Andrew Clunis, Freelance Writer
AS OF next year, there will be an additional category in the area of traditional folk form in the National Festival of the Performing Arts.
The Mento Band Competition was launched on Wednesday evening at the University of the West Indies. In attendance were Minister of Local Government, Youth and Community Development, Arnold Bertram and Minister of Education Burchell Whiteman.
The Mento Band competition will focus on schools, but there will also be participation by community groups and hotels.
Guest speaker at the function, Marjorie Whylie, spoke about the influence of the mento form in the development of Jamaican popular music.
The Jamaica Regiment Band gave a display of mento music in its pure form, while the Blue Glades Mento Band entertained throughout the event. Students from Windward Road All Age School gave a demonstration of the Fifth Figure dance, a rudiment of music developed in Jamaica.
Executive director of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), Marcia Hextall, said schools and other participating groups were being encouraged to source funding to provide their own instruments.
"There are some communities in which people can make the instruments. Wherever this is possible we will support it through a comprehensive programme," she said.
Presently, there is a three-day workshop taking place at the University of the West Indies which involves 33 teachers from schools across the island. This is in an effort to sensitise the teachers about the rudiments of mento music.
