang together.
  
 7.
 All ah we 
 In all kinda weather;
 Everybody 
 Paranging together.
  
 Sereno, sereno,
 Sereno será,
 Estos son serenos
 De la madrugá.
 
 8.
 Is parang; Parang in the air.
 Parang in the cool December breeze.
 Parang in San Juan, Balandra, Coal Mine.
 Parang in August, November, July. 

Indeed, parang is not restricted to the Christmas season. It belongs to all seasons, and for all occasions of celebration.

Do you think you know about parang? Here are some questions…

1. What is the origin of the word “parang”?
2. Who were the first persons to sing parang in Trinidad?
3. What is the language of the original parang?
4. Name one famous female parang singer.
5. Name one famous male parang singer.

Parang Cancionero takes us on an adventure! Discover more about parang; take a journey with us in time from 1498 when the Europeans reached the waters of the southern coast of Iere, our Island of Trinidad.

Read about the emergence of the people of mixed ancestry during the period of Spanish colonization.

Learn about the peons from Venezuela who settled in different parts of Trinidad and helped in the economic development of the island.

Get information on the parang genre and the different kinds of songs that are sung.

Read the English lyrics of many of your favourite parang songs.

Travel with the cocoa panyols’ ancestors, from the years of Spanish governors, to the French and British presence in the past, onwards to present day independent Trinidad and Tobago.

Discover our rich cocoa panyol, parang heritage.

Soon, Parang Cancionero will be available for download on Amazon Books.  It is directed mainly to the Trinidad and Tobago practitioner and aficionado of parang music and song. It seeks to dispel some myths and misunderstandings about the language of parang, and shows that the various genres within parang are part of a long tradition of Hispanic folk poetry and culture.

Read on for answers to the questions on parang. In the meantime, join our mailing list so you never miss a beat.

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