The rhythm of Or­isha drums, songs of praise and the voic­es of some of Trinidad and To­ba­go’s lead­ing cul­tur­al fig­ures filled the air yes­ter­day as fam­i­ly, friends, ca­lyp­so­ni­ans and mem­bers of the artis­tic com­mu­ni­ty gath­ered at the Mor­vant Com­mu­ni­ty Cen­tre to cel­e­brate the ex­tra­or­di­nary life of cul­tur­al icon Bill “Paul” Trot­man.

Trot­man was laid to rest in a cer­e­mo­ny that was a fit­ting trib­ute to a man whose life em­bod­ied the cre­ativ­i­ty, hu­mour and spir­it of Trinidad and To­ba­go.

Through mu­sic, sto­ry­telling and per­son­al mem­o­ries, those gath­ered ho­n­oured an en­ter­tain­er who spent more than six decades shap­ing the na­tion’s cul­tur­al land­scape as a ca­lyp­son­ian, ac­tor, co­me­di­an, painter, mas­man, po­et and mas­ter of cer­e­monies.