Raymond Quevedo (24 March 1892 – 22 February 1962), better known as Atilla the Hun, was a

calypsonian A calypsonian, originally known as a ''chantwell'', is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the Calypso music, calypso genre. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Origin ...

from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. He began singing in 1911 and was at his most prominent in the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of the pioneers in spreading awareness of calypso beyond its birthplace in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. Together with the

Roaring Lion Roaring Lion (22 February 190811 July 1999) was a Trinidadian calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), " Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", wh ...

( Rafael de Leon) he brought calypso to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for the first time in 1934. One of his popular calypsos was " FDR in Trinidad", commemorating U.S. President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's 1936 trip to Trinidad. Atilla competed in the first Calypso King contest in 1939, and won the title in both 1946 and 1947.Thompson, p. 5, 59 Known as a defender of the poor, Atilla was able to transition to a political career. When several of his records were

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

he composed "The Banning of Records", which was itself banned. Atilla was the first calypsonian to hold elected public office; he was elected to the

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 1946 and was elected to the

Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago The Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago served as an advisory commission to the governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governo ...

in 1950 representing the St. George County East. (See: ''

Elections in Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago elects its House of Representatives (the lower house of its legislature) on the national level. The head of government, the prime minister, is chosen from among the elected representatives on the basis of his or her command of ...

''). He also authored ''Atilla's Kaiso: A Short History of Trinidad Calypso'' with

John La Rose John La Rose (27 December 1927 – 28 February 2006) was a political and cultural activist, poet, writer, publisher, founder in 1966 of New Beacon Books, the first specialist Caribbean publishing company in Britain, and subsequently Chairman of ...

, published posthumously in 1983.

Notes

References

* Hill, Donald R. 1993. ''Calypso: Early Carnival Music in Trinidad''. University of Florida. (Includes a CD of early calypso music.) * Quevedo, Raymond (Atilla the Hun). 1983. ''Atilla's Kaiso: a short history of Trinidad calypso''. University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. (Includes the words to many old calypsos as well as musical scores for some of Atilla's calypsos.) * Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, {{DEFAULTSORT:Attila the Hun 1892 births 1962 deaths Trinidad and Tobago calypsonians Members of the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Trinidad and Tobago city councillors