Carifesta Winning Calypso by Chalkdust – “Chain of Strength”

CARIFESTA is returning after a six-year hiatus, with the ten-day celebration of Caribbean arts and culture set for August 22–31 in Barbados. Participants from more than a dozen islands will take part, and Trinidad’s David Rudder will headline the festivities. But Rudder won’t be the first Trini calypsonian to leave a mark at Carifesta—back in 1976, the Mighty Chalkdust claimed the festival’s song contest title with his powerful calypso Chain of Strength.

That year, fresh from winning his first Calypso Monarch crown with No Smut for Me and Ah Put on Meh Guns Again, Chalkdust was selected by Trinidad’s minister of culture to represent the country at Carifesta in Kingston, Jamaica. Knowing he needed to connect with a Jamaican audience, he composed a song rooted in their national motto, “Out of many, one people,” shaping it into a broader call for Caribbean unity. The result, Chain of Strength, celebrated the region’s shared African heritage and rich cultural contributions—highlighting Trinidadian calypso and steel band, Jamaican reggae, Barbadian spooge, and even Mexican rumba.

Initially told to perform solo with his acoustic guitar, Chalkdust pushed back, insisting on a full band to properly showcase calypso’s sophistication. The minister eventually agreed, sending the Trinidad Police Band with arrangements by Art DeCoteau. Representing Trinidad against competitors from Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, and Surinam, Chalkdust delivered a commanding performance that drew rounds of applause from the packed crowd. His win earned him two gold medals—best song and best overall presentation—and praise from Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, who later joked with Trinidad’s Eric Williams about calypso and pan reducing violence. Upon returning home, Williams awarded Chalkdust the Hummingbird Medal for cultural contributions.

The 1976 performance was never released commercially and was long thought lost—until recently, when the Associated Press posted rare footage from the festival online under the understated title CARIFESTA ‘76 (REEL 2 ONLY). Twelve minutes into the video, Chalkdust appears on stage, performing his winning song nearly 50 years later for a new audience. For Chalkdust, the victory remains a career high point—singing to 20,000 alongside reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, receiving a standing ovation, and using his art to promote Caribbean unity, a theme he would revisit in later works like his 2004 calypso One Caribbean. With Chain of Strength revived, Carifesta 2025 promises to carry forward that same spirit of regional pride and solidarity.