General secretary of the National Trade Union Centre ( Natuc) Michael Annisette says the Labour Day fiasco at Charlie King Junction, Fyzabad, between its unions and those of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) or the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) was caused by the police.

He and other members of the Natuc executive, including its president James Lambert and first vice-president Watson Duke, were present for a news conference called to give the facts about the incident. 

It was held at the Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union headquarters, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

Media reports last week claimed workers under Natuc who went to celebrate Labour Day were engaged in a clash with those from the JTUM.

But Annisette said yesterday that was not true as there was no clash with the JTUM/OWTU group.

“And the fiasco wasn’t with the Joint Trade Union Movement or the OWTU. It was with the Police Service in their attempt to deny us our rights to go to Charlie King Junction.

“We were denied our rights to go to Charlie King Junction,” he added.

He questioned how could the only internationally recognised labour federation in T&T be denied the right to march in Fyzabad on Labour Day.

“That was a deliberate attempt by the Police Service to create an unnecessary friction,” he added. He insisted that Charlie King Junction was not the “sole domain of the OWTU or Roget.” 

Leader of the JTUM, president general of the OWTU Ancel Roget, had said Natuc members were not invited to the celebrations. 

However, Annisette said yesterday Charlie King Junction was not owned by Roget and workers were free to assemble and celebrate Labour Day at that historic location.

He said Natuc supporters were allowed by a senior police officer to march to Charlie King Junction on condition that they divert on a side street close to the Labour Day rally organised by the JTUM/OWTU.

He said the fiasco started after another senior officer told them to disregard the previous instruction to march to Charlie King Junction. Annisette said the officer indicated to them that if they refused to “turn back” they will face arrest. Annisette said the media did not report the events accurately. 

He said a report, claiming Natuc officers/members stormed the celebrations, was “a misrepresentation of what happened and it was unfortunate that the press will sensationalise a serious issue like that.”

He said the initial route that was given to Natuc by the police for its march was “acknowledged by (Watson) Duke (acting Natuc leader) but it was not agreed to by Duke or Natuc.”

Annisette said Natuc protested an instruction that the Natuc march would proceed at noon, three hours after the JTUM/OWTU lead march “and we protested that too and we said we are not going to accept that and we are not going to tolerate that.”

He said he could not understand how the police “can engage in such subterfuge that will ultimately lead to the fiasco that happened in Fyzabad. At no time did we storm the JTUM/OWTU rally,” he added.

Annisette said the JTUM was not legal as it had no constitution and did not have elections. He said it was formed to unite Natuc and Fitun after the Government was offering a five per cent wage and salary increases to workers a few years ago.

Duke, who also spoke at the news conference, issued a call to Roget and others to return home to Natuc.

He denied claims he wanted or attempted to get on the stage to address the rally.

Chairman of the National Building Code Committee Shyankaran Lalla says 80 per cent of T&T’s building stock will be seriously damaged if a major natural disaster were to occur and lossess could be as much as $50 billion. He said so at a news conference with the Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal at the ministry, George Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

It was called to update citizens on plans for a national building code within the next 12 months. Lalla said T&T and the Caribbean region experienced 130 seismic events within six months and “that is alarming and cause for serious concern.” He said it was not earthquakes that killed people but poorly constructed buildings do. He said if a major disaster was to hit T&T 80 per cent of building stock would be at risk of serious damage and losses could reach as high as $50 billion.

Lalla said citizens should not fool themselves into believeing T&T was ready for any such eventuality but insisted the Government was doing what it could to prepare the nation better for any such disaster. Moonilal said the development of a national building code would establish a set of minimum standards for the protection, safety and health of citizens. 

He said the Cabinet-appointed committee was set up in April 2012, adding that the code will standardise building methods and materials to a large extent and improve the resilience of the built environment to minimise losses due to natural and man-made disasters. Moonilal said earlier this month, Cabinet approved US$27,000 from the budget of the National Buildings Code Committee for licencing fees and other related expenses for the International Code Council (ICC) to visit T&T for the historic signing of a licence agreement in Port-of-Spain shortly.

One of 60 Commonwealth awardees to receive the Queen’s Young Leader Award at Buckingham Palace, London, England, on Tuesday, T&T national Teocah Arieal Anika Dove is preparing to launch the Phoenix Project, a programme aimed at transforming the lives of at-risk children and youth locally. Dove, a Chevening scholar with close to ten years of volunteerism, advocacy and activism experience was one of the first female recipients of this honour.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the British High Commission in T&T described the Queen’s Young Leader Award as one which recognised exceptional youth, (aged 18-29), who have shown substantial commitment and verve as a leader in community development. The award comes with a huge expectation, that the awardees would use the prestige and training package, mentoring and network endorsed by Queen Elizabeth to continue their work in communities to transform and change lives.

After receiving the award on Tuesday, Dove said she felt humbled. “It was a truly humbling experience, especially hearing my name called alongside T&T to meet the Queen to receive the award,” Dove said. She was told by Queen Elizabeth that she had been doing great work and was encouraged to keep it up.

Dove will be staying in the UK for a four-day residential programme with fellow awardees as part of her prize. The programme includes workshops at Cambridge University, meeting with top UK business leaders and visits to live-changing social action projects. She has launched The Teocah Dove Legacy Foundation.

In July, Dove will begin preparation and resource mobilisation for a project she created, entitled The Phoenix Project, an “evidence-based social intervention” aimed at transforming the lives of at-risk and vulnerable children and youth in T&T. 

The long awaited initial public offering (IPO) in Phoenix Park Gas Processors will be launched within the next few weeks, president of the National Gas Company (NGC) Indar Maharaj said on Tuesday night. Speaking with reporters following a tour of NGC’s facilities at Point Lisas, Maharaj said the prospectus for the IPO has already been submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for review.

“They will review the prospectus and send it back to us with their comments so we can make adjustments. Then we wil send it back to them for a final review and once they are okay with it, they will authorize us to do the IPO. Once that happens, the IPO will be launched,” he said. Maharaj said the IPO would have been ready if issues had not arisen with the First Citizens Bank IPO≥ However, he said, one it is launched citizens will have a fair opportunity to own part of T&T’s energy sector.

He said NGC purchased a 39 per cent stake in Phoenix Park for US$600 million from US oil giant ConocoPhillips in September 2013. “We acquired the shares and invested it in a TTNGL, a local company, and we therefore started the process of  doing an initial public offering of approximately 49 per cent of that 39 per cent to put into the public domain,” he said. He explained that earlier this year, NGC  was given authorization to continue with the IPO process.

 Maharaj said NGC plans to expand upstream, midstream and downstream. He said the company has been operating at 99.9 per cent reliability and the recent downgrade from Moody’s investors Services had nothing to do with the its performance. He also said NGC reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profits after it started marketing its natural gas. At present, 55 per cent of the gas produced in T&T goes to the LNG trains in Point Fortin. NGC owns 10 per cent in Train 1 and 11 per cent in Train 4. 

The purchase of the French-based global energy operator Total’s Exploration and Production (E&P) assets, priced at US$473 million, which was finalised last September 30, “allowed NGC to have a 30 per cent shareholding in Block 2 (c) and an 8.5 per cent in Block 3(a), which allows a production capacity of approximately 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and a gas volume of 220 MMscf/d,” he said.

