CropOver tragedy

Tragedy has struck Barbados’ CropOver festival with 6 people killed and at least 10 others critically injured following a traffic accident yesterday.

A coach carrying around 40 passengers crashed into a wall in a steep area of the countryside after reportedly experiencing brake problems.

The severity of some injuries has raised fears that the death toll could rise.

It’s been described as the worst traffic accident in Barbados’ history.

Land deadlock

A debate in the Guyana parliament marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade has ended in acrimony.

Members of the main opposition the People’s National Congress walked out.

Their protest cam over a motion on ancestral land rights for Afro-Guyanese.

Guyana is sharply divided along racial lines between Indians who form 45 percent of the population and Africans who make up 35 percent.

Some villages which were said to have been bought by freed African slaves are now populated mainly by East Indians.

They and many descendants of African slaves who also occupy these lands do not have registered title to the plots on which they live.

The opposition pointed out however that the motion was not an attempt to reclaim lands from anyone who now had legal title.

The PNC said it was seeking rather to pay tangible tribute to the legacy of the freed African slaves and to rectify the ownership of thousands of acres of sometimes still empty lands around the country which the freed slaves purchased.

Not what was fought for

United States civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton has been speaking out against “gangsterism and “thuggish behavior” on a visit to Trinidad.

Reverend Sharpton was in Port of Spain to take part in celebrations marking the emancipation of slaves.

He said those who campaigned against slavery and fought for civil rights did not do so for black people to shoot each other down in the streets of Brooklyn or Trinidad, nor to have the freedom to sell drugs to one another.

The American civil rights campaigner was in Trinidad and Tobago at the weekend to deliver the feature address at an Emancipation Day function organized by the opposition United National Congress/Alliance party.

Emancipation Day on Wednesday August 1st is a public holiday in public holiday in Trinidad and Tobago.

Failed system

A leading Cuban dissident has called on the Cuban government to publicly concede it has failed, one year after ailing President Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother Raul.

Human rights campaigner Martha Beatriz Roque said in a statement the government needed to be brave enough “to tell the country that

the communist ‘system’ is a failure.”

Roque, who leads the illegal Assembly to Promote Civil Society, blamed the Cuban government for the effects of the decades-old US embargo on the country.

Source: BBC News

When singer Jah Cure was released from prison minutes after 5:00 am on Saturday, the first thing he did was stare at the sky. “I looked up to the heavens and give Jah thanks for freedom,” the singer said, “because you can’t know the value of freedom until you lose it.”

He smiled as he mentioned that the last hours behind bars were probably the longest.

Born Siccature Alcock, Jah Cure, who for the last eight years was an inmate at the Tower Street Adult Correctional facility in Kingston on a rape conviction, spoke to the media and entertainment aficionados on Saturday evening inside the Hilton Kingston Hotel’s Jonkoonu Lounge.

Minutes before the press conference began, the singer, wearing all-white, entered the premises with his mother Panceta Campbell by his side and a throng of supporters behind him. The reggae performer’s management team coincided the release of his new single My Life with his triumphant reintroduction to the “free world”.

His newfound freedom would have been celebrated by way of the much anticipated Cure Fest scheduled for August 24, however, because of the proximity to the national election date, the concert was postponed until October when he plays at the James Bond Beach.

For Jah Cure though, every disappointment is for a good.

“I have more time to do some more promotion (for the concert)… we jus’ cyaan’ wait ’til election done so we can party,” he said.

Despite the anticipation for the concert and subsequently, the numerous petitions advocating his release, there are those who maintain that he should never again taste freedom.

“He that is without sin should cast the first stone,” Jah Cure said, drawing on the biblical story in an effort to silence his naysayers.

During the months leading up to his release, this reporter noticed that several posters bearing the singer’s image and mounted to promote Cure Fest were vandalized, some even defaced with the word ‘rapist’. Of this, the singer maintained that he has no proof of such actions and that some of the posters even disappeared because fans wanted to take his image into their homes.

