ESTABLISHED in 1973, FRC, a repository for cultural heritage, has left an indelible mark locally and has made a number of contributions in various areas.
According to its Executive Director, Rhyesa Joseph, “this year our history is an important marker for us given the fact that Saint Lucia’s Independence has not even rivalled the legacy of the FRC. Highlighting the role of culture is significant and the FRC over the past 50 years has made a number of contributions to Kwéyòl language development and promotion.”
“Traditional festivals like our flower festivals continue to be kept alive as well. Contemporary cultural practices through Calypso, Groovy and Power Soca Monarch has also been a key feature of who we are as an institution in addition to ensuring that who we are is documented not just for us but for generations to come,” Joseph said at a press conference Thursday.
FRC founder Msgr. Patrick Anthony noted the FRC’s journey began years ago when Saint Lucia was going through a transformation “… where the Caribbean people were rising up.”
“Those were the early days when Caribbean persons were gaining a sense of themselves. I came back from Trinidad and brought to Saint Lucia those ideas (and) concepts that were fermenting in the region. It was out of that experience of studying at university in Trinidad (and) meeting people like J.D. Elder and these guys who were in the forefront of (the) liberation movement for Caribbean identity that I came to Saint Lucia and tried to begin to spread the news of a new Caribbean consciousness.”
Anthony took his ideas to the St Mary’s College (SMC) hoping to a spark a movement; ultimately, he succeeded. According to him, it was the best place to start.
“I went to St Mary’s College… as a young priest … and that’s how I began my relationship with the sixth formers at SMC which morphed into a relationship with young persons in other parts of society. We began a movement of interested young people and young intellectuals who wanted to learn about Saint Lucia’s identity, Saint Lucia’s culture and to understand the process of Caribbean development.”
Stressing on the importance of the research the FRC had conducted, Anthony said the FRC changed individuals’ perspective by moving the focus from entertainment and placing more emphasis on research.
“We were studying Caribbean history and Caribbean economics and so forth but in Saint Lucia there were a number of persons who were interested in Saint Lucia’s traditions (but) they were doing it for entertainment,” Anthony explained.
“They would record our songs, our folk tales and they would produce recordings and so on, but we said we’re talking (about) something much more serious; culture is about the people’s values, the people’s understanding of themselves… and so we began… Folk Research Centre. We changed the emphasis from just documenting things for entertainment for hotels, for tourists… to serious scientific research of our tradition and that’s the difference that Folk Research Centre made,” he said.
In 2018, the Folk Research Centre was engulfed by fire causing the FRC to lose a number of priceless artifacts. The rebuilding phase will commence soon, however.
Said Anthony: “We’re just about to rebuild at Mount Pleasant and we are hoping that it’s going to be another phase for the development of culture and traditions in Saint Lucia.”
Preserving Saint Lucian culture as well as advancing its traditions continues to be a priority for the FRC. The FRC will launch its ‘Lucian Kaiso’ magazine tonight at the National Calypso Monarch Competition, former Executive Director of the FRC Kennedy “Boots” Samuel said, adding that the magazine had not been published for a number of years.
“The first ‘Lucian Kaiso’ magazine came out in 1990 and we tried to publish one annually and we were able to do that. The magazine became almost like an institution as part of the calypso season in Saint Lucia; it became appreciated by researchers, the calypso fraternity itself, the media, etc. The magazines would appear at the finals. For a number of reasons over the years there have been (breaks) when we couldn’t produce a magazine. The last one I think was in 2015, thereabout, Samuel said noting that from since then “a number of issues have come up including Covid that prevented us from doing it again.”
“I’m here to announce that the Folk Research Centre is vibrant (than) ever … continuing with its important cultural productions for Saint Lucia and (to) announce that this year at the finals on Saturday the ‘Lucian Kaiso magazine’ is back,” he added.
The current executive director noted that celebrating the FRC’s anniversary “is more than simply having a party or a press conference, but continuing the work that remains very crucial to us as an institution and to the Saint Lucian people because FRC is a Saint Lucian treasure. This year we began with the Kwéyòl cultural calendar which is still available at the FRC and we continue to plan a series of initiatives.”