I can't possibly ignore it anymore - To Beyonce' or not to Beyonce' that is the question.

The whole Beyonce' scandal has completely erupted and it's now being discussed on an international scale. It is news on hip hop blogs, uk blogs, beyonce' fan blogs and blogs about the stock market. - Go figure -

The controversy only came to head just after Christmas, even though while I was there in December, it was definitely a hot topic.

In the "green" corner we have TSTT, the concert's main sponsor who so graciously incited Beyonce to support tourist activity. Never mind that her concert is the day after Carnival, never mind that it will cost $30 million, (an unofficial number), never mind that they have canceled highly anticipated annual parties and promised the international superstar, the presidential suite FOR FREE. TSTT remains non-plussed. In one Newsday article TSTT openly challenged anyone to prove that they have done more for Carnival than the TSTT corporation has; and swore their undying allegiance to the country and the festival.

In the "blue" corner, we have everybody else, from Union Workers to doubles men, abashed and appalled at the timing of the concert. They claim the show will hurt Carnival revenue (due to the $1600 tickets), diminishes the value of local talent, threatens to overshadow the "The Greatest Show on Earth" and worst of all will not significantly increase the number of tourists enough to warrant the expense.

At first I was ambivalent, unsure of whether to vote on the side of "big business" or on the side of the proletariat. My decision to simply laugh off the whole thing as just another "Carnival bacchanal" was finalized when I read this sentence on www.TrinidadandTobagoblog.com, "First, I had to find out just who the hell Beyoncé was."

This seemingly innocuous sentence by Raffique Shaw, pretty much sums up Trinidadian sentiment on fame - we don't get it. We are still under the belief system that we are all equal. This is particularly difficult concept for an American. Americans pride themselves on their notoriety. Notoriety is often tangled with wealth and privilege. This is not necessarily so in Trinidad. Plus, in a country where everyone knows everyone else - notoriety doesn't mean anything - worse yet if you have no money or talent - the last thing you want is to call attention to yourself.

In the end this whole fuss is an opportunity for Trinis to squabble about their national pride and inadvertently toy publicly with the agenda of an international icon.

Santimanitay!

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Trini expression of the day
Playin' social -To put on airs. Someone who pretends to be of a higher social strata than they are. Cote Ci Cote La- A Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary.