Tito Puente Jr, Kassav, Carimi, local calypsonians close WCMF with a bang

The final night of the 2013 edition of the World Creole Music Festival (WCMF) started rather early at 6:00 pm with a number of local acts and bands which got the juices flowing for what turned out to be a night of spectacular performances.

The night got its first international flavor when Tito Puente Jr hit the stage.

The Latino sensation sang in Spanish but Puente was able to grab the attention of the audience since as it is often said ‘music is an international language.’ Puente’s energy, his mastery of drums and percussion, his crooning voice and his passion were enough to keep the audience spellbound and many in the crowd shouted for more.

Puente has a large shadow to fill being the son of Tito Puente, dubbed the King of Latin Jazz. He said he musical career began at around 15 when he started setting up his father’s band in time for performances.

He has vowed to nurture the musical legacy left by his father who has over a 100 albums and 200 compositions to his name. He said he feels grateful that he was invited to perform at the WCMF.

“It is really cool to be here. I am honored to celebrate the life and legacy of my late father, Tito Puente. He loved performing out here in the Eastern Caribbean,” he said.  “This is the World Creole Music Festival and you invited some Salsa, Mambo and dance music, so I really appreciate the fact that you invited into this world. I love Creole music and it is really something special to be here tonight.” Sunday night’s performance was the first for Puente in Dominica but he has made appearances in Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia. He said Creole and Latino music are very similar since they both have African roots but was pleased that organizers of the WCMF ‘wanted to bring in something different’ to the event.

Next up on stage was Dominica’s very own, the Swinging Stars and the event suddenly took on a carnival-like atmosphere and a few intermittent showers had zero impact on the crowd.

The audience screamed for more and Swinging Stars did not disappoint, leaving everyone energized and rocking to the never ending music.

Swinging Stars had such an impact that after the group left the stage a impromptu band of drums and horns sprang up among the audience and one got the feeling that Carnival had actually arrived.

But the Carnival atmosphere did not end there because a number of local calypsonians took to the stage including Darryl Bobb, Hunter, Tasha P, King Dice and more.

Bobb sang a number of old calypso hits, Tasha P had everyone singing ‘It’s woman time’ while Dice appeared on stage with three sensays, making the Carnival feeling even more profound.

The audience was fully pumped up when Kassav took to the stage. Being on the musical scene for over 30 years and having appeared at WCMF before, one would think that the group would have slowed down a bit but this was not the case.

The energy of Jean-Philippe Marthély, Jocelyne Béroard, Jacob Desvarieux and Jean-Claude Naimro was amazing as they perfomed classics such as Siye Bwa, Ou ped fila-w, Sewo and many more.

But a Kassav appearance would not be complete without “Zouk La Sé Sèl Médikaman Nou Ni,” the song that propelled the group into the stratosphere and made Kassav a household name, including outside the Creole world.

Although the song has been heard many times before by Zouk fans, Sunday night’s performance gave the feeling that one was hearing it again for the first time and the  audience loved it. Kassav’s performance evoked a feeling of nostalgia of the golden age of Zouk of late the 80’s and early 90’s when the genre ruled the Creole airwaves.

Most in the audience knew the songs by heart and they were happy to sing right along.

After being on the scene for so long, what keeps a group like Kassav so energetic and appealing? “We love what we do,” Jocelyne Béroard, the only English speaking member of the group, explained. “And we love doing it together. If you don’t like what you doing, the people feel it and it doesn’t last long. I love what I am doing, I gave my life to that.”

She stated that members of the group has learnt to support each and help each other along. “We share the success and also the non success,” she stated. “So when we share in the success, we have to know that if it is the song of Jean-Philippe that is on the top, he is in front and we backing him strong … if it is mine, I am in front and they are backing me strong.”

Next on stage was Kompa group Carimi who has also performed at WCMF before. The group, which is based in New York, has many hits which are familiar to many in Dominica. They also played well to the large Haitian community on the island who turned up in their numbers with a huge Haitian flag.

Although the group took to the stage in the early hours of Monday morning the energy in the crowd had not dissipated and and the audience sang and danced right along with group. At one point the lead singer asked that all lights be turned off and all cell phones turned on. Soon the light of cell phones sprouted across the darkened venue, adding another dimension to Carimi’s performance.

The energy from the group was amazing and it kept the show going strong until roughly 5:00 am.

Lead singer of the group, Mickael Guirands, said they were happy to perform in Dominica since “it felt like home.” “It is good for us,” he said. “We had fun and as you can see the people enjoyed it.”

He said a connection was made between the group and Dominica after its first appearance at WCMF about two years ago and since then they have received a lot of fans  on the island. “They’ve been following us and loyal to us,” Guirands noted. “So we are blessed.”