In addition. NGC had deepened its involvement in the upstream business which comprises a 10 per cent shareholding in the South East Coast Consortium (SECC), 20 per cent shareholding in Trintomar and 15 per cent ownership of  the Teak, Samaan and Poui oilfields located east of Mayaro.
Maharaj said NGC has 120 light industrial customers who get natural gas at subsidized prices. 

Half of the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the Caribbean find their way to T&T. “This is because of T&T’s petrochemical sector  and also the country is known for its insurance and banking sector, so most of the FDI go towards insurance, banking, petrochemical and value added,” said Tobias Schulze Frenking, lecturer, MBA International  Trade, Logistics and Procurement at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business.

Speaking at the launch of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (Unctad) 2015 World Investment Report yesterday, Frenking said foreign investors usually evaluate the political stability of a country.

“Political stability is one of the major drivers of foreign direct investment inflows and certainly a change of government can cause some disruption in that stability. So there may be some investors opposed to investing just before a political change may occur. There may be some disruptions but I would not say that the political climate is the only factor that contributes,” he said, adding that macroeconomic indicators also play an important role in investments.

“The monetary policy of the T&T Central Bank is one of the main drivers of macro economic policies at the national level. With regard to interest rates it may crowd out some investors locally but as we talk about FDI, that should not have any major impact on the investments,” Frenking said.
Videsh Maharaj, senior investment specialist at the Ministry of Trade, said from 2011 to 2014 T&T attracted on average US$2 billion.

Osei Wright-Alexis, senior investor sourcing officer at invesTT, quoting from the Unctad 2015 Report, said globally FDI declined by 15 per cent to US$1.2 trillion last year. He attributed this to the fragility of the world economy.

Overall market activity resulted from trading in ten securities of which one advanced, four declined and five traded firm.

Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 84,981 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $1,957,000.25. Flavorite Foods Ltd was the volume leader with 31,511 shares changing hands for a value of $151,252.80, followed by First Citizens Bank Ltd with a volume of 23,388 shares being traded for $835,951.60. Sagicor Financial Corporation contributed 15,237 shares with a value of $95,234.25, while ANSA McAL Ltd added 9,222 shares valued at $620,179.50.

Scotiabank T&T Ltd enjoyed the day’s sole price increase, climbing $0.03 to end the day at $62.19. 

Anyone who dis-approves of franchise cricket will not be too happy tonight, as it may well be a case of T&T versus T&T in the Caribbean Premier League T20 tournament.

When Dwayne Bravo and his men run out to battle the Barbados Tridents they would see Rayad Emrit, Keiron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Akeal Hosein and Navin Stewart in blue. Five players from T&T are on the Barbados Tridents team and even the captain is Trini, in the form of Keiron Pollard.

The Tridents would start as favourites in this clash having won their two games in emphatic fashion thus far. Red Steel’s only outing was against St Lucia Zouks and they were left to chase a huge 180 to win their game, when rain forced an abandonment. 

Tridents the defending champions have been playing good cricket under the leadership of Pollard and took away a comfortable 49-run win over last season’s runners-up Guyana Amazon Warriors. They then defeated the Jamaican Tallawahs with Chris Gayle on board by 16 runs on Tuesday night, also at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Manager of the T&T Red Steel Colin Borde believes that his team has the quality to topple Tridents at their home venue. “They are currently the inform team, they have showed that with two very good victories but every game is a new one and once we get to match time, we will be going all out to dominate and win.

“The more time the guys have spent together, the better they are playing, having a look at them in training, they are coming along really nicely and this is a good sign.

“The senior players have taken charge and the atmosphere around the camp is great. The guys have being working very hard since arriving in Barbados, the good thing is that they have knowledge of each other and how quickly they transfer that to the foreign players is critical.

“We are up against a quality captain and a quality opposition so we have to be switched on from ball one to the final ball. Focus is the key in these games and we have men who have played the game all over the world, so understanding what is needed in certain conditions should be no problems.”

Red Steel will be hoping to pick up a win on the road and will be hoping that the elements stay away. The weather forecast for Bridgetown for Thursday night is cloudy but no rain expected. This is welcome news for the T&T Red Steel, as well as the Tridents who will be looking to keep that 100 percent win record at home.

The T&T Red Steel will keep a team meeting around lunch time today at the Hilton Barbados, where the team will be finalised and game strategy worked on.

Teams:

T&T Red Steel: Dwayne Bravo (capt), William Perkins, Cameron Delport, Kamran Akmal, Jacques Kallis, Yohan Botha, Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree, Derone Davis, Miguel Cummins, Javon Searles, Jason Mohammed, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Kevon Cooper. Head coach Simon Helmot, assistants David Williams and Imran Jan.

Barbados Tridents: Keiron Pollard (capt), Ravi Rampaul, Navin Stewart, Akeal Hosein, Rayad Emrit, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Shai Hope, Dilshan Munaweera, Dwayne Smith, Jason Holder, Jeevan Mendis, Kyle Corbin, Shoaib Malik and Robin Petersen. Coach Robin Singh, manager Desmond Haynes.

RED STEEL/TRIDENTS HEAD TO HEAD 

2013 at Kensington Oval: T&T Red Steel 52 all out (12.5ovs)(D Jacobs 13, Ross Taylor 11, Shakib Al Hasan 6/6, Shannon Gabriel 2/18, Jason Holder 2/19) vs Barbados Tridents 53/6 (Jonathan Carter 14, Fidel Edwards 5/22) - Barbados Tridents won by 4 wkts.

2014 at Grenada: Barbados Tridents 124/6 (20)(Shane Dowrich 37, Shoaib Malik 21, Jason Holder 17no, Dwayne Bravo 2/17, Kevin O’Brien 2/6) vs T&T Red Steel 125/3 (17.3ovs)(Ross Taylor 62, Darren Bravo 54no, R Rampaul 2/18) - Red Steel won by 7 wkts.

2014 at St Kitts: Barbados Tridents 174/5 (20ovs)(Raymond Reifer 65no, Shoaib Malik 35, Keiron Pollard 34, William Perkins 24, Samuel Badree 2/20) vs T&T Red Steel 105 all out (Nicolas Pooran 33, Jason Holder 4/27, R Emrit 3/23) - Tridents won by 69 runs.

TRIDENTS LEAD RED STEEL 2-1.

BRIDGETOWN—Barbados Tridents posted a comprehensive 16 run win over Jamaica Tallawahs to record their second straight victory in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) at Kensington Over here on Tuesday.

Dwayne Smith slammed a half century and Robin Peterson, with significant breakthroughs in a three wicket haul, were key contributors as the champions outplayed the challengers in front of a packed oval.

Smith featured in two half century partnerships, the foundation to Tridents 161 for 4 after they won the toss and elected to bat.

Tallawahs lost Chris Gayle cheaply and slid to 50 for three before Chris Lynn and Horace Miller staged a recovery until wickets tumbled again leaving them 145 for nine when the overs ran out.

Tridents started briskly with Smith and Dilshan Munaweera producing a half century for the first wicket which ended when Munaweera was bowled by Rusty Theron for 24.

Smith, who executed a number of skillful shots that earned him five fours and two sixes, top scored with 56.

He shared in a solid half century partnership for the second wicket with Shoaib Malik who batted responsibly throughout the innings to be unbeaten on 43.

But the Tridents opener, Smith, could do little to dig out a delivery from Andre Russell which was pitched in the block hole.

