By Joanne Clark\u00b7Saturday, October 17, 2026\u00b73 min read<\/p>\n
Trinidad and Tobago has bid farewell to calypso legend Dr. Slinger \u201cMighty Sparrow\u201d Francisco, celebrating his more than seven decades of musical contributions with a ceremony attended by two prime ministers and prominent Caribbean entertainers.<\/p>\n
The three-and-a-half-hour celebration took place Friday at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain, where hundreds gathered to honor the Grenada-born singer, who died in New York on Sept. 27 at age 91.<\/p>\n
During the ceremony, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced that the grandstand at the Queen\u2019s Park Savannah would be named in Sparrow\u2019s honor. She also pledged to refurbish the facility, a landmark venue for the country\u2019s cultural celebrations.<\/p>\n
Persad-Bissessar said the renaming would ensure that Sparrow\u2019s legacy remained part of Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s cultural landscape for generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere can be no more appropriate place to inscribe his name permanently than at the Queen\u2019s Park Savannah,\u201d she said, noting the venue\u2019s longstanding role in the country\u2019s cultural life.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we ensure that one of the greatest names in our culture will forever stand there at the Queen\u2019s Park, Savannah. I am therefore deeply honored to announce that the Grandstand at the Queen\u2019s Park, Savannah will bear the name of Dr. Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sparrow, who won eight Calypso Monarch titles, eight Road March crowns and two Calypso King of Kings competitions, was remembered for using music to reflect Caribbean society, politics and identity.<\/p>\n
His daughter Karen Francisco paid tribute to him with a rendition of Frank Sinatra\u2019s classic \u201cMy Way,\u201d while Michele Francisco delivered the family eulogy, recalling her father\u2019s ability to connect with people.<\/p>\n
She said one of his greatest lessons was that \u201cyou don\u2019t have to let your circumstance determine your dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
His granddaughter Ashley Hutchinson also paid tribute, declaring that \u201cbirds don\u2019t die\u201d and asking, \u201cHow do you silence a sparrow whose music is everywhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
The ceremony featured performances of songs from Sparrow\u2019s extensive catalog by artists from across the Caribbean and beyond. Former Trinidad and Tobago presidents Anthony Carmona and Paula-Mae Weekes were among those in attendance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a funeral, we are celebrating the life of the Mighty Sparrow,\u201d one performer said.<\/p>\n
Mottley calls for Sparrow\u2019s music to be taught in schools<\/p>\n
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley urged Caribbean leaders to ensure that Sparrow\u2019s music and its historical significance are passed on to younger generations.<\/p>\n
Mottley said Sparrow used calypso to challenge colonial attitudes, comment on politics and affirm Caribbean identity, helping define the region\u2019s cultural expression in the post-independence era.<\/p>\n
She said she would encourage fellow Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders to advocate for Sparrow\u2019s song \u201cSlave\u201d to be included in the Caribbean Examinations Council curriculum, arguing that students should understand both the pain and the message conveyed by the composition.<\/p>\n
Mottley also praised Sparrow\u2019s ability to use satire and picong \u2014 the sharp, teasing verbal exchanges central to Caribbean culture \u2014 to expose political and social contradictions.<\/p>\n
Drawing a comparison with jazz, which helped popularize Black American improvisation around the world, she said Trinidad and Tobago had introduced the world to picong, with Sparrow its foremost musical exponent.<\/p>\n
She described the calypsonian as a genius whose work extended beyond entertainment to offer commentary on governance, economics, democracy and Caribbean society.<\/p>\n
Mottley also paid tribute to other Caribbean cultural and sporting figures, including Barbadian musician Emil Straker, cricket legend Sir Garry Sobers and Jamaican reggae icon Jimmy Cliff.<\/p>\n
As the region moves further into the post-independence era, she said, it has a responsibility to preserve the contributions of those who helped shape Caribbean civilization.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a duty in every sphere in which they have expressed greatness, not just Caribbean greatness, but global greatness,\u201d Mottley said. \u201cWe have a duty to those who must come to show them that when people say we punch above our weight, persons like the Mighty Sparrow redefined what was our weight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sparrow is scheduled to be buried Saturday.<\/p>\n
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