Calypso Rose @ 2011 Calypso Awards

Toronto, October 2011: Calypso Rose – The Calypso Queen comes to town

In 1978 Calypso Rose shattered the status quo in Trinidad & Tobago when she paradoxically won the country’s top prize of Calypso King. The male-dominated calypso world would never be the same! With her commanding stage presence and vocal mastery, her win forced embarrassed authorities to change the name of the annual competition to Calypso Monarch.

The now 71 year-old charismatic musical icon of the calypso worl will be in Toronto with her brand of husky vocals, raunchy calypso and exciting soca at the 2011 Calypso Awards on Friday, October 21st. Rose’s trail-blazing days of making her mark on the history of Cribbean music propelled her on a three decade international career that this year saw her voted the No. 1 calypsonian of Trinidad & Tobago.

A feature-length documentary called ‘Calypso Rose: The Lioness of the Jungle’ was also released earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Pascale Obolo, it tells Calypso Rose’s compelling story through interviews, live concert footage, and more. The film was premiered in Toronto at the 2011 CaribbeanTales Annual Film Festival and will be available on DVD at the Calypso Awards.

Rose’s fame has recently soared in Europe, where she starred in Calypso @ Dirty Jim’s, a televised documentary broadcasted across the continent. She “put on fire” the European audiences on stage in Cirque d’Hiver and Zenith in Paris, Barbican in London, and WOMEX in Seville.

The 2011 Calypso Awards will be held at Rembrandt Banquet Hall, 930 Progress Avenue, Scarborough and is a fundraising event organized by OCPA – the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes. Also featured will be Structure, the 2011 Canadian Calypso Monarch and the announcement of the winner of the first annual Preston Shepherd Scholarship Award