Tridents innings received another boost in the closing overs as a result of an inspiring cameo from Jonathan Carter who scored 17 which included two sixes of Krishmar Santokie.

Tallawahs found themselves struggling with just 50 runs on the board, three batsmen back in the dug-out nearly halfway through the chase.

Gayle, attempting to hit a delivery from Rayad Emrit out of the stadium, skied the ball to cover as Jason Holder back peddled a few yards to take a fine catch.

However it was the outstanding Peterson with his spin bowling that rocked the top order taking two wickets in three balls to send the visitors in turmoil.

Peterson first removed Chadwick Walton for 23 as the opener lost his stumps while attempting to play a tossed up delivery.

Then he conspired with Carter behind the stumps to dislodge the bails of Mahela Jayawardene who was not to the pitch of the ball while attempting a cover shot.

Lynn and Miller teamed up to repair the innings by putting on a half century stand for the third wicket.

But when Peterson, who finished with top figures of three for 26, cut short the reign of Lynn for a well-played 37, highlighted by a couple of fours and sixes, the momentum had swung decisively Tridents way.

The last five wickets tumbled for just 44 runs as Kieron Pollard and Ravi Rampaul upset the lower order with two wickets apiece while Emrit also bagged two.

An enterprising cameo by Santokie in the final over brought Tallawahs within range of victory.

Santokie, scored 13, and his consecutive sixes of Emrit brought Tallawahs within 17 runs of the target with three balls remaining.

But Emrit held his nerve, removed Santokie, while Nikita Miller faced the final delivery without scoring.

SCOREBOARD 

Barbados Tridents vs Jamaica Tallawahs 

Barbados Tridents inns

D Smith b Russell 56 

D Munaweera c Russell b Theron 24 

Shoaib Malik not out 43 

K Pollard c Theron b Santokie 5 

J Carter c Russell b Taylor 17 

J Holder not out 9 

Extras (lb 3, w 4) 7 

Total (4 wickets;20 overs ) 161 

Fall of wickets 1-57 (Munaweera), 2-117 (Smith), 3-128 (Pollard), 4-147 (Carter)

Bowling: Santokie 4-0-47-1,Vettori 2-0-15-0, Taylor 4-0-32-1,Theron 4-0-19-1, Miller 2-0-15-0, Russell 4-0-30-1.

Jamaica Tallawahs inns

C Walton b Peterson 23 

C Gayle c Holder b Emrit 9 

C Lynn c sub (KAM Corbin) b Peterson 37 

M Jayawardene st †Carter b Peterson 0 

H Miller c Stewart b Pollard 30 

D Vettori c sub (KAM Corbin) b Pollard 1 

A Russell c Pollard b Rampaul 12 

J Theron c Holder b Rampaul 4 

J Taylor not out 6 

K Santokie c †Carter b Emrit 13 

N Miller not out 0 

Extras (b 4, w 6) 10 

Total (9 wickets; 20 overs 145 

Fall of wickets 1-38 (Gayle), 2-50 (Walton), 3-50 (Jayawardene), 4-101 (Lynn), 5-103 (Vettori), 6-118 (Russell), 7-124 (H Miller), 8-127 (Theron), 9-145 (Santokie)

Bowling: Holder 4-0-31-0, Rampaul 4-0-21-2, Emrit 4-0-30-2, Peterson 4-0-26-3, Stewart 1-0-12-0,Pollard 3-0-21-2.

Result: Tridents won by 16 runs

Points: Barbados Tridents 2, Jamaica Tallawahs 0

Toss: Barbados Tridents.

Umpires: N Duguid and M Martell; TV P Nero

The trio of Alexandria Donahue, Abraham Mc Leod and Jeron Thompson won gold for T&T on Tuesday’s opening night of finals at the 2015 edition of the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre, Wildey, Christchurch, Barbados.

Donahue, winner of two golds at the 2013 CCCAN in San Jose, Costa Rica was the first to pick up precious gold for T&T, in the 13th event of the afternoon when she outswam her rivals in the 18 & Over girls 100m breaststroke in one minute, 14.65 minutes, to beat Dominican Republic duo, Madison Pujadas (1:15.49) and Vanessa Rivas (1:15.60) into second and third respectively. Suriname’s Evita Leter, the only other competitor in the final was fourth home in 1:16.14.

One of three Mc Leod brothers representing T&T at the five-day meet which concludes on Saturday, Abraham won the 18 & Over boys 100m breaststroke in one minute, 05.27 seconds well ahead of Puerto Rican Carlos Sierra (1:05.86) and Costa Rica’s Arnaldo Herrera who took bronze in 1:06.33.

However, the best was yet to came as Thompson was then involved in perhaps the greatest swim in the history of the meet when he was involved in a three-way tie for the gold medal in the 13-14 boys 50m freestyle.

The trio of Thompson, Grenada’s Delron Felix and Puerto Rican Andrew Acosta, all 14-year-olds, miraculously raced home in 25.01 seconds while T&T’s other entrant in the final, Kael Yorke was seventh in 25.77.

USA-based youngster Gabriela Donahue earned T&T’s first medal of the championship, silver, in the 11-12 girls 100m backstroke with a time of 1:08.07 minutes to trail Barbadian Danielle Titus who won in a record mark of 1:07.14. Honduran Carmen Velasquez was third in 1:10.39.

Graham Chatoor picked up a silver medal for T&T, in the 13-14 boys 1500m freestyle in 17.08

Kael Yorke, was fourth in the 13-14 boys 100m backstroke in one minute, 04.33 seconds; Jeron Thompson was also one placed out of the medals in the 13-14 boys 200m individual medley in 2:17.40, while Vrisnelit Faure ended eighth in the 13-14 girls 200m individual medley in 2:40.36.

Florida-based Alexandria Donahue, winner of two gold medals at the last CCCAN outing in Costa Rica two years, was favoured to take gold in the 18 & Over girls 200m individual, but she was disqualified in the six-swimmer final.

Last night, T&T had a chance to add to its medal tally with a host of swimmers qualifying from their respective morning preliminary heats to finals.

In the 100m backstroke, Ariel Cape (15-17 girls) qualified for her final as only eight swimmers were listed to compete while Justin Samlalsingh was fourth (1:02.35) and Bradley Thomas, fifth (1:02.60) in the 15-17 boys heats, and in the 18 & Over boys, David Mc Leod (59.28) and Christian Awah (1:03.07) were the first and sixth fastest qualifiers.

Among the contingent to line up in the 100m butterfly medal events were Racine Ross (1:05.35) and Faure (1:08.24) who were first and sixth in the 13-14 girls heats; top qualifier Yorke (1:02.01) in the boys equivalent and in the 18 & Over boys, Joshua Mc Leod (58.27) in fourth while Awah (1:01.21) ended 14th.

Faure also booked a spot in the 200m breaststroke gold splash after she was seventh best in the heats in 2:57.45; Luke Gillette qualified automatically for the 13-14 boys splash, and likewise Donahue (A) in the four-women final.

The younger Donahue was also carded to line-up in the 100m breaststroke final as the top seed with a time of 1:18.39; Jada Chatoor, the 11-12 girls 400m freestyle as the seventh fastest in 4:54.34, and Aqeel Joseph, the 11-12 boys 200m butterfly four-man final.

The meet continues today with heats in the 200m freestyle relay, 50m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 50m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m freestyle and 800m freestyle relay events ahead of the respective finals in this afternoon’s second session of the day. 

