Canboulay riots
The chantwell became a calypsonian in the 1920s and calypso became widely popular throughout Trinidad and the Caribbean in the 1930s. Harry Belafonte, a Jamaican-born artist, became hugely successful throughout the world with his 1956 "Calypso" becoming a million seller. During the 1960s, calypso was merged with Indian music and later soul and funk to become soca.
Singing Sandra
In 1999, Singing Sandra became the second woman to ever win the Calypso Monarch competition after Calypso Rose's win in 1978. This was an important feat, because by being crowned the Calypso Monarch at this annual Calypso competition that takes place at Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival, she was essentially reaffirming the place of women in Calypso music and in society too, especially considering the fact that Calypso as a music genre, primarily focuses on lyrics full of social and political commentary. The two songs that put her in first place were titled "Song for Healing" and "Voices from the Ghetto", which are songs that speak on poverty and racism. The socio-political topics of these songs, were thus very critical of pertaining social issues present in Trinidad and Tobago, today. Specifically "Voices from the Ghetto" speaks about all the hardships that come with growing up in a poor, crime-filled neighborhood, and was considered a very personal song, because DesVignes-Millington herself grew up in the East Dry River area, which is known to be a very rough neighborhood. Thus, competitions like the Calypso Monarch, are very important platforms for musicians that allow artists like Singing Sandra to be able to artistically voice their political experiences to both local and global audiences, because many tourists from around the world flock to Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival celebrations each year.