Kitchener Beginning

Kitchener's Beginning
by Marlise Andrews, Trinidad Guardian February 3, 2000

Arimians have a special place in their hearts for the Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts). They have claimed him as their own since his roots are buried deep in Arima's soil. He was born on Farfan Street, Arima, in 1922.

Joey La Rose and Clifton Danclare were his contemporaries. They remember Kitch as a young man. They say that in the old days everyone called him "Bean", and that he went everywhere with his guitar. Kitchener's father was a blacksmith, they remember, who worked at a little shop where the Windsor Cinema is now located. He was known as "Mr Pamp" and he made shoes for race horses. His mother, "Ma Pamp", lived on Farfan Street and had a little room where she washed and starched and ironed.

"They were very poor," said La Rose. "I remember he used to hang-out with a fella called Mervyn Tobas, who always made sure he had a clean shirt to wear and a hot plate of food to eat." Danclare remembered that Kitch always had the dream of becoming a recording artist. "Bean went everywhere with that guitar. At one point he used to play for the tourists at Asa Wright for small-change," La Rose remembered.

Kitch left Arima to go to Port-of-Spain in the early 1940s. While there, he would often go into rum shops in the area and play his calypsoes. The men remembered that Kitch always had a knack for composition. Danclare says: "You know, Kitch could not talk, he used to stammer a lot . . . but ask him to sing anything and he would do it easily." They recalled that Kitch was a pro in the art of picong. "He could sing calypsoes about anybody," they added.

The first song Kitch performed was one called "Green Fig." It was an immediate hit with the young crowd at the time because of its new sound. In the tents, Kitchener had to abide by the rules of decorum outlined by the Roaring Lion. Those rules dictated that one had to be a gentleman in the tent. That meant that jacket and tie were standard dress. In those days, however, the young group of calypsonians on the scene, which included Pretender and Destroyer, would put up to buy one suit and share it. The Grandmaster adopted this manner of dress and maintained it throughout his career.