Madame Butterfly to star in the Maiden Stakes over seven furlongs of ‘good to firm’ Newcastle tonight, one of the main Northern circuit attractions which will look somewhat different next year. Graham Gibbons rides, again.

This fantastic, galloping, course is about to be dug up and replaced with an artifical Tapeta surface, which is already laid around Wolverhampton; we’ll lose such prestige races as the Northumberland Plate, Gosforth Sprint, which have been synonymous with this left-handed North-Eastern circuit but, given what has happened down the past few years, in these days of rapidly-declining standards, to hell with tradition, the bedrock of our English racing scene. 

The plan of Arena Racing, owners of (too!) many English racetracks is to install floodlights down the straight mile, can you imnagine anything more ludicrous? Viewing will be farcical but, of course, there will be an abundance on TV’s in the stands; will locals bother on a cold, windswept evening knowing they can switch on the telly and watch Attheraces racing channel?

Attendance figures will be interesting! In a perfect punting world I’d back thoroughbreds with good chances only when Gibbons is aboard! ‘Pound for pound’ there is absolutely no doubt ‘GG’ is the equal of any jockey on this planet; for instance David Barron has entrusted Gibbons with several major ‘projects’ and gained tremendous reward; no one shrewder than the Thirsk maestro, take note.

David O’Meara is also smitten and booked Graham when Madame Butterfly made an auspicious debut eighteen days ago; as you’d expect from such a beautifully-named filly she produced an impressive performance. A replication will suffice and that applies to once-raced, Richard Hannon-trained, Alsaaden in the Maiden 2-y-o Stakes over six furlongs at Doncaster, which kicks off another seven-race programme.

All boxes are ticked for Alsaaden; don’t oppose unless you know something that no one else knows. Hopefully we’ll have a ‘jumping special’ at Cartmel and so don’t hesitate to click onto www.dailyearner.co.uk for updates; Always be ready!

Several high-profile clashes will feature at this year’s NGC/Sagicor NAAA Open Track and Field Championships set to get underway at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo from today to Sunday. 

The sprinting events again hold the spotlight with the women’s 100m taking centre stage slightly ahead of the men. The match up between defending ladies sprint champion Michelle-Lee Ahye (Unattached) and 2011 World Championships bronze medallist and national record holder Kelly-Ann Baptiste  (Zenith) is a mouth-watering one. Ahye took the 2014 crown in 10.88 after running 10.85 in the semifinals while Baptiste won the 2012 and 2013 titles. 

The top two have already dipped below 11 seconds for the year with Ahye recording an impressive 10.97 (2.5m/s head wind) win at the Florida Relays, USA on April 3 with Baptiste clocking 10.98 to take the Tom Jones Memorial on April 24. Baptiste also recorded 11.00 and 11.08 clockings on May 16 which Lee also posted 11.05 in her Beijing World Challenge triumph. 

With their season’s best time Ahye and Baptiste are ranked ninth and tenth in the world respectively. However, Ahye has not raced since pulling up in the Diamond League Eugene 100m event earlier this month.  

Behind the top two the race for bronze seem to be led by Reyare Thomas (Abilene Wildcats) who is the next best ranked T&T’s female sprinter at 144th following 11.44 clocking to finish second at the Barbados National Championships on June 20. Other top eight contenders are Olympic finalist Semoy Hackett (Zenith), 2014 World Relay bronze medallists Kai Selvon (Air Bon Sonics) and  Kamaria Durant (Simplex), World Junior finalists Aaliyah Telesford (Pt Fortin New Jets) and Zakiya Denoon (Zenith).

Former World Indoor  60m bronze Tahesia Harrigan Scott (BVI) and compatriot Karene King will lead the list for foreign competitors who are expected to face the starters in the heats set for this evening with the semifinals and finals carded for tomorrow. Athletes from St Kitts Nevis and Guyana have also registered to compete in a field of 33 competitors.

Bledman vs Thompson 

In the men’s 100m, defending champion and 2008 Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson (Rebirth) heads a list of 86 entrants.  Thompson won the 2014 title in a national record of 9.82 ahead of Keston Bledman (Simplex), the 2013 winner. Bledman had the best time for the year among local sprinters with his 10.01 clocking in winning at the Tom Jones Invitational in Florida on April 24. 

Thompson is next with 10.04 in taking the LSU Alumni Gold title in Louisiana, USA  on April 18. Jamol James (Memphis Pioneers) is third best with 10.15 with veteran and former champion Marc Burns (Rebirth), Rondel Sorillo (La Brea) next on 10.17. All are favoured to advanced to the finals. 

Emmanuel Callender (Memphis Pioneers), national double junior champion Jonathan Farinha (Abilene Wildcats) as well are former World Junior champion Darrel Brown (Abilene Wildcats) are similarly expected to qualify for the medal round. A strong trio from St Kitts Nevis (Antoine Adams, Allister Clarke, Brijesh Lawrence) and Barbadian Levi Cadogan lead the cast of foreigner competitors.

Cedenio vs the rest 

The men’s 400m promises to be another marque event with the second and third fastest men’s in world scheduled to battle for the gold. Reigning World Junior champion Machel Cedenio (Simplex) and a multiple NCAA winner Deon Lendore (Abilene Wildcats) raced to  fast 44.36 and 44.41 clockings earlier in the season. However, reports suggest that Lendore may skip the meet. 

Nevertheless with sub-46 seconds clockings already for the season  double Olympic and Commonwealth bronze medallist Lalonde Gordon (Nike)-45.50, former World Junior champion Renny Quow (Zenith)-45.57 and Olympic and Commonwealth relay bronze medallist Jarrin Solomon (Memphis Pioneers) -45.62 all will make for an exciting and quality race. Jereem Richards (Abilene Wildcats), with his pb run of 45.91, is not among the starters.  Reigning Olympic champion and world leader Kirani James (Grenada) was announced by the NAAA as a possible starter.

However his name has not appeared on the preliminary list of entries on the NAAA’s website.

The women’s 400m will be headlined by defending champion Janeil Bellille (Abilene Wildcats) who set a new national record of 51.83 in her victory last year. The 2008 World Junior 400m hurdles silver medallist will be tested by another hurdler Sparkle McKnight (Memphis Pioneers) as well Romona Modeste (Abilene Wildcats), Magnolia Howell (Unattached), Alena Brooks (Memphis Pioneers).  Kineke Alexander (SVG) is among three foreigners in the 23 member field. The 400m heats are set for Friday with the finals carded for Saturday.

The men’s 10,000m is listed as the first final (to be held on Friday evening) of the championships where three competitors (Mark Lee Son-Unattached, Jameel Cupidore-UTT and Kenyan Kenneth Rotich).

The first field event final is the women’s hammer throw where defending champion Tamara Louis will lead a field of only Toco TAFAC competitors in the event, including national under 20 winner Malika Elcock. National record holder Emmanuel Stewart (Zenith) is among six vying for gold in the men’s event. Veteran coach and International Technical official John Andalcio  will lead four Toco TAFAC competitors.

In the men’s shot put national record holder Akeem Stewart (Tobago Falcons) will be up against several former Carifta champions. Carifta Boys under 20 winner two years ago Hezekiel Romeo (Rebirth) and 2011  and 2012 boys under 17 gold medallist Shevorne Worrell (UTT) and  Kenejah Williams (Tobago Falcons) are in a field of nine throwers.

