BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN a highly competitive battle for supremacy, King Pungwa, by a very narrow margin, dethroned Socrates to take the crown of the LIME-sponsored 2010/2011 Senior Calypso Monarch of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The event took place last night (Dec. 29) at the Sugar Mill with eight contestants, who all displayed a high degree of versatility, excellent diction, good voice control and proper use of the stage in the performance of their renditions.
However, King Pungwa, whose career as a calypsonian started in 1995 and had won the Monarchy in 2001 and 2002, tallied 796 points singing ‘Hang Them High’ in the first round and ‘Take de Old Clothes Off’ in the second.
In ‘Hang Them High’, King Pungwa advocated the use of the gallows for all those who chose to take the lives of their fellow men, while the second rendition spoke to the hypocritical behaviour of some pastors who dip their hands in the kitty; division and sexual pervasiveness in the church; and the coming of the Antichrist, whom he said is already present in the church. He called on wrongdoers to ‘Take de Old Clothes Off’ by changing their evil ways and live a life that is in keeping with righteousness.
Socrates, a five-time Monarch, was relieved of his crown by a mere two points. In the first round, which many patrons said was the better of his renditions, he sang a song entitled ‘Mortgage’ in which he addressed the Speaker of the National House of Assembly on a number of political issues, noting that the country is heavily indebted and has mortgaged many acres of land, While calling on the Prime Minister to tender his resignation.
In that round, he had a power-point display to augment his props, used his hands to emphasise his points and his word craft was in sync with the music.
In the second round, he sang a song called ‘Still Sorry’. This rendition spoke to past and current issues in Haiti. Socrates sang about the Haitian Revolution and that country being the first republic ruled by African ancestry, events for which Haitians were never forgiven by the developed countries. He also noted the many crises the people of Haiti suffered and still suffering, and that even countries in the Caribbean region had turned their backs on the impoverished nation.
In the Second Runner-up position was the dethroned king’s daughter, Anastasia, who was recently crowned Monarch of the Female Bacchanal Competition for the fourth time in her career as a senior calypsonian.
Queen Anastasia scored 770 points singing ‘This I Believe’ and ‘Anastasia for PM’ in the first and second rounds respectively. She was closely followed by Stitch In Time, who had recently decided to take a short sabbatical from Reggae and use his melodious voice in the calypso arena.
Stitch In Time or Masud Sadiki, as he is popularly known, sang a song called ‘Sugar Mas’ in the first round and “I Am Still In Love’ in the second, which earned him a total of 764 points.
The other contestants were I-Soursop, Mighty Kinta, King Astro and Singing Jackie, who all performed creditably before what some claimed to be the smallest crowd ever to attend the calypso Finals in recent years.
At the end of the first round, the LIME Girls went onstage and made presentations to three lucky persons who won one year free Internet, one year free top-ups and a Blackberry Torch following a raffle draw.
Also during the break between rounds, a presentation was made to veteran calypsonian King of the 29 Fellows, who is said to be the oldest living exponent of the art form in St. Kitts and Nevis. The 94-year-old demonstrated his appreciation for the gesture by performing one of his songs titled ‘Roll Dem Dice’.
And as patrons anxiously awaited the judges’ decision, they were entertained with performances by the competition’s Master of Ceremonies Calypso Reggie, Best of the Rest King Lala and Calypso Leo, the recently-crowned Junior Calypso Monarch.
The show, which started at 8:06 p.m. and ended at approximately 12:45 a.m., had experienced intermittent showers during the second half. However, unlike Carnival Village where the show was traditionally held, patrons were unaffected by the rain because of the numerous shelters provided at the Sugar Mill while some had walked with umbrellas.
Musical accompaniment was provided by the Grand Masters and Legend Bands, and they both came in for high praises. Forty points were awarded for Lyrics and 30 each for Music and Performance.
Another scheduled activity for this year’s National Carnival is slated for tonight at the same venue with the hosting of the Digicel Haynes Smith Talented Teen Pageant, in which 11 contestants from the Caribbean region will be competing for the prestigious title.
Click her to see full photos from this event:
http://www.sknvibes.com/photos/viewgallery.cfm?iz=2434
