Pichakaree champ in Young Kings finals
By SEETA PERSAD Saturday, February 3 2007
The reigning Pichkarie Champion, Jagdeo Phagoo, has joined the calypso bandwagon and is now a finalist at the Young King competition. The event, in which 22 calypsonians will do battle, will take place at the St James Amphitheatre, Western Main Road, St James, on February 5.
Among those who have made it to the finals are Kenson Neptune, Rodriguez Gordon, Roger Mohammed, Patrick Lewis, Anthony Felix, Stephen Marcelle, Cris Garcia, Swallow, Devlin Remero, Jervae Ceasar, Duane O Connor, Walter Taylor, Mr King, Anthony Lincoln, Derrick Seales, Organizer, Jagdeo Phagoo, Richard Remelo, Sheldon Nugget, Jerry Dane Sellier, Emmanuel Trotman, and Peter Cipriani.
Phagoo, from SS Erin Road in Penal, is no stranger to the chutney and pichakaree stage. He has been singing his own compositions for many years now. His new composition, “One Love. One Nation,” earned him a place in this year’s Young Kings finals. His winning tune for Pichakaree, “Dansook Hideum,” was a popular selection that was played on the local frequency. His song, “Football Fever” earned him a place in the National Chutney Soca Monarch finals last year.
According to the first verse of his calypso, “We passing through an era, Ah see some hope at last, This nation coming together, Forgetting bout the past, Ah ray of hope in beaming, Glowing across the land, Races are now uniting, Walking hand in hand, It’s that feeling to be productive, to love, and show good faith, For right here we all have to live, We must co-operate, We must co-operate.”
Phagoo is a contractor with Petrotrin and a businessman.
He has been active in promoting sports and other cultural activities in the Penal area. Apart from this Phagoo, who is a certified International Badminton Federation Coach, managed the Trinidad and Tobago Badmington team from 1987 to 1991. He toured Jamaica, Curacao, Suriname, Guyana, Peru and the United States during this time.
The gifted individual is also an accomplished musician having mastered the harmonium, mandolin and the keyboard. He has given up coaching for the time being and has since settled to doing composing and singing.
“I am very interested in calypso and I intend to join a tent and promote my calypsos in the future. As a singer/composer living in this country, I feel the need to experiment on the different stages,” he said. He is well known for doing dramatic performances while on stage. For the Young King competition he will be presenting one of his dramatic stints complete with props.
He is already working on a tune to defend his crown at Pichakaree which will be held later on in February.
Phagoo remains one of the talented sons of Penal who is taking his message to the people through his songs.
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