Among the ten ladies in the women’s event is multiple Commonwealth and Pan American games medallist Cleopatra Borel (Rebirth) who will face this year’s Carifta girls under 20 victrix Portious Warren (Toco TAFAC), three time Carifta champ Chelsea James (Tobago Falcons) and World Masters gold medallists Geraldine George and Gwendolyn Smith, both of Palo Seco.

The men’s long jump will feature this year’s Carifta boys under 20 Andwuelle Wright (Rebirth), national junior triple jump record holder Elton Walcott (UTT), former NCAA triple jump medallist Kyron Blaise (Rebirth) in a field of 20 competitors.

Reigning Olympic javelin Keshorn Walcott (Rebirth) is the overwhelming favourite in the men’s javelin following his back to back national record throws in the IAAF Diamond League earlier this month. Walcott’s club mate, former Carifta champion, Shakeil Waithe will lead the battle for the silver medal. This year’s Carifta boys under 18 gold medallist and record holder Tyriq Horsford is among seven Zenith competitors in a field of 13.

Reigning World champion Jehue Gordon (Memphis Pioneers) heads the entries in the men’s 400m hurdles.  Gordon already booked his spot to this year’s World Championships in Beijing, China from August 22-30 as defending champion are automatic qualifiers. CAC Senior champion two years ago Emmanuel Mayers (Rebirth) and World Junior sprint hurdles finalist Reubin Walters (Memphis Pioneers) are among the nine starters.

GROS ISLET—St Lucia Zouks were brilliant all-round, crushing the hapless St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by seven wickets on Wednesday night to win handily and atone for the disappointment for their first-game washout last weekend. Playing in the fourth game of the Caribbean Premier League at the Beausejour Cricket Stadium, Patriots were restricted to 149 for six off 20 overs despite captain Marlon Samuels’ unbeaten 52.

And Johnson Charles then blasted an unbeaten 69 to propel Zouks to their target in the 16th over, to notch their first win after rain ruined their contest against Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel on Sunday. Opting to bat first, Patriots slumped to 19 for four in the fifth over after fast bowlers Shannon Gabriel and Fidel Edwards wrecked the top order.

Gabriel, voted Man-of-the-Match, finished with three for 19 from his four overs while Edwards claimed two for 29, with the two combining to snare the first four wickets. The slide started when Evin Lewis dragged on to Edwards in the second over without scoring with eight runs on the board and his opening partner Martin Guptill (14) was taken at short line leg by Kemar Roach off Gabriel in the following over with the score on 17 for two.

In the next over, Orlando Peters’ upper cut found Henry Davids’ safe hands on the third man ropes before he had scored and Patriots were in turmoil when Shane Dowrich clipped an ordinary delivery from Gabriel to Kyle Mayers at short mid-wicket to depart for two. Samuels came to his side’s rescue, anchoring two key stands to see Patriots up to a respectable total.

The right-hander put on 78 for the fifth wicket with Devon Thomas who hit a run-a-ball 34 with a four and three sixes, and also added a further 50 in an unbroken seventh wicket stand with Pakistani Sohail Tanvir whose 26 came from 21 balls and included two fours and a six. Samuels’ innings was invaluable, as he counted four fours and three sixes in his 37-ball stay at the crease.

However, any hopes of a Patriots victory were quickly erased as Charles and opening partner Andre Fletcher snatched the game away with an opening stand of 81 off 53 balls. The right-handed Charles smashed three fours and five sixes off 44 deliveries while Fletcher, also right-handed, hit seven fours and a six in his 48 off 30 balls.

Zouks wobbled, however, losing Fletcher and Mayers (2) in successive overs in the space of five balls, to slip to 85 for two in the 10th over. Kevin Pietersen entertained briefly with a two fours and a six in 18 off 12 balls before being bowled by off-spinner Nikhil Dutta at 120 for three in the 13th over. But Charles saw Zouks safely home, dominating an unbroken 30-run, fourth wicket stand with New Zealander Ross Taylor who was unbeaten on four at the end.

Scoreboard

ST KITTS AND NEVIS PATRIOTS
M Guptill c Roach b Gabriel     14
E Lewis b Edwards     0
O Peters c Davids b Edwards     0
S Dowrich c Mayers b Gabriel       2
M Samuels not out     52
D Thomas c Leie b Sammy     34
Shahid Afridi lbw b Gabriel     1
Sohail Tanvir not out     26
Extras   (b4, lb2, w14)     20
TOTAL (6 wkts, 20 overs)     149
Did not bat: N Dutta, S Cottrell, T Shamsi.
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Lewis), 2-17 (Guptill), 3-19 (Peters), 4-19 (Dowrich), 5-97 (Thomas), 6-99 (Shahid Afridi)
Bowling: Gabriel 4-0-19-3 (w4), Edwards 4-0-29-2, Roach 4-0-37-0 (w3), Leie 4-0-16-0 (w3), Mayers 2-0-19-0 (w2), Sammy 2-0-23-1.

ST LUCIA ZOUKS
+A Fletcher c wkp Thomas b Dutta     48
J Charles not out     69
K Mayers c Cottrell b Shamsi     2
K Pietersen b Dutta     18
R Taylor not out     4
Extras (lb1, w8)     9
TOTAL (3 wkts, 15.4 overs)     150
Did not bat: H Davids,     D Sammy, S Gabriel, K Roach, F Edwards, E Leie
Fall of wickets: 1-81 (Fletcher), 2-85 (Mayers), 3-120 (Pietersen)
Bowling: Sohail 3-0-21-0, Cottrell 2-0-30-0 (w1), Afridi 2-0-26-1, Dutta 4-0-32-2 (w4), Shamsi 4-0-40-1 (w2)

Result: St Lucia Zouks won by seven wickets.
Man-of-the-Match: Shannon Gabriel.
Points: St Lucia Zouks 2, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 0
Toss: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
Umpires: P Gustard, J Ward; TV – J Wilson.

The Caribbean has waited with bated breath to find out the outcome of the row between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Well fans can go about their Friday afternoon cool down rather than wait for news from the 2pm press conference today because both parties yesterday failed to come to a decision concerning the re-establishment of ties.

Cricketing ties have broken down between the two bodies after the West Indies team aborted their tour of India last October due to a payment structure dispute with the WICB. The team led by Dwayne Bravo left the tour after the fourth one day international in the mountains of Dharamshala. At that point the Indians were leading the series 2-1 with one match to play at Kolkata. The WICB did not send a team for the three-Test series and Sri Lankan filled the voice by playing a limited overs series against the Indians.

After the debacle the BCCI requested a payment of US$41.97m from the WICB in damages and suspended all bi-lateral tours between the two nations. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is currently keeping their annual general meeting in Barbados and the WICB and BCCI used the opportunity to meet yesterday to discuss the problem. It was the first time that both parties met after the aborted tour.

T&T Guardian approached secretary of the BCCI, Anurag Thakur Singh at the Barbados Hilton yesterday and he said :”We just held the meeting with the West Indies Board and there is nothing we can report. No decision has been made, so we are going to look at helping West Indies cricket but no decision has been made as to the aborted tour “

Earlier this month vice-president of the WICB, Emannual Nanton said that there will be something to report positively on the situation about at the end of this month but the Indians are singing a different song. It is understood that the BCCI has some requests that was put before the WICB and the directors who are here in Barbados will have to make a decision as to whether they abide or it, or allow the stalemate to continue.

