NCC Mourns The Passing Of Brother Superior

Port of Spain, Trinidad: November 26, 2018: The National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago (NCC) joins with the nation in remembering Andrew Marcano, widely known as Brother Superior, who passed away on November 24.

"Supie," as he was affectionately known within the Calypso community, was one of the longest standing and most vocal advocates for the advancement of the musical genre, amassing an impressive 6 decades in the industry as well as, at one time, owning a local radio station specifically dedicated to Calypso music.

In addition to giving the world memorable songs such as "Play Kaiso in Lent," "Spread Joy," "San Fernando Carnival," and "Black Coffee" (A tribute to Barack Obama), his greatest impact was in the number of firsts he would record as both a musician and a proponent of the music form.

Throughout his stellar career, he became the first calypsonian to produce his first record on his own music label (La Carib, 1959), the first to perform at Madison Square Garden in 1968, and the first to open a year-round calypso tent at Legion Hall in 1976.

In 1985, Supie would add two more firsts that advanced calypso locally, producing the country's first full length calypso musical, Calypsical, at the Little Carib Theatre and becoming the first calypsonian to perform in a Catholic church, the Cathedral of the Im-maculate Conception.

While he had already been retired from competitions since 1975, he would still continue to remain active in representing the best of the music form. Most recently, he performed alongside Machel Montano at Machel Monday in 2012, and, in that same year, was invited by former US President Barack Obama to be a guest at the Commander-in-Chief Ball in New York.

Without question, Supie's passing comes as a great loss not just to the Calypso and Carnival communities, but to the entire nation as a whole. With his passing, as with those who have gone before him, we have lost another true titan and son of the soil; one who will be dearly missed by all.