ET&T FEATURES year before informing them about his bundle of Joy. While it truly matters not what celebrities do in their personal lives, it was surely a major surprise and talking point on social media and radio call-in programs for some time.
Golden Boys: 4x100m relay team and Akeem Stewart Paralympic Olympic athlete Akeem Stewart made history when he set new world records and won gold in both the Men's Javelin Throw and Shot Put events at the World Para Athletics Championships in London in July. The feat was made more amazing by the fact that he received so little support in preparation for the event. London seemed to be a lucky place for Trinbagonian athletes as the T&T’s men’s 4x400 metres relay team won gold in the 4x400 metres relay final today at the 2017 IAAF World Championship a month later. Renny Quow, Jareem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon made up the winning team that beat the USA and Great Britain into second and third respectively.
several secular dancehall greats. Gitta Dan seamlessly mimicked the vocal styles of entertainers such as Anthony B, Buju Banton, Sizzla Kalonji and others during performances. His own signature style led to hit songs such as Jah Come Lead the Way and Wise Vibes. As his name suggests, the artiste was also extremely proficient at playing acoustic guitar and tributes poured in from various corners of the world when he died. Destra Double Whammy/ Bounce Back A Belizean court ordered Soca star Destra Garcia to pay damages to a male fan who ruptured his bladder when Destra jumped on him during a concert in Belize back in 2015. The July judgment saw Destra having to pay over TT$50,000 in damages. Almost exactly a month to the date of the Belize judgment, Destra suffered a double blow of sorts when she fell through a poorly constructed stage in Bermuda. The accident resulted in a broken ankle for the singer whose bad month probably had her thinking about a blue soap bath before Olatunji and Asten Isaac made the challenge popular. At the end of it all, Destra bounced back like a true champ and even did some shows while wearing her cast. That wasn’t the end of it. She made more headlines in November when she unveiled that would soon be married. Her longtime partner and father of her child Brian popped the question signaling that Destra would soon legally be off the market. To celebrate the occasion, the soca star released a track entitled marry this wine. It’s safe to say there was no bigger bounce back story than hers this year.
Gitta Dan Death Denton “Gitta Dan” Peschier passed away after a long and secret battle with illness in October. Peschier was instrumental in attracting a lot of urban youth to the Christian church via his music which was heavily influenced by 2
ET&T • DECEMBER, 2017 • www.amgtt.com
Anthony Bourdain Visits T&T Anthony Bourdain visited T&T and it was kind of a big deal. Of course foodies and chefs were thrilled to have him here, but celebrities frequent Trinidad. What made this visit special was how much controversy the episode of Bourdain’s Parts Unknown that was filmed here stirred up. It was a very real and balanced take on Trinbago society and it opened many eyes to the level of social stratification that pervades even so long after slavery. When Bourdain visited the home of the Sabga-Abouds, comments were made that the Syrian/Lebanese community was “the smallest”, but “mostpowerful ethnic group” in the country and that “the middle class served as a buffer between the haves and have nots.” This part of the episode was also responsible for the trending phrase “the 1 percent” which referred to the Syrian/Lebanese in T&T.
Miss TT Universe Scandal When the Miss Universe TT competition took place few people even knew there was a competition. However, nothing draws attention to something in Trinidad and Tobago like a good bacchanal. That’s what ensued when the winner Yvonne ‘Yvee’ Clarke was stripped of her title for what was deemed a contractual breach by the franchise holder. The bacchanal reached fever pitch when Yvee’s sponsor Fay Ann Lyons switched to agent mode and hosted a press conference for the delegate to highlight what they deemed an unfair dismissal. The move paid off as public pressure was too great and Yvee was reinstated. She quickly became T&T’s
darling and left for Nevada to make us proud. Devon’s Journey Ends Devon Matthews left an enduring legacy of radio excellence behind when he shockingly and suddenly died of cardiac arrest at Tribe’s band launch in July. The affable giant with an equally big personality was celebrating one of his biggest years to date having placed third in the 2017 International Soca Monarch. The 36 year old star’s death remained a trending topic for longer than any of the other topics as his No Kill Joy attitude had permeated the hearts of many. His funeral was held at a rammed out Arima Velodrome on July 24th. It was attended by the Borough’s mayor as well as several other politicians and entertainment and media celebrities.
Machel & Bunji Bury The Hatchet Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin put their differences aside during C2K17 to finally collaborate on a massive track entitled “Buss Head.” The duo had previously been at odds, with Bunji accusing Machel of "playing politics" to win the 2011 Power Soca Monarch title. Both artistes famously threw lyrical barbs at each other during that year’s Soca Monarch competition with Montano eventually emerging victorious. Many fans and artistes alike praised the collaboration. Local musical legend Roy Cape described the song as a “message of healing” and expressed that it felt “fantastic” to be able to witness this moment in our country’s cultural history. Since the song debuted, the iconic entertainers have performed together numerous times locally and abroad to frenzied audiences.