Playing and singing parang during the Christmas season is a longstanding tradition in Trinidad and Tobago, greatly revered by many. Around this time, you will hear the voices of Daisy Voisin, Scrunter, Baron, and many others. Crystal Ettien-Sandy, a member of the El Corazón de Parang group, shared how she was inspired to sing parang. She stated that her inspiration goes all the way back to high school, starting with her love for the subject Spanish, and she attributed her love of parang to her past teacher, Ms. Ria Barton.
“She would have really introduced me to the whole idea of parang. So she saw the love for it and then she said hey come let’s try to sing some parang and I’m like wais parang? Didn’t really know what it was and in the Spanish room we going through one of the famous songs by los alumnos de san juan nuestros salvador and dias where my personal parang story would have commenced and 14 years later we here.” Parang is a unique blend of Spanish and Trinidadian music, influenced by our South American neighbors.
Ettien-Sandy highlighted the importance of parang, emphasizing that Trinidad and Tobago is closely associated with the genre. Ettien-Sandy is passionate about parang. In 2010, she and some friends formed El Corazón de Parang to share this unique flavor of Christmas joy with Tobagonians.
Ettien-Sandy also encouraged Tobagonians to embrace traditional parang, which involves singing alongside instruments such as the cuatro, box bass, mandolin, and maracas, as people tend to mostly listen to soca parang.