But controversy has always been a feature of this promising star.

“True Reflection caused a lot of controversy,” he added, noting that it was not necessarily personal experience but more of a metaphor for life as an inmate.

His time in prison, he said, is something that has afforded him a wealth of experience that he planned on manifesting as poignant songs. He plans also to give back to the Rehabilitation Through Music program which nurtured him as an incarcerated artiste, as well as doing more work with his “musical father” Beres Hammond.

But Hammond isn’t the only entertainer to support the singer’s career. Also at Saturday night’s news conference was fellow Rastafari harbinger, Spragga Benz, who expressed joy at his friend’s release.

“The big man deh a road… words cyaan’ express it,” Spragga said. “Give thanks to the most high, we know seh all those hard lessons will be interpreted as hard lyrics.”

Jah Cure’s beaming mother, who appeared to have tears streaming down her face at one point, also expressed gladness at the day she had been ‘longing for’ since eight years ago.

“I’m feeling so happy …it’s like I’m in a dream,” she said, adding that she was grateful for having her son returned to her alive. And what of his muse whom he told through song to wait for him?

“That’s private,” he said, the room now in laughter.

Though he admitted that an album and a book are in the works, he maintained that the details at present are sketchy. His immediate plan, he said, was to enjoy his freedom one day at a time.

“I performed pretty-well (musically) from prison, so imagine what it will be like now that I’m free,” he said.

The singer, who enjoyed popularity from behind bars for the better part of the last four years, has several hits, including Longing For, True Reflection, Woman, I Love You and Build Great Man.

Source: Jamaica Observer

During his time behind bars, reggae singer Jah Cure created headlines that won him legions of fans, many who started petitions advocating his release. But yesterday, the reggae artiste, born Siccature Alcock, who was scheduled to be released at 8:00 am, walked out of the maximum security prison minutes after 5:00 am, according to guards.

But even though Jah Cure’s early morning release stumped his fans, as well as journalists, scores of chalice-carrying Rastafarians were at the prison gate to greet their ‘brother’, a senior warder told the Sunday Observer.

“Mi seh, some chalice bun out yah this morning. Ah nuff Rasta come out in di early morning. The one dem who hear bout the early release,” the warder said. “Him walk out like Nelson Mandela and him greet some of the man them before the warden escort him away.”

The senior warder, who spoke to some of the people who had gathered for the 8:00 am release, said the decision was made to prevent any commotion outside the prison gates.

“I am sorry to know that people came to see him and didn’t get the chance. We had to try and avoid the crowd,” the warder, dressed in a bright blue uniform, told the crowd, after declining to give his name.

Yesterday, the Sunday Observer received positive comments about Alcock’s character while he was an inmate on the A-North block.

“He was a well-behaved inmate. We never have no problem with him,” one worker at the prison said.

Another said: “Yes man, him just love him music. Him did alright.”

One female warden agreed with her co-workers, before advising us to direct any further questions to “the head office”.

In the meantime, several fans who refused to believe that their “artiste” had already left the compound set up camp outside and openly expressed their opinions about his imprisonment and subsequent release.

One female vendor outside the prison, who gave her name only as Miss Yvonne, told the Sunday Observer that Alcock received many visitors each month, the majority being females.

“Him get visitors from all over the world. The other day a white girl come here from France but him didn’t take the visit,” Miss Yvonne said. “Him go to prison go make him name. I hope that him learn him lesson and move on with him life,” she said, adding that she heard that Jah Cure made a stop at Rockfort to “wash off” after leaving the prison.

Her other interesting comments, which had everyone cracking up, included: “Mi hear seh Jah Cure pay all warden rent when him did ovah deh.”

One man who said he drove from St Thomas to witness the singer’s release said he was very disappointed but wished Jah Cure all the best.

“Even though him have the whole world claim that them love him, him have to be careful,” he said.

Another man, a broom vendor from Clarendon, said he wanted to get a glimpse of the man whose songs he can’t get enough of.

