After almost 35 years in the media industry few things amaze, impress or intrigue me. But, I was pleasantly amazed on Monday on attending the opening of The Machel Montano Museum, billed as Onstage, at Boissiere House, located at Queen’s Park West, Port-of-Spain.
Titled Onstage, the exhibition is an archive of Montano’s incredible journey in the entertainment industry, from his beginnings as a five-year-old boy attending Siparia Boys RC School where he won his first crown in 1982 to his victory this year as the International Power Soca Monarch.
I feel that The Machel Montano Museum presents an opportune vehicle for the government and corporate citizens to board expeditiously to support and make easily accessible to the nation’s school students and youth, and incoming visitors for Carnival 2015. It is the perfect tourist attraction and a positive motivational expose for young people, artists and even older practitioners in all genres of the performing arts.
Although the exhibition, housed in several rooms, as well as the attic of what was once called the Gingerbread House, is curated by Dr Kwyn Johnson, the collection of artifacts are the diligent work of Montano’s mother, Elizabeth, who retained his costumes, awards, trophies, certificates, citations, vinyl records, photographs and other paraphernalia from the past 30-odd years.
Also making the museum a reality were a team of hardworking people, including Junior Sammy and his family, Lorraine O’Connor, and Montano’s photographer Jermaine Cruickshank.
So, what’s next for Machel Montano who, at age 40, has achieved almost everything a local artiste can achieve. Well, apart from excitedly looking forward to next year’s Carnival, Montano is also focusing on his chocolate manufacturing company, branded this year’s Carnival as Happy Nation. He is involved with Gillian Goddard from the Sun Eaters company in fuelling a community project which entails teaching communities to make their own chocolate from local cocoa, including Trinitario cocoa.
Communities already on-board are Brasso Seco and Lopinot. Montano’s chocolate consists of 60 per cent dark chocolate, with no additives or preservatives, and is high on antioxidants.
Onstage will be open to the public today and tomorrow from 11 am, will be closed for the Christmas season until January 5, 2015, and remains open until Machel Monday on February 9.
Pan in de parang
Some of the must-have music to have at home this Christmas season are the traditional parang releases by The Lara Brothers, La Divina Pastora, Los Dinamicos and Carib Santa Rosa, as well as the Parang Soca assortment by Scrunter, Crazy, Baron, Kenny J, Myron B and Parang Soca Queen Marcia Miranda, and releases by Kelwyn Hutcheon, Pelham Goddard and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe. But a new, wonderfully produced CD has been added to the burgeoning collection of yuletide music. It is Pan in de Parang, recorded by retired Regiment warrant officer 1 Robert Tobitt, arranger for the T&T Regiment steelband.
Pan in de Parang consists of ten tracks, all pan covers of past hits by the late Rocky McCollin, Scrunter, Baron, H2O Phlo, Ninja and Blazer Dan.
This is Tobitt’s tenth CD. Previous CDs by him include Hello, A Touch of Latin, Meditation on Steel, Island in the Sun, Tribute to the King of Pop, Queen of my Heart, My Spirit is Music and Caribbean Christmas.
