Jamaica proud and strong at Grand Gala
Published:Tuesday | August 8, 2023 | 12:09 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Proud and Strong ... Jamaica 61 was the theme for this year’s Independence celebrations, and the annual Grand Gala held at the National Stadium on August 6 epitomised this ideal.
A capacity crowd of men, women and children, full of vim, vigour and vitality and proudly wearing the Jamaican colours black, green and gold, jubilantly took over the venue and - with their vuvuzuelas on blast - showed their full appreciation of the hard work that had been put in to deliver what has been deemed a really grand gala.
The official part of the evening started at 6:12 p.m. with the stately arrival of an elegantly clad Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, the host of the evening, and ended a little more than 30 minutes later with the arrival of Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet. With that over, it was time for the sumptuous fare which consisted of a goose pimple-inducing rendition of the national anthem by Tessanne Chin; performances from the top three Festival Song Competition winners – Slashe, Shuga and Exco Levi – and four-time winner Roy Rayon, and colour and pageantry from a host of talented costumed and uniformed groups, who showcased Jamaican culture in music, drama and song.
It was an evening on which sibling reggae group Morgan Heritage was presented with the Jamaica Reggae Icon Award for their contribution to Jamaican music, and three members were present to receive the citation and award from Prime Minister Holness, who proved to be a good sport and laughed at the troublesome microphones which simply refused to cooperate with him.
Gramps, Peetah and Mr Mojo told The Gleaner that they were “ecstatic, overwhelmed and thankful” for the recognition. Gramps gave a synopsis of their journey.
“It’s our first time meeting the prime minister of Jamaica and that was special. The Honourable Babsy Grange is a friend of the family and she has always been supporting and encouraging us. In 1994 when she had the Orange music label, she put out our first record on a 45 in Jamaica. Our career was started in Jamaica in 1992 when we got signed to MCA Records, which is now known as Universal Music Group. Our father was very frustrated and returned home in ‘95. We were introduced to Dennis Howard, who introduced us to King Jammy and Bobby Digital ... and the rest is history,” Gramps shared.
Regarding the absence of Lukes and Una, Gramps said that the former had a passport issue and their sister had a previous engagement.
“Everything kinda happened so fast ... and we were touring. But they are watching ... the whole family is in tune all over the world,” he said.
The trio performed a few of their hit songs, including Don’t have to Dread, Down By the River, Reggae Bring Back Love; gave a shout out to Una and Lukes, and then did a tribute to their late father and patriarch Ras Denroy Morgan with A Place for People Like You.
In its 61st year of Independence, Jamaica handed the Key to the City of Kingston to Trinidadian soca giant, Machel Montano, a true Caribbean man, who actually attended school in Jamaica as a child.
It was last Friday at a specially covened meeting that the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) passed a resolution giving the Key to Machel “in recognition of his sterling, awesome and iconic career in music, which has positively influenced many adoring fans across the Caribbean and the world, including many Jamaicans who continue to enjoy his enduring legacy”.
The Key was presented by Mayor of Kingston Delroy Williams, while looking on were Prime Minister Holness, Minister Grange, and representatives from the KSAMC.
Machel shared that he was “very, very humbled because I thought it was such a wonderful kind gesture” and added that he “understands the significance of it”.
During a short performance on stage, he paid tribute to Jamaican calypso and soca pioneer Byron Lee.
The curtain came down on Grand Gala with a mesmerising drone show, which was comparable to, if it didn’t eclipse, last year’s, and hinted at things to come, with the drones spelling out the word ‘republic’, to loud cheers from attendees. Closing performances came from Ding Dong, who called up Roze Don and Valiant,and this was followed by fireworks.