Calypsonian and politician Raymond Quevedo, also known as Atilla the Hun, documented different aspects of life in Trinidad and Tobago through his calypso.
Born on March 24th, 1892, his politically-charged lyrics which addressed topics like corruption, colonialism and the exploitation of civil rights, eventually became censored by the colonial authorities. In response to this censorship, he wrote the song “The Banning of Records” in 1939, which was subsequently banned.
Some of his popular calypsos include “Inequality of Life,” “Where Was Butler?” “Abolish The Control Board,” “Commission’s Report,” “The Strike,” “Sedition Law,” “Where is the Sam Browne Belt?,” “Women Will Rule The World,” and “Guardian Beauty Contest,” which notably critiqued racism against dark-skinned contestants in the Carnival Queen Show. Another well-known calypso by Atilla was “Behind The Wall”—the melody of which was popularized by Harry Belafonte in his song “Jump In The Line.”
Attila the Hun took home the Calypso Monarch title in 1946, and in the same year, was elected into the Port of Spain City Council. In 1950, he was voted into the Legislative Council to represent Laventille.
Over the years, he also served as Deputy Mayor of Port of Spain, and was involved with the Trinidad Labour Party (TLP) and the Carnival Improvement Committee.
Quevedo passed away on February 22nd, 1962 at the age of 69. He was posthumously awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit in 1972. His book, “Atilla’s Kaiso: A Short History of Trinidad Calypso,” which he co-authored with John La Rose, was published in 1983.
Photo 1 shows the Keskidee Trio from left to right: Beginner, Attila and Tiger. It is courtesy of the book, “West Indian Rhythm: Trinidad Calypsos on World and Local Events Featuring the Censored Recordings, 1938-1940” (2006), which is part of the National Archives of Trinidad & Tobago Special Collection.
Photos 2-3 show Raymond Quevedo on the front page of the Port of Spain Gazette, published on September 19th 1950. This newspaper is part of the National Archives of Trinidad & Tobago Newspaper Collection.