The 2007 Classic Winner relives his experience
Three German teams confirmed for 2008

From the Guardian Arena magazine:

“My best memory of Tobago was ‘winning the race’ !!!!! It was my biggest win of my career. I was happy we came for two weeks so we had plenty of time to go site seeing on our bikes all over the island, get a nice tan and enjoyed many different local foods and drinks.

The organisers of the race made sure we were all comfortable and happy all the time and we also had lots of fun in the glass bottom boat trip to Nylon Pool and Buccoo Reef with all the teams and officials.

The Saturday evening party festival with steel band music and DJ Michael Baker was so much fun. The weather was super perfect and I made some nice friends in Tobago....These memories will always remain with me!”

— Andreas Henig

The inaugural edition of 'Caribbean Summer' took place in Dortmund this past weekend. Several thousands showed up in Westfalenpark to enjoy the festivities on Saturday evening. There were a number of steel bands on hand comprised of 180 musicians including a local band from Dortmund's Pan Kultur, Bäng Bäng, also Delaware Steel from the USA, and Ebony from London.

On Sunday there were workshops for kids and a carnival style parade through the park. Steely Wonder, another steel band from Finland also made an appearance.

This edition of Caribbean Summer was sponsored by the tourist board of the Bahamas. It is hoped that this festival will become an annual event.

A full report in German from Ruhr Nachrichten follows after the YouTube clip. Go directly to their website for promotional photos and pictures from the event itself.

Here's a clip of a performance by PanGang, the youth pan orchestra of Pan Kultur:

On July 2 T&T Newsday reports:


MEMBERS of the Predators Football Club of Cunupia proudly wearing the jerseys adorned in the Deutschland colours handed over by the German Ambassador

Predators Get Football Gear

PREDATORS Football Club recently received football equipment and uniforms courtesy the German Ambassador, Ernst Martens.

The German handed over the equipment to club president Krishna Murity Ramjit, last Thursday at their ground in Cunupia, central Trinidad.

Predators FC, a Cunupia-based team was founded in May 2001 and joined the Central Football Association (CFA) Football League.

The side, formerly known as the Cunupia International All-Stars FC provides a facility by which youths in the community can play and enjoy football as well as develop their skills and technical abilities.

Currently there are 25 members of the team which are training for the 2008/2009 edition of the CFA Football League and preparations are being made for the Predators FC 2008 Youth Camp. The donation by the German Ambassador was made available in the framework of the Sports Promotion Programme of the German Foreign Office. And it coincides with the 2008 European Football Championship — UEFA EURO 2008 — held in the Alpine countries of Austria and Switzerland in which Germany finished second, losing to Spain in the final 1-0 courtesy a Fernando Torres strike.

Lord Melody's Mama Look A Booboo is perhaps one of the most recorded calypsos ever. One version was even recorded in German by Swedish singer Alice Babs. The lyrics, however, have been changed to protect the ugly daddy. Instead, the song's more innocuous wording written by Hans Bradke tells of a happy Caribbean family whose mother is Cuban and father is Jamaican, and who sing cheerful music together as father sails off in his banana boat. It is rather typical of the popularized calypso genre of 1957 and even references Belafonte's singing voice.

To have a listen pop over to the the music page. (Also recently added is another football classic: Lancelot Layne's Target from 1989.)

The lyrics follow below:

The Trinidad Express Women's Magazine profiles a German jewelry designer who landed in Tobago.

Some Girls Have Other Best Friends
By Cedriann J Martin

Show me your accessories and I'll tell who you are.

Monika Schenkel isn't your delicate gold necklace or diamond solitaire type. As a girl she was fixated with stones on beaches and river banks. A fashion design degree notwithstanding, she made an early exit from the cut-throat industry. ("I didn't like the competitiveness," she drawls. "And money was not my main interest.") Though originally from Germany, she detests the cold. She was once a global nomad, chasing sunshine and culture everywhere from Africa to the Arab word. The steel pan lured her to Trinidad.

18 years ago, when her three-year-old flopped onto a bed in a Tobago fishing village and declared 'mummy, this feels like home' Schenkel readily agreed.

The Soca Twins of Berlin have been nominated for the third year in a row at the International Soca Awards 2008. They are once again up for category 13, International Soca DJ of the year, and their mix CD, Addicted 2 Soca, is up for category 28, Best DJ Soca Mix CD of the Year. In the past two years they were denied a win, but possibly the third time is the charm. You can vote for them and all other categories here.

The sixth annual International Soca Awards are going to be presented live from St. Kitts this year on October 18th. The awards ceremony will be available online at socatvonline.com.

From the Trinidad Express:

Soca Soars In Germany
By Wayne Bowman

When Bunji Garlin and Fayann Lyons set off on their recent promotional tour of Europe they were not seeking to conquer new territories solely for their benefit. The artistes, who are these days referred to as the royal couple of soca, desired to open doors for all up and coming artistes out of Trinidad and Tobago.

Judging from the response of the thousands of Europeans who flocked to the concerts to see Garlin and Lyons in action, we can safely say that local artistes will have good ground to tread upon on that continent.

The tour ended in Berlin on May 12 when Garlin and Lyons performed in that city's carnival, which is not fashioned after Trinidad's Carnival, but in fact brings elements of cultures from around the world together.

The twelfth annual Carnival der Kulturen in Bielefeld takes place on June 6 and 7. This year's theme is "Call of Nature". The parade will take place on at 3pm on Sunday the 7th beginning on Schloßhofstraße and ending in Ravensburger Park. At 5:30pm the parade participants will present themselves on the stage in the park. All other parties and activities surrounding the carnival are listed at carnival-bielefeld.de.



Some of the participants slated for this year include:

The Faluma Caribbean Music Shop is back online after a two week hiatus with a new look. Faluma is Europe's specialist for soca and calypso CDs and vinyl. They are continuing to add new products to the new store front.

Heitersheim in Baden-Württemberg is celebrating its first Caribbean Night on Saturday, May 31. It is sponsored by the Männergesangverein (MGV), the men's choral association in town. The Caribbean Steelband from Rheinfelden will provide entertainment, along with Latin group, Blue Bananas. Doors open at 7pm and the show begins at 8pm. Cover is 7€.