TC wins at last... and how!

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For years now, Barbados' TC has been one of those 'always a bridesmaid, never a bride' kaisonians.

Second and third place knew her well and even though she was a perpetual finalist in Barbados' Calypso Monarch contest and a regular finalist in the Party Monarch contest, she never could seem to make the breakthrough.

Sometimes the judges seemed to mess her up, preferring 'shareholders' like Red Plastic Bag and Gabby to her and sometimes she was her own worst enemy like in 2005 when she had the Calypso Monarch title in her hand after a brilliant first half and then just dashed it away with a weirdly low-key performance of her bigger song in the second half.

But...she did it at last!

Today at Farley Hill, TC won not just the Party Monarch contest but the first ever Sweet Soca (aka groovy soca) contest with her big tune Hot Sun and Riddim.

No longer will she have to endure the 'she's a great calypsonian but..."  discussion.

She got crowns now.

Honestly, the Party Monarch result took folks by surprise, especially since TC was one of three contestants who just re-sang the song they performed like... an hour earlier in the Sweet Soca contest.

Real islandistas RALLY!

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That's right. Thought we were just interested in fashion, music and suss? Nah - islandistas are Caribbean through and through and that means we love West Indies cricket - not just for the liming and all-inclusive partying from the Mound to the Trini Posse stand but the game itself.

 

True, it has been often been hard to love for the last decade and a half but islandistas ent sissies. We hang tough and keep rallying. And every now and then - like yesterday, we are rewarded for hanging in there and remembering that West Indies cricket is bigger than just the current crop of players. It goes to the heart of our Caribbean-ness - at least, for us in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Yesterday's innings defeat of England was one to savour. So here are a few pics of the action. Enjoy.

The next First Lady...

We here at Islandista are overjoyed.

There is simply no other way to put it. Of course we were invested in this US election and Barack Obama's candidacy. Even for islandistas who do not live in the US, we all understood the importance of this election and this candidacy, the need to lift the malaise that has hung over the US and hence by extension, the world for the last few years. We needed hope and crazy, dizzy optimism.

And we got it. Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States.

Let us be honest. This election was followed by Caribbean people like none other. And it has a lot to do with the fact that Barack Obama is black - just like the majority of the people living in the Caribbean islands. We have always shared in the hopes, struggles and pain of our black brethren and sistren all over the world, from the United States to South Africa. We were all in this too and this victory felt like ours. I know many of us shed tears last night.

But now islandistas, let us turn to the issue that fascinates and delights us - a black woman is going to be the next First Lady of the United States. She will move into that fabled position held by such icons as Jacqueline Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt and Hilary Clinton. A black woman - who is just like us. Someone who we can totally relate to, with her lower-middle class background, her assertiveness and earthiness, her black woman's hips and black woman's strength. We look at Michelle Obama and we see ourselves, our mothers, our sisters, friends, aunts and colleagues. Strong, incredible black women.

And most beautifully, we can see how loved she is by her husband. And we LOVE, love, love it, don't we?

Because, again let's face it. Many prominent and successful black men 'trade in' when they move on up. The black wife may be good for the starter wife but not for the trophy wife. But Michelle Obama is not just Barack's rock, she is his trophy and he holds her up proudly. I will never forget hearing a snippet of an interview he did on BET with Jeff Johnson and when asked about his wife, noted:

"Well first off, I don't know if you noticed but ... my wife is fine."

I loved that - that rumble of whole-hearted appreciation for his woman. I love that the affection and attraction and appreciation the Obamas have for each other is so palpable. With so many political couples, they seem so stiff and staged - the Clintons readily pop to mind. With the Obamas, you see all these little signs of their love and affection - when Michelle hugs him tightly from behind or Barack taps her on her hip or the fist bump heard round the world. The picture above just sums up the love and affection they seem to have for each other that you don't usually see with couples in public life.

And islandistas, isn't it a joy to see this? We know the state of male-female relations in the black community, especially on this side of the Atlantic where our families and relationships have been riven by historical social injustices. Black women are less likely to be married than women of any other race. Even when our men don't trade us in, we are often not loved and honoured as we should be. Which is another reason why we love the Obamas.

Kim McClarin put it well on The Root months ago, explaining why President-elect Obama's wife makes us as black women love him more:

"What I am saying is that in America it is not often we see the wife of a successful black man who looks like Michelle, and that seeing her beside him is, for some of us, almost as transforming a moment as seeing him where he is. ... More importantly, Michelle Obama seems to take his open adoration of her in stride, as if it were simply nothing more than she deserved. Concept!

Exactly.

And of course, it doesn't hurt that she's fierce. Like the banded red and black Narciso Rodriguez ombre dress she wore last night for Barack's acceptance speech. Not quite as hot as the purple Mario Pinto she wore when Barack passed the magic number of delegates to win the primaries, but hot nonetheless. That is why she has been all up in folks' best dressed lists for the last two years. And we hear she is going to bring it for the Inauguration and is already in discussion with black designer Cassandra Bromefield to design her dress. Hotness and promoting black design talent? We loves it.

Lewis Hamilton takes Formula One championship

Well, guess who's the Formula One champion in just his second season? Not to mention the youngest Formula One champion ever? Oh, and the first black Formula One champion?

Our own super-speedy, uber-sexy islandisto, Grenadian-descended Lewis Hamilton!



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He clinched the title yesterday in a most dramatic fashion at the Brazilian Grand Prix.  Needing to place at least 5th to claim the title, he was behind for much of the race, in 6th position and on a wet track.

But Toyota's Timo Glock who was in fourth place, started to fall back as his team failed to call him in to change to wet tyres. Hamilton eased past him in the penultimate corner and managed to hold on to fifth place - and the title.

"I’m very emotional, I’ve cried,” Hamilton said. “My heart’s feeling so much strain right now. I think first and foremost of my family and then I thank God because he was with me all year as he always is.”

That family of course, includes his father Anthony Hamilton, born to Grenadian parents who moved to the UK in the 1950s. Lewis lived with his father since he was 12 years old and his dad has put everything into Lewis' career, even taking on as many as three jobs at a time to support Lewis when he was a young go-karter.

Despite the fact that he is actually a third-generation Grenadian, Lewis stays close to his island roots, visiting the island regularly to see his grandparents who moved back home, investing in land in the island and even dating Miss Grenada Universe.

From us here at Islandista, we say congrats Lewis! Keep making the region proud.