Although they may be much younger than seasoned calypso veterans, secondary school students competing in the 2019 Junior Calypso Monarch held their own on stage, dishing out songs that addressed matters of social importance. The tournament took place on Friday June 7 before a packed National Cultural Centre and saw nine secondary schools competing for the crown: Bocage, Babonneau, Castries Comprehensive, Corinth, Entrepot, Grand Riviere, Sir Ira Simmons, Soufriere and Vide Bouteille.
Defending champion Kishana ‘Baby K’ Smith of Castries Comprehensive was the day’s first performer. Her song, Corporal Punishment, touched on the government’s recent decision to abolish the practice in all schools. While she supports the move, Smith sang that there are many other things that also need addressing, among them: “Bad lyrics on the radio, violence on the TV show; these are the things sometimes I wish. All the youngsters in the ghetto, shooting guns killing people so; these are the things i want abolished!” The 2018 champion showed her experience during the performance and had a large turnout by her schoolmates, screaming in support.
Lady Sparkle of Vide Bouteille performed Barrel Baby Syndrome. The song told the tale of parents leaving their children in Saint Lucia in order to seek a better life overseas, with the promise of barrels of nice things. Esther ‘Sweet E’ Richard of Corinth Secondary performed Don’t Judge Me By What You See. Despite it being her first performance at this level, her vocal talent was most evident. Her song focused on judgmental people and liars and the consequences of what they say about others.
With much passion she sang: “I have goals to accomplish, a bright future in sight, so with all your propaganda, not my future you can blight. So no matter what you do, don’t matter how much you lie; I’m not your playground, you’re not going to bring me down!” During an intermission, students were entertained by local acts Ezra d’fun Machine, Shemmy J. and Arthur Allain.
When it was all over, in fourth place with 332 points was Prince ‘Mighty Prince’ Belizaire of Sir Ira Simmons who sang My Appreciation, dedicated to teachers and their impact on society. In third place was Simonia ‘Lady Mona’ Jackson, from Bocage, with 343 points. She sang Manners, which spoke of children learning from their elders. Unable to retain her crown, Kishana Smith tallied 381 points and placed second. Capturing the title by a margin of two points was Esther ‘Sweet E’ Richard. Moved to tears when handed her trophy, she performed her song one more time.
Afterward, she spoke to reporters about her inspiration, Minel. She confessed to being nervous during her performance but was “really happy that I placed first. I wrote this song so I could encourage young creators like myself to speak up about what they go through.” Richard plans to continue singing calypso in the years ahead and eventually make it to a national tournament.–
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