The Indian cricket team is due to tour the West Indies next year and if the situation is not resolved in a timely manner, the WICB could lose out big time in terms of profits for such a lucrative tour.

What do you get when a skilled flautist decides he wants to enhance a performance with simultaneous vocal percussion? You get—fluteboxing—a portmanteau word blending of the elements of flute and beatbox. Though this is not unique or original to musician Providence Brown, this skill made him a sought-after performer in South East Asia where this Pleasantville, San Fernando native exploited his art for more than a decade from the mid-1990s.

Brown returned to Trinidad in 2012 and has since been married, opened a restaurant and still performs. He spoke to the Guardian recently on his travels in Asia, and his experiences could be a guidebook for the modern Trinidadian music artiste looking to become a global player in our evolving music industry.

Lesson number one: it’s not who you know, but who knows you. After many years playing with Ras Shorty I & the Love Circle throughout the 1980s including on the seminal track Watch Out My Children, Brown got a call from Junia Regrello of Skiffle fame, that a contact—a music booking agent in Malaysia—was looking for a Caribbean band to play in clubs there. Regrello, thinking that his flute-playing buddy could fit the bill convinced him to give it a try. After some travel document sourcing and a 15-hour flight from London, Brown was plunked into the active hotel club music scene in bustling Kuala Lumpur in 1993.

First thrust into a reggae band Dread Iration, the then dreadlocked Brown fit the picture, and travelled with the band to neighbouring Singapore performing extended gigs at hotel clubs in that bustling commercial hub to expats and locals alike. After a member of the band balked at a touring opportunity among universities in Wales, the decision to move to another band Chill Factor arose, and Brown was on the fast track to growing recognition.

With that band, he toured the South East Asian countries of Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia reaching as far as Taiwan, Hong Kong and ultimately Australia. Language was never a barrier in those countries as English was becoming the lingua franca of the region. The live music scene there was active and constant, but according to Brown, the economics didn’t seem to jibe perfectly with his needs.

“I made money, but it never seemed to be enough to save,” says a reflective Brown. “The promoters always lavished us with fine hotel accommodations and food, but the money never took you very far.” 

Another issue that played on his mind and is a constant fallback point in our conversation was the lack of support from Trinidad. “I was an ambassador, and there was no help from the country or embassy.” In 2006, former PM Manning announced the intention of having a new mission in Kuala Lumpur. T&T still has no diplomatic missions in the region, with the T&T Embassy only being established in China in 2013.

Harsh reality made for another move. Brown moved to a third band, and one that would have an impact on his career beyond simple hotel club gigs. Common Culture was the band that allowed Brown to compose, record and produce music videos, a couple of which are on YouTube: Vibes, a funky new jack swing. 

A multi-national outfit with musicians from Africa, the Caribbean and Malaysia, this band was a fertile proving ground for making music that had impact culminating with the band receiving an award in Bangkok for being the number one band in the club scene. From the context of the modern T&T attempting, yet again, to retrofit the idea of a music industry with international appeal via state apparatus and mandates, the hard-earned experience of those foreign musicians, far from home, making it is a case study worthy of analysis and marked emulation. 

Brown noted that there is intense competition among instrumentalist in the South East Asian hotel club circuit, which forced the idea of diversifying and innovating his repertoire. Along with the flute, he played the steelpan and percussion, but his greatest commercial hook was to come from seeing a video on the Internet of rhythm flute pioneers RadioActive of the band Spearhead, and Tim Barsky beatboxing while simultaneously playing the pan-flute and concert flute, respectively. He saw potential where there was a void.

After meeting a beatbox artiste in Malaysia who wanted to learn the flute, they exchanged ideas and skill sets as Brown wanted to learn beatboxing as a precursor to fluteboxing. It took Brown months to learn it. 

“Timing and rhythm are the most important things to know about flutebox,” notes Brown. Tongue, lips teeth, that guttural grunt, exhalation, hissing, all mimic drum and percussion sounds. That rapid exhalation to create vocal rhythm has to balance with the subtle embouchure changes, whispers and soft blowing to create the sound of rhythmic flute. As if that was not enough to enchant, he would also combine short bursts of spoken word passages in between the flute music.

Brown was in a unique position in the region. Literally. As fortune would have it, the band Common Culture was at the point of demise as he grew into a skilled fluteboxer, segueing into a career as a solo act, sometimes performing with the hugely respected Malaysian master drummer Lewis Pragasam or Brazilian percussionist Valtinho Anastacio, performing jazz in a duet configuration, and often with a DJ in the number one club in Kuala Lumpur, the legendary No Black Tie. In demand on the circuit, he was able to get performance opportunities at the internationally famous F1 race events for BMW and Mercedes in the city from 2006-2009.

Malaysia, Brown’s home base at the time, seemed to be the ideal launching pad for a music career with no rear-view mirror back to the Caribbean. He was performing for prime ministers and on stages with international music stars like Jocelyn Brown, he had formed a production company that was working for him providing with work in recordings and live performance.

But the question that lingered was why would he give all that up and return to Trinidad where a state plan of action to re-activate the music industry by making it “commercially viable and attractive to the private sector, so the private sector would take over” remained moribund.

His simple answer was that “he wasn’t going anywhere despite making money.” His other explanation was revealing a larger picture not consumed locally. The unenduring circumstance of religious government weighed heavily on any future for Brown In Malaysia. Islam is central to and dominant in Malay culture. Providence Brown was living a Naipaulian reality. He was among the believers! The government considered his music haram. Something had to give.

The return from exile was not bittersweet though. Married now, and dread locks long gone, he is enhancing his skills even further with piano studies alongside teaching and doing workshops. After 32 years in music, Providence Brown is plotting his new path that includes a new band D Network Company Band featuring Marlon Modeste on keys, Glen Dixon on guitar. He is finding his feet in the local industry, but with a wealth of practical experience in the world of music beyond the boundary, his worth is yet to be fully achieved.

© 2015, Nigel A Campbell. All Rights Reserved.

As a popular politician recently quipped, “this is just the tip of the iceberg,” the just held Political Calypso Convention, held at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, is but the tip of the sno-cone, when the semifinals of the National Political Calypso Monarch Competition is held at Skinner Park, San Fernando, on July 5. Apart from the acidic wit and criticism of the present government by pro-opposition political and social calypso commentators, the audience can also expect lots of chutney political lyrical fireworks in defence of the ruling People’s Partnership government.

Four top chutney music stalwarts with songs in support of the PP government were selected for the July 5 semis. Heading the list of four is Massive Gosine, no stranger to controversy and often bitter, his lyrical style has in the past drawn very volatile reactions from audiences, attacking in song singers who support the People’s National Movement. Also representing the chutney fraternity are singer/comedian Kenneth Supersad along with Brian Mohan and Edward Ramdass.  

Among the calypso superstars making it to the semis is former Political Monarch Cro Cro, who has indicated that for this competition he will be expelling all the frustrations he has bottled up for the last five years. In his composition in the elimination round of the competition, the diminutive past national monarch said, “this People’s Partnership Government is the worst government this country has ever seen.”  

