Gail and Jason Ganpat are retired foreign language teachers who taught both adolescents and adults for many years. They do not really consider Spanish and French as “foreign” languages however, due to the key role these languages played in our country’s history and culture. Proud of their Cocoa Panyol roots, from north and central Trinidad, and their fluent Spanish and Patois speaking ancestors, they yearn for a greater appreciation for our Spanish and Patois legacies, still very much alive today in our music, songs, stories and language.  They also share a love and passion for Parang and are the leaders of the band, Los Buenos Parranderos. This dedication to the Parang artform has passed on not only to their children and grandchildren but their students, many of whom are members of the band.

K.M. Ganpat is the daughter of Gail and Jason Ganpat. She grew up surrounded by Parang music and folklore stories from all parts of the world. She won prizes for Creative writing as a student in Trinidad and later studied Foreign Languages and European Studies in the United Kingdom. Now an English teacher, she enjoys opening the eyes of her pupils to the beauty and power of the written word. Her aim is the promotion of storytelling as an artform. She hopes through her work to tell the unspoken stories and inspire the voiceless to speak out.