REGINALD BLONDELL
ALPHONSE
"MIGHTY LORD
POPO"
POPO DIES A LONELY
MAN
By Joan Rampersad
Express
April 6, 2000
Page 7
Reginald Alphonso, known in the calypso world as Popo, died a lonely
man, still hankering for the good old days on the Revue stage.
He
succumbed to a heart attack at the Port of Spain General Hospital on Tuesday
morning.
He
had lost his sight and lived in a home run by the St Vincent de Paul Society.
Yvette
Woodruffe, of the St Vincent de Paul Society, said yesterday that Popo was
taken to the hospital last Saturday morning where he was treated but discharged
later that night.
But
the following morning, Popo was so ill he was taken back to the hospital.
Woodruffe
said, "Despite the current protest action of the nurses, Popo was immediately
dealt with."
He
was admitted to Ward 24 where he died.
Popo
was at the Tritscher Home in Santa Cruz.
She said that he was brought to the SVDP from a club on Edward Street in
1994.
Then
some three years ago, caregivers discovered that he had a heart condition.
He
spent some time at the Finbar Ryan Geriatric Home where he received medical
care before returning to the Tritscher Home.
Popo's
pension and his brother, Albert, paid for his upkeep at the home.
Albert
is expected in today from England to make the final arrangements for the
funeral.
Albert
often visited Trinidad and on each occasion he would check on his 87-year-old
brother. "He always see about him
once he is in Trinidad. He came
regularly, and was even here for Carnival,' Woodruffe said.
Popo
used to sing and chat and his conversation could get X-rated at times. Woodruffe said, "When he started to
talk or when he started to sing, there was no ending to it, but he was still a
joy."
Long-time
friend Pretender was surprised when told of Popo's death.
"We
were old friends. I knew him from
school days. We went to Western Boys'
RC and we kept the friendship going ever since. He was a very good friend, nice human being. He, Kitch and myself often went to races
together."
With
a chuckle, Pretender added, "He use to feel he's the best calypsonian and
singer."
Valarie
Green, former wife of the late Kitchener, said Popo lived with Kitchener and
herself for years even before they moved into Rainorama.
She
recalled how "he used to live in a dream world. He always felt he was the best calypsonian and use to curse a lot
but never in front of the children. He
idolised Kitch."
Popo
played cards with Green, especially 500 rummy.
She last saw Popo a year ago.
Sonny
Woodley, of the Revue Calypso Tent, where Popo performed for a number of years,
remembered Popo as a "comedian calypsonian, always feeling that he was the
best."
Carlisle
"Jazzy" Pantin, head of the Revue, said Popo was with the Revue since
1976 to about 1990.
Some
of his most memorable calypsoes were "Snake in the Bag",
"Tiefing Competition" and "Nancy Tweet Tweet."
Pantin
said Popo was a wrestler and also a walker.
"With Alexander's Rag Time Band, the first noted steelband, Popo
beat the iron in that band. He had a
whole history of the band."
Pantin
said when he last visited Popo just before the 2000 season, the old bard was
losing his sight and couldn't remember a lot of things. "He still wanted to sing in the tent. He would sing a verse and a chorus of his
calypso. He composed all of his
calypsoes."
Denyse
Plummer, who sings with the Revue, remarked, "They are just going down
like flies. My gosh, what is
happening?"
She
added, "I was too young to know him but since joining the tent, Kitch will
bring him every night and upstairs he used to sit and give stories whole night,
about all kinds of things. Everybody
used to run from him…he was always pleased to have someone take interest in
him. He had nice old stories and when
he laughed you only saw gums and lips and he singing, 'Ah chook she in she…'
you could imagine the areas."
Popo
once sent an SOS for Plummer.
"When
I went to the old people's home and saw him looking so lonely, I felt for
him. He told me that he had no radio,
no music and he needed to get some medication.
I immediately went and got him a radio, cassettes, his medication,
clothes and goodies."
She
spent an hour and a half with him. He
said then what was hurting him was that nobody visited him and he started to
cry.
