Sunday, January 28, 2007 11:10 PM

27th Anniversary Mother’s Day
Caribbean Superstars Festival

Saturday, May 10 & Sunday, May 11

Walt Whitman Hall
l Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY

Mr. Isaac McLeod was the President and Founder of Afro-Caribbean Soul, Inc.,. He started the organization in the mid seventies, and has been actively promoting the Caribbean Superstars Festival, ever since.. His parents were from Grenada. Mr. McLeod spent some time himself down in the Caribbean Island’s as well. The purpose of the festival is to recognize all the Caribbean mothers on Mother’s Day, by bringing well-known Caribbean artists from around the world to perform at a very festive event. The Caribbean Festival has been held, for the past 27 years, at places like Madison Square Garden (where first started in 1977), Radio City Music Hall. Lincoln Center, and, for the first time in its history, it was performed at Walt Whitman Hall at Brooklyn College, with close to five thousand people attending both on Saturday, May 10, and Sunday, 11. It was a super success with a phonominal sellout. The legacy of Isaac McLeod, who died last year, is continued by his son Howard McCleod.

I had the pleasure of meeting the Slinger Francisco, aka. The Mighty Sparrow, who is, among the most prominent names in all the history of Calypso music. The Mighty Sparrow was born in Gran Roi, a rural fishing village in Grenada. At the age of one year old, his parents migrated over Trinidad in search of a better lifestyle. In the late 1950’s, Mighty Sparrow made the United States his permanent homeland. Mighty Sparrow got involved in Calypso not from peer pressure, but simply because the music “grows on you”, as he puts it. His role models include Nat King Cole, Frankie Laine, Sarah Vaughn, Billy Eckstein, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree, Doctor of Letters, from the University of the West Indies. He was presented the “keys to the city” by The Mayor of Detroit, Coleman Young. The Mighty Sparrow won many (20) Monarch titles, and secured the coveted Road March title 10 times. He also won the Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival Road March Competition eight (8) times, second only to the Lord Kitchener. Mighty Sparrow received many other University citations and awards from Governments and organizations, far too many to mention.

I also met with Red Plastic Bag, of Barbados, whose music is really a breath of fresh air to the Calypso community. He has been a Calypso singer for the past 21 years, and is the currently reigning Calypso monarch, a title which he has also held in the past on five separate occassions. He currently lives in Barbados. His specialty is Soca Calypso, which is well known throughout the Calypso community (although not quite as well known as R&B). He has cut numerous albums, (21 to be exact). Mr. Plastic Bag often sings as a backup man.

Up next was Winston Soso, another Calypso specialist, from the Island of St. Vincent. He performed down in St. Vincent with several different bands, and then came to New York to continue his career, where he went solo. He describes the Calypso rhythm as havng mixed beats. He is 40 now, and has 24 albums. His albums are available from Striker Records. He has toured all over, from England and Canada all the way down to Miami. He has been provided with a band for his travels. He currently holds the title of Soca Monarch. Soca is very much like Calypso, but has lots of competition. Mr. Soso has held this title once. Mr. Soso informed me that he does not like to compete, but rather enjoys performing as a guest artist.

I then met with Denyse Plummer, also a Calypso singer, from the islands of Trinidad/Tobego, known as the carnival capital of the world. Ms. P.lummer has captured the Calypso monarch title ten times. This title, as she explains, is the highest honor any performing artist can achieve. She started twenty five years ago in singing R&B, Reggae and Pop, and has been singing Calpyso for the last sixteen years.

Ajamu Mitchel, a Reggae singer from Grenada (the Island of Spice), has been singing for the past 20 years. After moving to the United States, he was originally based in Brooklyn, NY, then, moved to Virginia Beach, where he is now based. He says his music always goes with him. He currently operates his studios out of Virginia. Calypso Rose , one of the best known female Calypso singers in the early sixties, who is presently residing in Queens, New York, won the alypso Monarch title once, and her song was the winner of the Road Match, which was dedicated on two separate ocassions as the official song for the Trinidad carnival. She travels all over the world, performing and making appearances. Other participants in the show, include Singing Sandra who is a two time Calypso Monarch title winner, King Rudder one of the premier entertainers in the Calypso, winning the monarch title once in Trinidad/Tobego, who sings and makes appearances all around the world, who spends his time living back and forth between Trinidad and Canada.

Also at the festival were Sugar Aloes, Shadow, Scounter, The Baron, Ajamu and many others. I enjoyed segments of the show, which even featured LASER (a Montiserry Contortionist). The celebrities’ costumes were dazzling, the music magnificent, the performances superb and the show, over-all, pheneominal, right down to the steel drum player who played Whitney Houston’s famous hit “The Greatest Love off all”). I really enjoyed myself. We wish to take the time to thank Mr. Les Slater, the public relationist/marketing guru for Afro Caribbean Soul, Inc.--it if weren’t for him, these interviews would not have been made possible.

Also at the festival were Sugar Aloes, Shadow, Scounter, The Baron, Ajamu and many others. I enjoyed segments of the show, which even featured LASER (a Montiserry Contortionist). The celebrities’ costumes were dazzling, the music magnificent, the performances superb and the show, over-all, pheneominal, right down to the steel drum player who played Whitney Houston’s famous hit “The Greatest Love off all”). I really enjoyed myself. We wish to take the time to thank Mr. Les Slater, the public relationist/marketing guru for Afro Caribbean Soul, Inc.--it if weren’t for him, these interviews would not have been made possible.

 

The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve