Steel Pan

Relationship: Im/migrant
Partner:

My Steel Pan Drum was just sitting in my living room for years.  But one day my teacher told me to write about an immigration object.  Then there was the Steel Pan staring at me dead in the face.  I got my Steel Pan drum from my dad when I was seven years old.  I got this object when I went to visit my cousins in Antigua.  In Antigua there was a man on the street selling one for five dollars.  So my father bought it for me.  A Steel Drum is made by cutting a fifty-five gallon oil drum in half and then repeatedly banging it on all sides to tune it.  In the middle there are eleven different notes that make different sounds.  This immigration study changed me because I view the drum differently now.  Before I viewed it as another piece of trash that my family and I kept.  But this immigration study has helped me to realize the meaning and background behind my object because I got more information about multiple things.  One thing I learned was my culture.  In my culture this drum is used in celebrations and festivities. Both in America and in my country this object is used in celebrations.  During Labor Day in American this drum can be seen during Labor Day celebrations. 

Place(s): Antigua
Year: 1997

– Jonathan

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant