The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) will be honoring seven "Titans of Calypso" for the first time as part of its official Carnival events. Entitled "Honoring of Local Carnival Legends" the event will be held on Friday, April 20 in Carnival Village as part of the Senior Calypso Eliminations.
The SCDF explained that the intention is to honor Carnival legends in every facet of Carnival every year. This year, the SCDF said, six legendary calypsonians and one mainstay of the calypso art form on St. Maarten were chosen to be honored.
The SCDF will present special posthumous honors to the families of The Mighty Greg and The Mighty Cat, both former Road March kings. "These men were great entertainers and Carnival lovers," President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson said. "Cat stayed active with Carnival through his photography and producing songs such as the iconic Village anthem "Welcome to the Village. Greg's voice could never be forgotten and he grabbed every opportunity to sing when he wasn't competing. They are both missed and both deserve recognition," Johnson said.
Also to be honored are four current, veteran singers who most people refer to as "the big guns" of Calypso. 10-time Calypso Monarch King Beau Beau, Reigning Calypso Monarch Kaiso Brat, award-winning artist The Mighty Dow and the master of the "double entendre" King T-Mo. "When you think about calypso and road march singing on St. Maarten, the names of these men are usually called first along with others. If we chose to honor legends of Calypso, we think starting with Brat, Beau Beau, Dow and T-Mo is a great place to start," Johnson said.
The last person the SCDF intends to honor on April 20 is the Philosopher of Humor Fernando Clarke, not for his singing talents, but for being "The King of Calypso MC's". Johnson explained that MC means to "move a crowd" and added that there is none better than Fernando.
"People ask for Fernando as much as they ask for the calypsonians. We appreciate his presence and his skill to keep our show lively and entertaining. But he is more than just an entertainer, he is a calypso historian who defends and promote the art form every opportunity he gets. So we some surprises in store for Fernando befitting his status in calypso on St. Maarten," Johnson said. He also confirmed that Clarke will be the MC for the Calypso Eliminations and Finals for Carnival 2012.
Prior to the official honors on April 20, the SCDF will host an announcement dinner ceremony for the honorees and the media. At this more intimate occasion the SCDF will brief the public, through the media, about the honoring program and simply treat the honorees to a good time.
"We just want to express to them that we are grateful for the hard work and dedication to calypso and Carnival over the years. This board of the SCDF recognizes the significance of calypso to Carnival and the fact that these men continue to work with younger singers to ensure that the art form of calypso lives on," Johnson said.
The SCDF is currently finalizing the structure of the honoring program and would apprise the public accordingly once the honorees are briefed on how their night will proceed. The SCDF will also make an announcement soon regarding the Grand Carnival parade and who it will be dedicated to for Carnival 2012.