Trisha, a female fan and a feelance photographer, said people should not judge Alcock as he was capable of making mistakes and changing like other humans.

“I believe that to each his own. If it wasn’t time for him to be released, he wouldn’t have been released. I just hope that he has learnt from the experience,” she said.

Her friend, Kelly, added: “I think he deserved to be released. I just want to get to see him in person now. I hope he wil change too.”

Alcock, who was born in Hanover in 1978, was reportedly given the name Jah Cure by Capleton whom he met while growing up in Kingston.

According to police reports, in November 1998, while driving around Montego Bay Alcock was pulled over by the police and arrested on charges of gun possession, rape and robbery. He was taken before the courts in April 1999, found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Since the arrest, Jah Cure has firmly maintained his innocence. The story surrounding his case dominated media headlines and barber shop conversations for months, leading to several “Free Jah Cure” campaigns.

While in prison, the singer had access to recording equipment and has released three albums and a number of singles, some of which have done well on local reggae charts. His debut album, Free Jah’s Cure was released in 2000, and was followed by Ghetto Life (2003) and Freedom Blues (2005). His popular singles include True Reflections, Love is and Longing For.

Source: Jamaica Observer

But for 25-year-old Suzanne Ferguson,hearing his songs on the radio and even the very mention of his name, evokes painful memories. To her, Jah Cure is nothing more than the villain in her flashbacks of the night she and her aunt were both held up at gunpoint, robbed and raped.

Suzanne says Jah Cure, the singer whose songs speak of true love and preach about the virtues of righteousness, brutally abducted, robbed and raped her and her aunt, seven years ago on a dirt road in Monetgo Bay, St. James.

For that crime, the singer was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He has so far served seven years at one of Kingston’s maximum security penal institutions. Prison authorities say his earliest possible release date is July 28, 2007.

Prompted by repeated public statements the singer has made proclaiming his innocence, Suzanne has decided to break her silence and tell her side of the story. She says she has trouble fighting the memories of a gun pointed at her head and of the singer trying to kiss her with his putrid, ganja-smelling mouth as he overpowered and then violently raped her.

She is as bitter about the incident today as she was when it occurred.

The polite, well spoken young woman, took the day off from work to meet with The Sunday Gleaner news team at her home in an upscale neighborhood near Ironshore, in Montego Bay.

Dressed casually in a white, sleeveless blouse and a pair of blue poke-a-dot pants, Suzanne sat down at a small table on her veranda to tell the tale.

# HER SIDE

“IT WAS a Sunday night, November 8, 1998 when it happened. My two male cousins, my aunt and myself were walking down to the Flamingo Nightclub to play a game of pool. This was something that we did frequently,” Suzanne explained.

As they walked down the street, she observed a tinted, two-door Turbo Starlet motor car, passing them, going in the opposite direction. Within minutes, the group noticed the same car coming slowly back down the road.

“I don’t know, but for some reason I took a mental note of the number of the licence plate,” said Suzanne.

The group went to the club and after spending about two hours there, decided to head back home. But they did not get very far. On reaching Windsor Road, the car which they had noticed earlier, drove up and blocked their path. Two men were inside. The occupant of the passenger seat jumped out with a gun in his hand and immediately gun-butted one of Suzanne’s male cousins. The gunman then ordered the other cousin to walk over to him. Both cousins were robbed and verbally abused.

‘NO, DO, DON’T KILL THEM!’

“I then heard a voice from inside the car say ‘Kill them!’ and I shouted “No, do, don’t kill them!” recalled an emotional Suzanne as she knitted her brows as if to block the memory.

Her cousins were told to run for their lives. They did. The gunmen then ordered Suzanne and her aunt into the back of the vehicle. The driver of the car put it in reverse and then headed down Sugar Mill Road. The females were questioned about their cousins, then asked to identify themselves.

Their jewelery was taken and the man with the gun sat on top of them, so that they were unable to see where they were being taken. The men then drove on to a bushy, dirt track in the Spring Farm area. It was there that the men viciously raped the women.

