From a line up of 13 contestants Kuru Kururu resident Tennisia DeFreitas age 18 of the Kross Kolor Records Studios copped the Junior Calypso monarchy on(Saturday) at the National Cultural Centre.



Donning a maternity dress and mimicking the attitudes of a pregnant woman hers was an emotion stirring rendition of a baby giving reasons why it did not want to come into the world.



Skilfully penned by veteran musician Burchmoore Simon, the song tackled real local issues affecting and influencing the nation’s youth. Its hook was contagious and Defreitus’ delivery as ‘a sixteen-year- old single parent with child’ was superb. As she sang “I don’t want to be born” many eyes in the audience welled up while others shed tears as did the performer.

The song spoke of a sense of despair of the numbers who graduate from UG only to find no jobs at the other end there are many dropouts who simply lime on the road. It also painted a vivid picture of the many gunmen on the roam and those who seem destined to be like the notorious bandit “Fineman” or “a king pin like Roger Khan.” The baby through its mother’s eyes is adamant that it does not want to be born because of what it has experienced through its mothers eyes. “Mama I don’t want to be born because you dark they treat you with scorn…” because she was treated with scorn because of her dark skin.

It also touches on the missing monies from GRA and the pain that many felt when Clico could not account for people’s savings.



“Mama I don’t want to be born all we nurse and teacher they gone mama I don’t want to be born…” the songs lamented”.

The song slammed the opposition for being paid to do nothing and shared a dream of a President who came home to lime and is flying out all the time and in one verse it “drugs passing through Timehri and none of the scanners they don’t see…”



The teary eyed winner’s next is next scheduled to perform at the Mash HIV Song competition on February 13 at Blairmont where she will face off with more senior calypsonians. But based on the audience responses she will be one to contend with.

Her song on that occasion will be ‘wrap it up’. She placed third last year when she sang ‘texting.’



The second and third spots went to Lindeners Diana Chapman age 18 and Laquita Pryce age 17 respectively. Chapma, graduate of the MackenZie High an actress who was among the actors in the “king of the drums” Movie sang that “abstinence makes sense.” Pryce a graduate of the New Silver City Secondary with ten subjects at the CXC sang “Give me a chance to be a child.” Backed by the Mingles sound machine the other competitors included Quincy Richmond, Jedidah Wilkinson, Ernesta Nelson, Laurent Pieters, Kelton Jennings, Nickesha London, Keiton Nelson, Yoland Nedd, Derk Simon and Leshauna Valentine.



The show was hosted by Mondale Smith and included performances from the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School Steel orchestra, The National School of dance and rising star ten-year-old Jovinski Thorne who proved that he is not “too young” to be a star. The other performers included the Shalita Dance Troupe, the Dance Fanatics and the Theatre Guild dramatists as well as Kurt Walcott. There was also some masquerade showcases.

Based on comments from the audience this years show was by far the best in recent years and according to Sean Bhola who was one of the judges “ these youths proved that Calypso will live on despite. Some of them were more prepared and could easily put some of the seniors to shame.”

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