Another semifinalist for July 5 is 2011 National Calypso Monarch Karene Asche who won that year with her song Uncle Jack. Just last week she returned to the studio with her songwriter Christophe Grant and producer Leston Paul to record a sequel titled Uncle Jack Part 3: The Final Chapter. Asche is promising this new version will be more abrasive and funnier than the original and previous sequel.

Another National Calypso Monarch, Pink Panther, is also seeking to win the title, while also securing some votes for his party of choice, the PNM. Reigning National Calypso Monarch Roderick “Chucky” Gordon, who just recently returned home from a very successful European tour, is another artiste to watch to win it all.

Billed to make guest appearances at the semifinal are SuperBlue and Mr Shak. At the bullpen eliminations, almost 200 calypsonians and chutney artistes vied to make it to the semifinal. Thirty-two made the cut. Competition promoters are offering an impressive $500,000 in prizes for the grand final, scheduled for Saturday, August 22, in Port-of-Spain.

People seeking to purchase tickets for July 5 semis can purchase them at Cache’s, Gulf City Mall; Xtrafoods, Grand Bazaar; Cleve’s, Port-of-Spain; Velini’s Drugmart,  Sutton Street, San Fernando and, Laxmi Jewellers, High Street, San Fernando. 

Kaiso Blues on an up note
Patrons attending last Friday night’s The Roots of Kaiso & Blues, held at Kaiso Blues Cafe, at 85 Woodford Street, Newtown, left the showplace on a high having been treated to an outstanding performance by veteran musician Pelham Goddard and some of his friends. Joining the Charlie’s Roots musical director were former Roots colleagues Vonrick Maynard, and vocalists Natalie Yorke and Moricia Cagan, further joined by saxophonist Malcolm Boyce, Oslyn Pompie, Jevan Ochoe and vocalist Jason “Fridge” Seecharan.

With Boyce doubling up as show host, the aggregation set the mood by playing Wine Light and People make the world go round, a prelude to Seecharan, formerly of H2O Phlo, crooning Easy, Lovely day and When somebody loves you back. He was then joined by Yorke to combine in a delightful duet of From now on duet, a single made immortal by Carl and Carol Jacobs.

Seecharan then exited stage right to leave Yorke in the dimly lit venue to sing My love, Alfie, I say a little prayer and Make it easy on yourself. With the attention of all patrons now rivetted on the stage a brief intermission was called. 

The show resumed with the aggregation playing Close to You, ushering the entrance of Cagan, a past Digicel Rising Star winner. Randy Crawford’s One day I’ll fly away was her opening item, followed by Our day will come, a million-selling number one in 1963. Cagan then upped the vibes with Sade’s Smooth Operator and Etta James’ At last. Returning to her roots, Cagan rounded off her performance by singing GB’s Calypso Rising.

For a finale PG and his friends played the Quincy Jones calssic One Hundred ways, sending patrons off to bed fully satisfied and in the mood for.....

Welcome to Pepe’s Cafe
For July 2015 the Playwrights Workshop Readers Theatre Series will feature a new stage play by Ronald John – Pepe’s Cafe.  At this quaint little spot in the city of Port-of-Spain, people come to have a drink and listen to Pepe, who always has a love story to tell. More than anything else they come looking for romance.                

John is a veteran Playwright/Director who has been a major contributor to the evolving theatre movement in T&T. He has written and staged many plays. In November 2009, his play, Dance me lover, opened to gala fanfare at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port-of-Spain. 

 On a stint in New York, between 1995 and 2000, John was able to stage his play, Masquerade, in Manhattan. Also, as a supporting off-Broadway actor, he appeared in Mustapha Matura's, Playboy of the West Indies. The Playwrights Workshop reading of Pepe’s Cafe will take place on Wednesday, July 1, from 7pm, at Trinidad Theatre Workshop, corner of Jerningham Ave and Norfolk Street, Belmont. It is free of charge and, as always, a discussion will be held with the playwright after the reading. 

Steel Pan Day in Brooklyn
As Caribbean American Heritage Month draws to a close, caribBEING presents a final screenings of its Heritage Film Series in the US. The final screenings will also mark the end of its month-long Closer Encounters: The Caribpolitan Experience Series.New Yorkers are being invited to join in as Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will also declare June 28 Steel Pan Day in Brooklyn.

The weekend’s screenings include Ian Harnarine’s Doubles With Slight Pepper, a flick which tells the story of Dhani, a young street-food vendor, as he reunites with his estranged father on Christmas. 

Sunday’s big do is the New York premiere of the acclaimed  Pan!: Our Music Odyssey, directed by  Jérôme Guiot. This 80-minute-long film which won mixed reviews when screened locally explores the history of steelpan music, from the banning of slave drum dances to the first Panorama in 1963, including the competition today. This screening is the film's New York premiere. A musical performance follows at the Brooklyn Museum Auditorium.

The producers of this unique weekend of Caribbean film explained: “As one of the first organisations fully dedicated to the Caribbean in New York City, caribBEING will celebrate Caribbean Heritage Month with programming highlighting contemporary Caribbean cinema, culture and immigration throughout New York City. Each of the films being screened will provide the public with an opportunity to engage firsthand with films and filmmakers from diverse backgrounds across the Caribbean.”

 All screenings are free with Museum admission and screenings will be followed by talkbacks with the directors, actors and key players, plus a live musical performance by popular New York steel orchestra Casym.

Semifinalists

National Political Calypso Monarch Competition: 
Karene Asche, 
Cro Cro, 
Pink Panther,  
Chalkdust,  
Brown Boy,  
Kenneth Supersad,  
Massive Gosine,
Chucky, 
Bally, 
Brian London, 
Brian Mohan,  
Cardinal, 
Blackie, 
Skatie, 
Edward Ramdass,
Tigress, 
Ninja, 
M'ba, 
Myron B, 
Bunny B,  
Bodyguard, 
Yellows, 
Gary Cordner,  
Trilogy, 
Alicia Richards,
Peter C Lewis, 
Ronnie Mc Intosh & Mr Nixon D Cleaner, 
Tobago Chalkie, 
Delamo, 
Devon Seales, 
Eddie Charles.

The Classical Music Development Foundation of T&T (CMDFTT) launched its Opera Festival and tenth anniversary celebrations last Friday night at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, with a production of Mozart’s popular comic opera Cosi Fan Tutte, the libretto for which comes gift-wrapped for a local audience raised on bacchanal, horning and tabanca and whose cast boasts sweet men, lyrics men, horner men and women. 

Those opera buffs who cherish Mozart’s ebulliently sparkling overture, delivered by a full orchestra might initially have been disappointed to see the orchestra pit bare except for two pianos and conductor June Nathaniel. Yet celebrated New York voice coach and pianist Dr Jeffrey Middleton and his Big Apple fellow-accompanist Byron Sean Burford fingered the score masterfully, allowing the audience to focus on the voices and stage action, which more than compensated for the absence of the woodwind, strings and brass we usually associate with Mozart.

The orchestral accompaniment was echoed by a sparse yet functional set design: 1960s pop art style back screen of trees stage left (suggesting the garden and exterior scenes), with two marble-panelled screens, stage right (presumably for interior scenes). There’s nothing wrong with a relatively bare stage, yet the opening scene clustered round a diminutive card table at the extreme left of the stage, left a centre stage vacuum, which was fortunately quickly filled with the momentum of the three male and three female lead voices. 