“Jah Cure raped me at gunpoint, while the other man raped my aunt outside on the dirt track, in a pile of gravel. While begging for my life in the car and with the gun pointed at my head, I began resisting and begging him,” Suzanne recalled.

“I then said to him, if you are going to rape me please, me a beg you to use a condom. He stopped and searched the glove compartment of the vehicle, then said he couldn’t find any. He pulled my underwear off and began to rape me.

“I continued to resist and begged him to stop and I remember him saying ‘Hey gal, do wey me tell yuh fe do and you wi live’. That was how it happened,” said a tearful Suzanne.

After the ordeal, the men took them to the Rose Hall main road, where they were ordered to get out of the vehicle. The men threw $100 on the ground and told them that it was for their bus fare. Suzanne said when the vehicle drove off, she looked up and saw that it was the same license plate that she had memorized earlier.

“I was able to identify him (Jah Cure) because his voice was distinct. They kept talking in the vehicle. Anywhere I hear that voice, I will always remember it. During the incident he tried to kiss me and I could smell the ganja scent on his breath,” said Suzanne.

Prior to the incident, she said she had never seen, met or spoken with Jah Cure. She noted that she did not even know who he was until after he was arrested.

“When I had to go over the whole ordeal in court, it was devastating. He (Jah Cure) tried talking to me, trying to say it was not him. He introduced a pregnant woman to me at the courthouse, saying that she was his expectant baby mother. He was trying to get me to become sympathetic toward him. But afterwards, his mother (who was at the court house) told me that the woman was neither pregnant for him, nor was she his girlfriend.”

According to Suzanne, the trial was very difficult, but the psychological effect of the rape was worse.

“He tried to contact me while he was in prison, I don’t know how he got my telephone number, or how they got my address. I had to go away for a while in order to get away from it all, and during that time, he was still sending messages to my house.” She said a lot of effort was made by entertainers and other friends to get her to make statements which would get the offender out of prison.

It was eight months before Suzanne managed to build up enough courage to go out in public again. She said the stigma and embarrassment of being raped was too much for her.

She said that several top entertainers have since called and visited her home, offering her large sums of cash if she would help Jah Cure to get an early release from prison.

‘I JUST WANT HIM TO ADMIT’

“We don’t want any money. I just want him to admit to his wrong and apologize publicly. I cannot take their money and go to the supermarket and buy a pound of respect, dignity and self esteem. All that was taken from me. I have to be walking on the streets and looking behind me. My relatives are getting threats,” she said.

According to Suzanne, the ordeal has remained with her every moment of each day. At nights she tosses and turns, and sleep is as elusive as her peace of mind. The pain and anguish of the incident has imprisoned her for life. The incident has had an adverse impact on her relatives and has also affected her relationships with men.

“I don’t trust anyone. If they try to come close, I react very violently and if they try to get intimate, I have flashbacks and it is very difficult,” Suzanne spoke freely.

“Every time there is a lot of publicity about Jah Cure, I have even more flashbacks. Sometimes I am so afraid to leave my house. When I go out in the public and hear people say, ‘Free Jah Cure’, I have serious flashbacks and it becomes very difficult. It seems to me that entertainers are more valued than everybody else in Jamaica and as a woman, I feel seriously undervalued.”

While she has not undergone formal counseling, says her current church congregation helps her in the very hard times through prayer and fellowship. Much of her support also comes from good friends and the residents of her community, especially the young people who are very protective of her.

*Name changed.

Source: Jamaica Gleaner

That is the partial résumé of the nine calypsonians hoping to stop reigning monarch Kid Site from scoring a beaver on Friday.

Red Plastic Bag, Blood, Adrian Clarke, De Announcer, Rommel, Sheldon Hope, TC, Smokey Burke and Enobong were the pick of the 19 facing the judges last Friday at the Cable & Wireless Pic-O-De-Crop Semi-finals at the gymnasium of the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex.

