Ramdeen Ramjattan, known as John Agitation (24 July 1927 – 5 February 2018), was a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

comedian, civil servant, politician and storyteller. He was a graduate of the Progressive Educational Institute and served in the Trinidad and Tobago

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. He was also the first comedian in the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

to win an election. In 1951, at 24, Ramdeen was introduced to the Trinbagonian national audience by Landy de Montbrun, a leading local comic at the time. He told a joke, slightly nervous that he was crossing the boundary of taste. But the crowd was elated. "They were very happy to see a (dark-skinned) fella," Agitation later remarked. From there, Agitation became a regular on

Radio Trinidad Radio Trinidad was the oldest radio station in Trinidad and Tobago. It began broadcasting in 1947 at 11B Maraval Road in Port of Spain on the frequency 730 AM. Over the years, the station successfully hosted a wide variety of programmes includi ...

, particularly the ''Horace James Comedy Hour'', '' Sunday Serenade'' (hosted by Sam Ghany) and the '' Aunty Kay'' Children's Show. The latter was sponsored by

Bermudez Biscuit Company Limited The Bermudez Biscuit Company Ltd. is a Trinidadian company located in Mount Lambert Trinidad and Tobago. Founded by Venezuelan brothers Jose Rafael and Jose Angel Bermudez, who migrated from Venezuela to the nearby Port of Spain. Jose Rafael fasci ...

for decades. He performed in many venues in Trinidad and Tobago as the headline performer, often to sold-out shows. Throughout his life he was an avid

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, as his home was in the rural, still-forested area of

Cumuto Cumuto is a town and district in Trinidad. Cumuto is east of Sangre Grande and south of Arima. It is within the Sangre Grande region. Between 1940 and 1956 much of Cumuto was part of the American army base known either as Fort Read or Wallerfiel ...

, with a large population of

agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...

and

brocket deer Brockets or brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus ''Mazama''. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forest ...

. He farmed

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

, mandarins,

tangelos The tangelo ( , ; ''C. reticulata × C. maxima'' or ''× C. paradisi''), ''Citrus × tangelo, is'' a citrus fruit hybrid of a ''Citrus reticulata'' variety, such as mandarin orange or tangerine, and a ''Citrus maxima'' variety, such as a pom ...

, portugals (

clementine A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who fir ...

s) and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

on his 10-

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

estate. He was the first candidate to run on a

United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, e ...

(UNC) ticket: he contested and won a 1989 by-election in the

Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Sangre Grande is a region of Trinidad. The Region of Sangre Grande is a local government body and the largest Region of Trinidad and Tobago by area. The region has a land area of 898.94 km². The Sangre Grande Regional Corporation is headquar ...

for the Guaico-Cumuto district, thus becoming the first comedian in the

to win an election. Agi, as he was known in Trinbago, retired, lived on his public service

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

, but still performed occasionally until his death in 2018. In 2003, Ramdeen "John Agitation" Ramjattan was awarded the

Hummingbird Medal The Hummingbird Medal is a state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago, instituted in 1969. The medal is awarded for loyal and devoted service beneficial to the state in any field, or acts of conspicuous gallantry or other outstanding humane action. Th ...

(Silver) by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, for his more than five-decade-long work to preserve Trinbagonian and

Caribbean folklore Many elements of Caribbean folklore (the orally transmitted beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a group of people) are African in origin, given that slaves brought from Africa's West (or Gold) Coast made up a large majority of those brought to ...

via comedic

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

References

External links

ChutneyZone Artiste's Profiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agitation, John 1927 births 2018 deaths Storytellers Male comedians Trinidad and Tobago radio presenters Recipients of the Hummingbird Medal