Plummer
added, "Old age is a killer and probably it's a good opportunity to let
people know that just for ten or 15 minutes go and visit old family members,
they will appreciate it."
Popo's
body is now at the Clark and Battoo Funeral Home.
POPO'S LAST WISH -
TO PUBLISH BOOK ON
PAN
By Natasha Ofosu
Trinidad Guardian
April 6, 2000
Page 14
REGINALD BLONDELL ALPHONSE, known as the Mighty Lord Popo, had two demands
when I met him a fortnight ago.
The
first was, I spell his name correctly and the second, I note the urgency of him
getting a book published on the beginnings of steelband in Trinidad.
I
had gone to interview him on his experiences as a member of the world's first
steelband, Alexander's Ragtime Band.
He
said he was the only surviving member and could tell me the exact date
steelband was started, by whom and why.
Despite
his 87 years, Popo articulated his vision very well. He said the booklet would cost in the region of $30 and was to be
sold worldwide.
"It
must be at a price people can afford.
It is better to be cheap and selling."
He
was asking for an advance of $12,000, which would help him to buy a recliner
and an automatic adjustable bed.
Popo
said he wanted two-fifths of the proceeds from sales of the book, every two
months.
This
would have met his living expenses at the Tritscher Home for Aged Men, in Bourg
Mulatresse, Santa Cruz, run by the Society of St Vincent de Paul. The other three-fifths would go to the
publisher.
"At
last the history of steelband will be written in book form and sold all over
the world," Popo said.
"I
could guarantee within the first month we must sell at least 2,000 books,"
he claimed.
Asked
why he kept the story to himself all these years, Popo said, "I wanted to
wait until steelband was made official by the government, before I told my
story. Now that steelband is the
national instrument, I am ready to talk."
Popo
said the men involved in the genesis of steelband had no idea they were
creating history.
He
claimed the history books were wrong.
Pan did not start in the 1930s, but earlier.
Rather
than being pan's originators, Winston "Spree" Simon and his
contemporaries took pan and developed it further.
Popo
also claimed the Americans played a part in the birth of the steelband and he
was anxious to involve the American Ambassador in his book project.
He
believed the Americans "would be glad and would brag" about their
part in history.
Throughout
what turned out to be my first and last encounter with him, Popo stuck me as a
feisty, smart and lucid character.
He
was frail, having suffered with his heart and arthritis. But he walked aided by a stick and read the
newspaper everyday, without glasses.
Above
all, Popo had a strong and very likeable spirit.
THE WALKING KAISO
MAN
By Wayne Bowman
Trinidad Guardian
April 6, 2000
Page 14
There
was a time, before Trinidad had more cars than drivers, when people enjoyed
walking great distances.
In
fact, the sport of race-walking was quite popular and there were regular,
weekly events organised by the three major race-walking associations of the
day.
Calypsonian
Lord Popo, who passed away on Tuesday, was one of the popular
race-walkers. As an athlete, he earned
a reputation for being a sportsman of honour and fair play.
Lord
Popo's friend and race-walking peer, John Asche, a former race-walking
champion, says the athletic calypsonian will be missed by many.
He
credited Popo with knowing what true sportsmanship was about, saying even if
Popo did not win, he was always there at the end to congratulate the winner.
"Popo
was a true sportsman," Asche said.
"He
will be missed by many people. He took
part in every road-walking event from the 1940s to the 1960s, and placed in a
good many of them, especially those from San Fernando to Point Fortin and San
Fernando to Port of Spain.
"Even
if he believed he was going to come last, Popo would still cross the finish
line."
In
fact, spectators would wait long after the race was over just to greet and
cheer on Popo as he crossed.
"He
also always had a good, entertaining reason why he did not win a race."
"Win
or lose, Popo was always in good spirits.
He was in all the events including the 40 mile race, San Fernando to
Point and San Fernando to Port of Spain, as well as the one and two-mile races
at the Queen's Park Oval.'
"He
will be greatly missed."