Few would dispute that the show actually started with De Announcer, who appeared in fifth position. He looked and dressed the part of the fighter in De Bell, which uses the analogy of a boxing match to great effect. Though his voice broke in a few spots, De Announcer complemented his first half performance with Wrong Decision.

He is determined not to come in position ten this year, and given the quality of some of the material he is up against, 2007 may very well be his best year.

Blood has been outstanding all season, and shone like a beacon at semis. He was crisp in both segments, and if he continues in this vein, it could get dangerous at the Stadium in the battle for the first four.

There is no doubt that Bag came back with a bang, and both patrons and calypso are happy. He might want to pace himself a little bit better in the first song in particular, so that his diction doesn’t suffer, though.

Sheldon Hope has to be up there in the front-running. Long after Friday, debates over whether he is singing calypso will continue, but he has come this far with them and the judges will not fail him. Whatever they are, Man’s Love Song and The Call are working for him.

Classic, singing Getting Ahead In Life, didn’t start with the bang one would expect from someone of his experience and certainly not one who wanted to sound a warning to those following him. He seemed more at ease with the faster paced More Than You Can Chew.

Young Chrystal was the lone casualty on the night. She made a slip in the first song, but found her way to finish on a strong note. There’s no need for her to pen a Miss Forgetful in time for next season, for she can only grow. To her credit, she stood out among the women vocally. Chrystal was spot on in the second half, but she was never going to make it into the finals.

Seasoned campaigner TC started off a little sharp in Calypso Music, but she always manages to do enough to get her through. She enjoyed I Is a Bajan in the second half and it sealed her spot.

Adrian Clarke needs to continue to give thanks for his ability to sing, it was largely that natural talent that gave him a final berth. His first song Columbus is good. The discovery concept is excellent, but can be stretched so much further. Morals And Decency is pedestrian and unless the stronger contestants do something very wrong, he is unlikely to finish high in the order.

Mr Impact must also be credited for bringing some life to the top end of the first half, but neither The Children nor The Letter was good enough to get him through.

Tarah looked good to the eyes, but Mad Black Woman and Sounds Of Music just didn’t make the grade.

Khiomal can justifiably consider himself hard done by. He made a good return to social commentary with One Bad Decision and Miracles, and should not be discouraged by the final decision of the judging panel.

Sweet-singing Longfellow was in usual good voice, but might have been out of his league with Recipe Fuh Success and Cahn Done Me. He successfully did himself in and became the laughing stock at the same time in the latter. He could not make it to the Stadium, but might find himself alone at Kensington.

The judges made two good calls in leaving Bumba and Tassa behind. Both have been struggling with material for several years, but deserved to be stopped this year.

Malik looked to be a sure pick. He was spot on in both They Asking Too Much and People Don’t Change.

Rommel and Enobong did well enough to get this far, but might just be along for the experience. The former needs some work, but must be admired for his treatment of the issues in Animal Farm and Apocolypso.

He should be pleased to note that he was one of the few to evoke “kaiso” from calypsonians and critics.

Source: The Nation Newspaper

Among the many fascinating experiences in Bob Marley’s legendary life is the little-known fact that he had a strong connection to the small city of Wilmington, Delaware. Bob lived there on and off from 1965 to 1977, and this ongoing relationship between city and icon has been celebrated annually for the last 12 years at the People’s Festival, Wilmington’s musical and cultural tribute to Bob.

The festival was born out of the love and respect that Bob’s good friend, Ibis Pitts had for Bob. Since its inception, Ibis and his wife, Genny have been the driving force behind the festival, which this year will be headlined by Bob’s son, Ky-Mani.

In addition to the performance by Ky-Mani on Saturday, fans will also be treated to sets by reggae artists Mighty Sparrow, Natty Rebel, S.T.O.R.M. and others at the 13th annual People’s Festival at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, overlooking the Christina River.

