A beaming Antonio ABONATY Liburd (Executive Director at the Culturama Secretariat), made the statement on Monday, while reviewing the Calypso eliminations that were held at ESMIE’S SUNRISE BAR, situated in Butler’s Village.
The eliminations which were held on the evening of Saturday 13th July, saw 22 local calypsonians, vying for a spot in the semifinals.
The Calypsonians were: JoJo; Black Hat; Lady Hammon; Lady Destiny; Enforcer; Gero; King Hollywood; Astro; Nutsy; Pupa Wheeler; Bad man Polo; Baker; Bahowlah the Meek; Lady Cavalier; Sookie; Daddy Nature; Murray; King Irwin; De Undertaker; Mighty Wingie; Lady Smooth and Pupa Slimba.
Liburd indicated that he was pleasantly surprised at the huge showing of spectators at the event and noted that the standard of Calypsoes this year, is extremely high.
He pointed out that except for one or two minor hiccups, the calypsonians were all atop of their game.
He opined that one of the reasons why the crowds are coming back, is simply because the Culturama committee has opted to decentralize some of the preliminary events, hence the trend to host shows at such popular eateries as Mem’s; Gabby’s and Esmie’s.
He also believes that the ‘early bird’ strategy adopted by his committee, of giving the calypsonians a monetary incentive to release their songs early, is paying dividends, as the fans are getting accustomed to the songs and are able to sing along with the Calypsonians.
He stated that the show was highly entertaining and the crowd reacted to the performers on stage, in a positive manner.
At the end of the evening, when the assigned judges would have completed their head scratching, the following 12 individuals got the green light to move on to the next round—the semi-final stage:
1. Black Hat
2. King Hollywood
3. Astro
4. Nutsy
5. Pupa Wheeler
6. Bad Man Polo
7. Sookie
8. Daddy Nature
9. Murray
10. King Irwin
11. De Undertaker
12. Lady Smooth