Whether by design, or fortuitous synergy, the combination of these six lead voices (the young blades with Canadian baritone Justin Welsh as Guglielmo and Chilean tenor Diego Godoy-Gutierrez as Ferrando; their sweethearts the sisters, with Trinidad’s star coloratura soprano Natalia Dopwell as Fiordiligi and compatriot mezzo soprano Megan Pollonais as Dorabella; the two schemers: Trini baritone Daniel DeCranie-Pierre as Don Alfonso manipulator extraordinaire and Trini soprano Stephanie Nahous as his mercenary sidekick, the maid Despina, doubling up as doctor and notary) provided a dynamics of sound, in which individual styles both complemented and augmented each other. This productive combination gave us much of the colour and depth normally supplied by a full orchestra.

The premise of the Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto—that all women are fickle—(as in the title which has generally been translated as “this is what all women do” but which in reality holds good for both sexes) is a well-worn motif from literature and life, as is the fiancée-swapping theme, traceable back to Boccacio’s Decameron and Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Throw in the element of disguise and the comic possibilities are boundless. 

The libretto, which was regarded as risqué and even amoral at times (particularly in the context of 19th century morality), quite possibly raises different issues for a postmodern audience, heirs to both the sexual liberation of the 1960s and raised in a climate of increasing gender equality.

While the comic potential of disguised identity remains intact, we can hopefully now move beyond the implicit misogynism (the inconstancy of women) and the hypocritical double standards of La Ponte and read this comic opera as a critique of romantic or courtly love and an analysis of loyalty, trust, deception, betrayal, desire, temptation, or quite simply, human fallibility and the tolerance and forgiveness required to live with it.

The dovetailed swift-paced plot sweeps performers and audience along together, neatly juxtaposing the almost maudlin sentimentality of Act One, with the tightrope of farce and impending catastrophe in act two. As Don Alfonso, lynch pin of the proposed deception (the two officers Gugliemo and Ferrando “go off to war” and return disguised as Albanians to woo each other’s fiancée) the young Daniel DeCranie-Pierre successfully exuded the maturity required by his role, making the duping of his two protégées entirely credible. 

For the uninitiated, Alfonso’s exaggerated facial expressions gave valuable clues to his unfolding web of deception but may have prompted some to interrogate his motivation. Justin Welsh and Diego Godoy-Gutierrez grew into their roles as the brash Romeos of Act One  (Gutierrez’s cutting tenor, a perfect foil for Welsh’s more lyrical baritone delivery), whose test of their fiancees’ fidelity threatens to explode in their faces during the increasing hysterical tension of Act Two, which at points descends into pure slaptick comedy. 

However, the success of Cosi Fan Tutte inevitably hinges on the performance of the two sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, who the audience is invited initially to sympathise with as lovelorn damsels in Act One, and then to despise as weak, deceptive bimbos in Act Two.

The pairing of Dopwell and Pollonias proved excellent casting: from the early duet Ah guarda sorella—“Ah look sister”) Pollonais’ commanding mezzo soprano suggesting the extent of her romanticism and ardour, against Dopwell’s superbly controlled coloratura, which evoked the nuances necessary for the audience to accept her apparent betrayal of Guglielmo in Act Two.

The opening quintet: Sento, o Dio, che questo piede è restio—“I feel, oh God, that my foot is reluctant”) which launches Alfonso’s ruse, alerted the audience to scintillating ensemble singing they could expect throughout the performance, with individual voices sensitively creating the necessary spaces for all, rather than one to dominate.

The sisters’ tabanca and an overdose of bleeding hearts is comically juxtaposed against the maid Despina’s pragmatism and Stephanie Nahous gave a dark undercurrent to her role inviting us to ponder the problematic gap between morality and intention, reality and desire, whatever the dominant comic mode.

The contrast between Fiordiligi’s Come scoglio — “Like a rock” declaration of constancy does nothing to discourage the “Albanian suitors” and their ridiculous peacock strutting, gloriously subverting the over saccharine taste of courtly love with their ludicrous attempt at poisoning themselves and Despina’s equally farcical Mesmer-inspired revival with a magnet.

Despina’s aria Una donna a quindici anni — “A fifteen-year-old woman” sets the tone for Act Two, which for all its comic tension (as the “Albanians” now woo each other’s fiancée) balances the push and pull of desire and temptation with insights into deception and betrayal, pitching the ideal against real. Despina’s advice on how to play a man, have your cake and eat it, indulge in a little naughtiness to stave off boredom, might be taken locally as good advice for prospective horner girls or more broadly and darkly as anachronistic male chauvinism.

Comedy has always been a vehicle for serious issues and if there is a conceptual flaw in Cosi Fan Tutte, we may find it in the denouement, or maybe it’s just symptomatic of La Ponte’s unwillingness to address the fact that infidelity is an aspect of the human condition, rather than a female failing. 

Although as in all comedies and romances there’s the inevitable happy ending, in which the sisters are reconciled with their lovers, one can’t help but ponder the unresolved issues this neat conclusion glosses over. But then this CMDFTT production, within its constraints, tightly directed by Dr Hilwig Helmer, admirably gave food for thought beyond the conventional ending. Individually and collectively, experience and nascent talent presented a local audience with the rare opportunity of experiencing one of operas classics.

The production ends its run on Sunday evening at 6 pm. 

Despina teaches the sisters about seduction. PHOTO: DANIEL GOMEZ

WASHINGTON DC, USA— The U.S. Supreme Court declared Friday that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the country, in a dramatic culmination of two decades of litigation over gay rights in general.

"No union is more profound than marriage," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the five liberal justices in the majority opinion. 

Gay and lesbian couples already could marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The court's 5-4 ruling means the remaining 14 states, in the South and Midwest, will have to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage. A number of states quickly announced they would start issuing marriage licenses.

President Barack Obama praised the decision as "justice that arrives like a thunderbolt." Speaking at the White House, he called it an affirmation of the principle that "all Americans are created equal." The White House website displayed a large rainbow flag, a key symbol of gay pride.

 

Carlos McKnight of Washington, waves a flag in support of gay marriage outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday June 26, 2015. A major opinion on gay marriage is among the remaining to be released before the term ends at the end of June. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Hundreds of activists gathered outside the Supreme Court building to celebrate, chanting, "Love has won" and singing the national anthem. The crowd also raised a large flag with the pink equal sign that has come to symbolize the gay marriage movement. Some wept.

The ruling will not take effect immediately because the court gives the losing side roughly three weeks to ask for reconsideration. But some state officials and county clerks might decide there is little risk in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The cases before the court involved laws from several states that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Those states have not allowed same-sex couples to marry within their borders, and they also have refused to recognise valid marriages from elsewhere.

The number of states allowing same-sex marriage has grown rapidly. As recently as October, just over one-third of the states permitted same-sex marriage.

There are an estimated 390,000 married same-sex couples in the United States, according to Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, which tracks the demographics of gay and lesbian Americans.

Another 70,000 couples living in states that do not currently permit them to wed would get married in the next three years, the institute says. Roughly one million same-sex couples, married and unmarried, live together in the United States, the institute says.

The Obama administration backed the right of same-sex couples to marry. The Justice Department's decision to stop defending the federal anti-marriage law in 2011 was an important moment for gay rights, and Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage in 2012 after what he called an "evolution" in his thinking.

The ruling is also "a great thing for kids, who no longer have to question why their parents weren't deemed worthy for marriage," Mary Bonauto, the attorney representing same-sex couples, told the activists.—AP