April 27, 2007 — On Thursday night, a soggy Lionel Roberts Stadium was home to the crown jewel in V.I. calypso tents, the Coors Light Local Calypso Finals. Two-time champion, St. Croix's King Spade (Cedric Brookes) became a three-peater after fending off a field of 10 competitors.
Newcomers like Fidel (Fidel Castro Ostalaza) and Byron (Byron Bash) Osborne went toe to toe with polished veterans like Samuel "Mighty Pat" Ferdinand and Morris "King Generic" Benjamin.
The ladies in the fray, Karen "Lady Mac" McIntosh and Jacqueline "Singing Jackie" Leader, delivered solid performances.
Rain had been forecast, and came down during intermission, as though on schedule. During the break, Otis "Big O" Martin was enthusiastic about the lineup: "It's good so far!"
Meanwhile, King Generic said between rounds, "I feel I did what I came out to do. When I come out, I come to please my fans! Win, draw or lose, I have fun!"
It was not an easy contest. Serious inroads towards the crown were made by "Singing Jackie" with "Teacher's Cry", a lament on the many responsibilities unfairly heaped upon the shoulders of educators; Collister "Reflector" Fahie blazed through "Together We Can," a theme that was echoed in two other songs, by Fidel and the winner, King Spade. Lady Mac hit a topical nail on the head with "Hang Dem", which made reference to embattled Judge Leon Kendall.
Newly crowned King Spade shook hands with the governor and lieutenant governor and then proudly introduced his first son, Alston J. Brookes, who had come home from Florida in order to support his dad.
He said, "A lot of people said they wouldn't allow me to win three years, but I figured if we have good material, we'll get it done."
Brookes paid tribute to multiple Calypso King/MSI Calypso of the Year Winner Louis Ible, with "Guess Weh You Ridin" in the first round. The song referenced Ible's tribute to Rosa Parks, "Still in de Back of deh Bus," which spoke of people who maintain a slave mentality and thus never achieve success.
The relevance of the song was not lost on Brookes, who noted that 10 years later, society is still plagued by men who fail to support their families and politicians who line their pockets at the expense of the people.
"It's always nice, when somebody recognizes that something you did in the past… still resonates today," Ible said as he enjoyed the show. Asked if we'd be hearing from him again, he offered, "Everywhere I go people ask me when I'm going to go back. The standard dropped, and we don't have enough calypsonians to compete."
First runner-up Ferdinand agreed with the sentiment, but he first wanted to encourage good sportsmanship. "I hope I don't hear tomorrow calypsonians bickering about who should have come first, who should have come second … we as competitors should be satisfied with whatever the judges did. What we feel in our hearts, let's just keep it to ourselves."
But more important to him is the declining state of the art form. He mentioned bootlegging and few showcases and promotion during Carnival as reasons that calypsonians lack motivation.
"The calypsonians are downhearted and fed up with what's going on and what's happening to them," he said.
He looks forward to approaching government officials and the V.I. Carnival Committee to help create more opportunities for local calypsonians to share in the yearly windfall by hosting local calypso shows and extending invitations to be guest artists.
"If you want calypso to really build back and come up you have to have an incentive," he stated.
King Generic, who received the Best Social Commentary trophy as well as second runner-up honors, was grateful: "I want to thank the Carnival Committee and thank God, most high, and my family for sticking behind me. Because this is not easy.”
In support of her fellow Crucians, Rae Armstrong popped onto the stage after the show to give kudos to all the St. Croix calypsonians for taking the three top spots: "The Crucian calypsonians did excellent, they took over the show tonight! It was a beautiful competition."
The V.I. Carnival Committee distributed three awards before the winners were announced: Best Social Commentary: King Generic (Morris Benjamin)
Best Political Commentary: Singing Jackie (Jacqueline Leader)
Most Improved: Sarrow (Julien Gerry George) Second runner-up: King Generic (Morris Benjamin)
First runner-up: Mighty Pat (Samuel Ferdinand)
Monarch: King Spade (Cedric Brookes)
Also competing were Leston Livingston Harris "X Man", Julien Gerry George "Sarrow," and Lariel "The Teacher" Gerard.
The evening's musical backdrop was provided by Juan Harrigan and the All-Star Band, with backing vocals by Dietra Davis, Spectrum Band's Lorna "The Fox" Freeman, and St. Clair "Whadablee" DeSilva, dubbed "Perfect Cadence" for the evening.
Additional entertainment was provided by junior calypsonian Khamoi DeSilvia, junior monarch Lady Prissy, and The Mighty Downspout and the Chic-Lets; the emcee was Irvin "Brownie" Brown.
Carnival activities continue with the Children's Parade on Friday at 10 a.m. The Adults' Parade will take place on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. There will be a fireworks tribute to the V.I. National Guard at 9 p.m. in the Carnival Village, dubbed "Bolo's Music Studio".
The Calypso Spektakula is followed by the Last Lap, the grand finale of Carnival 2007.
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