But that’s hardly the end of the celebration. Tonight, at Theatre N, you can check out a double feature of reggae films “One Love” and “Shattas,” and Friday night will feature a private reception with Ky-Mani at Café Caribe.

On Saturday from 2-10 p.m., in addition to all the great music, festival-goers will experience a cultural experience replete with all things Rastafari: arts and crafts from Jamaica, Africa and all over the world that echo the spirit of Emperor Haile Selassie I; cuisine tailored specifically to the ital diet that Bob adhered to; a healing village, a children’s village and more.

Bob’s history in Wilmington is one rooted in family and faith. Bob’s mother, Cedella Booker, moved to Wilmington in the mid-1960s, and Bob followed in 1966 shortly after he married Rita (Alpharita) Anderson. The family bought a home that still stands at 2313 Tatnall Street.

On Saturday, you can come and celebrate with Ky-Mani and a host of great musicians to honor Bob’s legend and his relationship with the city of Wilmington. It’s a perfect setting in which to promote the message of peace, positivity and ideals of Rastafari that Bob still stands for.

Past People’s Festivals have included artists such as Morgan Heritage, Richie Havens, Justin Hines, Toots and The Maytals, Nappy Roots, Mutabaruka, The Abyssinians, Culture and others.

The festivals have been blessed with the presence of Bob’s mother and all of his performing sons, including Ziggy, Damian “Jr. Gong,” Stephen, Julian, and, of course, Ky-Mani. Purchase tickets or find out more about the festival by calling 856-451-8663 or going to www.peoplesfestival.com.

Visit BobMarley.com next week to see coverage of Ky-Mani’s performance and read more about Bob’s time in Delaware.

SLP wants fresh elections

St Lucia’s opposition Labor Party has signaled that it’s no longer willing to stand by and wait for recuperating Prime Minister Sir John Compton to eventually get back to the job of running the country.

Sir John suffered a series of mild strokes in May, and has been off the job since.

SLP leader Kenny Anthony has now gone on the offensive, and called for a return to the polls.

The opposition leader says the Acting Prime Minister Stephenson King is severely limited in what he can do, especially in terms of taking key decisions.

A leadership issue

The United Workers Party defeated Dr Anthony’s SLP in last December’s general elections.

But Dr Anthony told supporters at an SLP political meeting this week that the UWP administration had been limping along for the past seven months, and it was time for a change.

“If the electorate of this country say they voted for Sir John, and if it is correct that Sir John is unable to perform his duties, then there’s only one answer for this, we must go back to the polls,” Dr Anthony told cheering SLP supporters.

Support for the SLP case

Newspaper publisher and talk show host Rick Wayne says Dr Anthony and the SLP can make a case for returning to the polls.

But he sees the issue as a leadership matter, and feels Dr Anthony will have a hard task convincing people who shunned him at the last election that they should now support him.

“Kenny Anthony was the problem, they found him arrogant,” Mr Wayne said in reference to the December 2006 election defeat Dr Anthony’s SLP suffered.

He said however that the SLP leader was aware of how he had been perceived, and is apparently working on his public image.

“That is the big question, will St Lucia prefer to go with an inoperative prime minister rather than take a chance on one it deemed an arrogant prime minister” Mr Wayne told BBC Caribbean.

Antigua demands sanctions on US

Antigua and Barbuda has formally asked the World Trade Organization for the right to impose 3.4 billion US dollars in commercial sanctions against the United States.

The Antiguan government is pressing for compensation because the US failed to comply with a WTO ruling that its Internet gambling restrictions are illegal.

The Americans have acknowledged that their online betting ban was ruled illegal by the world trade body.

But Washington is challenging Antigua’s right to retaliate because it says it’s in the process of changing the details of its obligations under the 1994 General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Demand labeled excessive

The US has also rejected the amount requested by Antigua as “patently excessive”.

The WTO has set up an arbitration panel to rule on the matter.

US trade lawyer Juan Millan told the organization’s dispute settlement body that the amount sought by Antigua is “several times higher than the island’s annual gross domestic product of all goods and services”.

He said the Antiguan request for retaliation was “unnecessary” because the United States was negotiating compensation with all interested WTO members.

That’s despite having originally argued that it was exempt from sanctions or having to pay compensation.

Others too want compensation

Antigua is the smallest country to successfully litigate a case in the World Trade Organization’s 12 year history.

The government in St Johns says it will target US trademarks and copyrights if Washington refuses to change its legislation.

The US made the unprecedented move to explicitly remove online betting from the WTO services agreement, after losing a ruling earlier this year.

Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Macao, Japan and the 27-nation European Union have all joined Antigua in filing compensation claims as a result.

MERE moments after Machel Montano received the keys to his new 1.6 GLX Mitsubishi Lancer car at the Road March prize-giving ceremony yesterday, he handed over the car to his mother, Elizabeth Montano.

The vehicle, which he won for copping the 2007 Road March title, was presented to him by Jenny Francois, brand manager of radio station Vibe CT 105.

He said: “Now I will hand over the car to the real owner as this is long overdue for all her hard work.”

Vibe CT 105 and the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) provided the prizes which Montano received.

At the ceremony at the Diamond Motors showroom on Richmond Street, Port of Spain, Montano was also presented with a $25,000 cheque by TUCO representative and fellow performer Robert “D Mighty Trini” Elias.

Montano won the Road March title after his song “Jumbie” was played 388 times on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, more than ten times the airplay received by second place winner “Open D Gate” by Shurwayne Winchester.

This win marked Montano’s third Road March title, following the successes of his songs, “Big Truck” and his collaboration with Patrice Roberts on “Light up the Air”.

Kernel Roberts, who is the son of late veteran Road March winner, Lord Kitchener, and writer of the winning song “Jumbie” was also present at the prize-giving ceremony.

Montano, who was accompanied by his two children, Nicholas and Meledi Montano, said he had already started moving forward with his 2008 album.

He said the album was 80 per cent complete and already carried several road match contenders for the next Carnival season.

Source: Trinidad News

Former Calypso Monarch, Chalkdust (Hollis Liverpool) will team up with David Rudder, Ella Andell and Scrunter for Caribbean Night at the Dwight Yorke Stadium. The show, which will begin at 8 pm, is a part of the Tobago Heritage Festival which has been going on since last Friday.

Dominican Music queen, Ophelia Marie, will perform in addition to Barbados-based Trevor Eastmond and Scrunter. Others to perform are Leston Jacob, Les Enfants Dance, Bro Resistence, Zanda, Relator, Tommy Joseph, Relator and the Tobago Academy of the Performing Arts.

Ophelia is a popular Dominican singer of cadence-lypso songs from the 1980s. She is sometimes referred to as “Dominica’s Lady of Song,” and the “First Lady of Creole.” She has toured extensively in France and has had concerts broadcast over much of the Francophone world.

Ophelia was the first non-French winner of the Maracas d’Or Award from Société Pernod, and has been awarded International Women’s Year in 1985, the Sisserou Award of Honour (the second highest award in Dominica), a Lifetime Award in 2005 and a Golden Drum Award in 1984.

In 2005, Ophelia hosted the fifth Dynamith d’Or Caribbean Music Awards.

Her signature tune is “Ay Dominique,” which was also her first recording, and became an iconic anthem for Dominicans. Ophelia’s musical idol is the South African singer Miriam Makeba.

Ophelia performed as a young girl in a group called the “Five O’s,” which performed at church functions. Her husband and manager, McCarthy Marie, encouraged her to begin her solo career. Her first recording was “Ay Dominique,” a “lament for Dominica as the country underwent political problems in the 1970s.” The song became a popular anthem among Dominicans, and she began recording with Gordon Henderson, placing herself at the forefront of cadence-lypso. She often sung about women’s issues, a rarity at the time, and was among the first women to sing at the Théâtre Noir, Cirque d’Hiver and the Théâtre de la Renaissance.