Festival commission accused of injustice

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The Festivals Commission is being accused of injustice for the way in which it responded to the dispute between Lena “Queen Ivena” Phillip and Prime Minister Gaston Browne that led to the calypsonian not participating in the semi finals of the 2017 Calypso Monarch competition.
Trevor “King Zacari” King, reigning monarch for the Antigua & Barbuda and Leeward Islands 2017 Calypso Competitions, said the commission’s treatment of the issue affected the attendance and general outcome of the event.
“The crowd turn out would have been better and the competition would have been better if she had been allowed to perform,” he said while speaking on OBSERVER AM.
“King Zacari” also condemned the Prime Minister’s threat, labelling it as “nonsense” as he described younger politicians as being too sensitive.
“That’s nonsense, real nonsense because over the years other prime ministers have faced even harsher lyrics than what the queen had in her song and to face that decision only proves that the younger politicians are very thin skinned,” he said.
“Queen Ivena” did not perform in the Semi Finals of the Calypso competition because she refused to change the lyrics of her song the prime minister considered defamatory.
In the meantime, “King Zacari” is appealing to media houses in Antigua and Barbuda to offer more support to soca and calypso artistes to make local calypsonians more competitive against their regional contenders.
“The calypsonians in Antigua can rival the calypsonians from any region but the lack of marketing and promotion by media houses make it appear that they are better than us.”
“King Zacari” emerged the winner of the 21st edition of the Leeward Islands Calypso Monarch Competition over the weekend in addition to his victory last week Sunday in Carnival City.

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