ENTERTAINMENT
,TO O CAR AR CA IBB BB B IB EA EAN A AN EANLI LIF LI L F I IF IFEN EN ENE N NE E E ENEWS WS. S. S WS CO COM OM C M OM/EN / TER ER ERTAIN
Fya Empress impresses at preliminary judging of Dynamite Calypso Tent. Photo by Nelson A. King
Caribbean Life, J BQ une 14–20, 2019 51
By Nelson A. King
After highly impressing the audience
at the launch of Vincy Mas in
Brooklyn last month, Fya Empress
was at it again Saturday night, as
she was, unequivocally, the crowd’s
favorite during the preliminary judging
of Vincentian calypsonians in the
Big Apple.
The former St. Vincent and the
Grenadines Calypso Monarch, whose
real name is Lornette Yoland Nedd,
was, clearly, “head and shoulders”
above the 11 other contenders, based
on the crowd’s reaction, in the judging
of the Dynamite Calypso Tent,
the sole Vincentian calypso tent in
the United States and, perhaps, in
North America, at Nazareth Hall in
East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Calypso and soca fans roared their
superfluous approval during and after
Fya Empress’s high-vaulted performance
before five judges, who travelled
to New York specially to adjudicate
the first tent in the calypso competition
for Vincy Mas. They were: Daniel
Hall, Early Paynter, Ronny Dowers,
Vin Stewart and Aubrey Gould.
Though there were other veterans
in “the ring” — such as D Man Age,
John ‘D Truth’ Dougan, Exposer and
Dennis Bowman — it was patent that
none matched Fya Empress’s rendition
and stage performance.
Singing at no. 9, the 2017 Vincy
Calypso Monarch belched out “Solidarity,”
with remarkable aplomb, in,
unmistakably, raising the bar for
Vincentian calypsos in the US.
“Let’s show true love for humanity
/ If the good Lord loves you /
Remember He loves St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, too,” she sang to
Continued on Page 52
Kelly Starling Lyons, author of “Going
Down Home with Daddy.”
“Going Down Home with Daddy” by
Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Dan
Minter
c.2019, Peachtree Books
$16.95 / $22.95 Canada
32 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Getting together with your family
this summer is going to be fun!
You’ll see your cousins and grandparents,
friends and kin, and your aunts
Continued on Page 52
By Tangerine Clarke
The Caribbean Film Academy (CaFA)
has announced its 5th Annual Caribbean
Cinema Nights lineup that began
in May, and will continue through October,
with film screenings at Joli Studio,
1131 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn, from
6:30 pm.
This monthly series will present
a variety of films from around the
French, Spanish, Dutch and Englishspeaking
Caribbean, being held on the
fourth Thursday of each month. Each
screening will feature two short films,
followed by a moderated conversation
with a special guest about the film’s
themes and their relevance in today’s
livelihood.
According to CaFA, after a season of
screenings for Manhattan audiences, in
Continued on Page 52
FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT, GO TO CARIBBEANLIFENEWS.COM/ENTERTAINMENT
A family tale
for summer
Carib Cinema
Nights return FIRED UP
Fya Empress gets crowd’s overwhelming nod
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