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Sep 15, 2010 at 10:09 PM
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The man often credited with taking soca global, Arrow, has died after fighting cancer for some time.
Outside the Caribbean, many know soca music, a fast-paced cousin of calypso, through Arrow's biggest hit Hot, Hot, Hot, recorded in 1982.
Sixty-year-old Arrow, whose real name is Alphonsus Edmund Cassell, had been fighting brain cancer for over a year and had been back and forth for treatment in the US. However, upon returning home to his native Montserrat, he fell ill recently with pneumonia and was hospitalised in neighbouring Antigua.
Businessman
Arrow was known locally as a businessman as well as an international soca star.
Mike Jarvis interviews Arrow's brother
He set up his own record label in 1973 and ran a shop on the remaining habitable part of Montserrat after the volcano destroyed large parts of the island.
His song 'Hot, Hot, Hot' became the biggest selling soca hit of all time.
Arrow had always stated how much he loved calypso, the precursor for soca music.
And he had named himself Arrow in honour of calypso veteran Sparrow.
Born and raised in Montserrat, Arrow grew up in a musical family where both his older brothers had been Calypso Kings of Montserrat, Hero, Justin Cassell and Young Challenger, Lorenzo Castell.
He first performed at age 10 at a concert at the Montserrat Secondary School.
He started singing calypso in 1967 taking the junior monarch title and four times the Monserrat crown.
Arrow was a very popular performer at the Caribbean King of Kings Calypso Competition in Antigua.
He was the first soca artist to perform at Jamaica's Reggae Sunsplash.
He recorded his first single in 1972, Dance With Me Woman.
He recorded his first album in 1974.
Outside the Caribbean, many know soca music, a fast-paced cousin of calypso, through Arrow's biggest hit Hot, Hot, Hot, recorded in 1982.
Sixty-year-old Arrow, whose real name is Alphonsus Edmund Cassell, had been fighting brain cancer for over a year and had been back and forth for treatment in the US. However, upon returning home to his native Montserrat, he fell ill recently with pneumonia and was hospitalised in neighbouring Antigua.
Businessman
Arrow was known locally as a businessman as well as an international soca star.
Mike Jarvis interviews Arrow's brother
He set up his own record label in 1973 and ran a shop on the remaining habitable part of Montserrat after the volcano destroyed large parts of the island.
His song 'Hot, Hot, Hot' became the biggest selling soca hit of all time.
Arrow had always stated how much he loved calypso, the precursor for soca music.
And he had named himself Arrow in honour of calypso veteran Sparrow.
Born and raised in Montserrat, Arrow grew up in a musical family where both his older brothers had been Calypso Kings of Montserrat, Hero, Justin Cassell and Young Challenger, Lorenzo Castell.
He first performed at age 10 at a concert at the Montserrat Secondary School.
He started singing calypso in 1967 taking the junior monarch title and four times the Monserrat crown.
Arrow was a very popular performer at the Caribbean King of Kings Calypso Competition in Antigua.
He was the first soca artist to perform at Jamaica's Reggae Sunsplash.
He recorded his first single in 1972, Dance With Me Woman.
He recorded his first album in 1974.
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Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet is no longer a US citizen. He says he surrendered his US citizenship soon after he was asked to become a Minister in the Sir John Compton government. Chastanet says he gave up his citizenship in the United States long before the issue became regional fodder. He says he was compelled to do so by his ethics.
While the Minister gave up his American citizenship - he does however still possess Irish citizenship owing to his mother. As a Senator – Section 25 of the Constitution allows him to be a citizen of Saint Lucia and that of any other Commonwealth country. However – Ireland has not been a member of that group since 1948.
Further in Section 32 1 (a) of the Saint Lucia Constitution it says “A person shall not be qualified to be elected as a member of the House…if by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.” This could mean that not only is the Minister not allowed to serve in the Senate with dual citizenship from this country and Ireland – he may also be ineligible to contest a seat in the Parliament.
While the Minister gave up his American citizenship - he does however still possess Irish citizenship owing to his mother. As a Senator – Section 25 of the Constitution allows him to be a citizen of Saint Lucia and that of any other Commonwealth country. However – Ireland has not been a member of that group since 1948.
Further in Section 32 1 (a) of the Saint Lucia Constitution it says “A person shall not be qualified to be elected as a member of the House…if by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.” This could mean that not only is the Minister not allowed to serve in the Senate with dual citizenship from this country and Ireland – he may also be ineligible to contest a seat in the Parliament.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party has been advised that the Government of Saint Lucia has entered into a lease agreement with the owners of the new, Baywalk Mall at Rodney Bay to lease an area in the mall to house the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whose Minister is Rufus Bousquet.
The SLP has been advised that the Government has entered into a ten year lease and will pay a rental sum of one hundred and thirty five thousand E.C. dollars per month. This will amount to one million six hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year.
Apart from shops and a supermarket, the mall will also house a casino which is now in its planning stages.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party is anxious to know what has possessed this Government to re-locate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the mall, next to a casino.
It is madness in these times of economic hardship to incur such rental costs. Moreover, the decision will de-emphasize the value of Castries as the island’s capital city and increase the burdens of Saint Lucians residing outside the Castries Basin and in the south of the island.
No Government should be making such decisions for the personal convenience of a minister as appears to be the case in this decision. According to the SLP, the Prime Minister has a duty to protect the public interest, not the personal convenience or the habits of an errant minister.
The SLP has been advised that the Government has entered into a ten year lease and will pay a rental sum of one hundred and thirty five thousand E.C. dollars per month. This will amount to one million six hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year.
Apart from shops and a supermarket, the mall will also house a casino which is now in its planning stages.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party is anxious to know what has possessed this Government to re-locate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the mall, next to a casino.
It is madness in these times of economic hardship to incur such rental costs. Moreover, the decision will de-emphasize the value of Castries as the island’s capital city and increase the burdens of Saint Lucians residing outside the Castries Basin and in the south of the island.
No Government should be making such decisions for the personal convenience of a minister as appears to be the case in this decision. According to the SLP, the Prime Minister has a duty to protect the public interest, not the personal convenience or the habits of an errant minister.
The year 2007 marked the beginning of major growth in the St Lucia’s cruise industry. That year, Port Castries recorded the highest number of passengers ever in a single year, 70 percent more than the previous year. The Port has been able to sustain this growth each year surpassing the previous year’s performance. In 2009, Port Castries welcomed almost 700,000 cruise passengers the highest number ever in the history of the Port.
This increase was no accident but through the strategic efforts of the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) together with the Ministry of Tourism and private sector partners which implemented effective marketing strategies to the cruise lines throughout the last few years. St Lucia has therefore become one of the best performing cruise destinations in the Southern Caribbean. In 2009, St Lucia ranked 2nd in the Eastern Caribbean (and Barbados) with only Antigua surpassing St Lucia’s cruise arrivals by 2 percent.
For the 2010/11 cruise season however, SLAPSA expects a decline of 14 percent when compared to last year cruise season still remaining above the 600,000 cruise passenger mark. Despite this decline, Port Castries expects to see increased traffic for Celebrity, Holland America, P&O, Cunard and luxury liner SilverSea Cruises. The projected decline is largely as a result of the redeployment of three lines i.e. Aida, Costa and Pullmantur Cruises, while a fourth line Ocean Village cruise line is no longer in operation. Both Aida Cruises and Costa Cruises are expected to return to the island in the 2012/13 cruise season.
“It is quite normal that every two years cruise lines change their deployment patterns, SLASPA together with the Ministry of Tourism and local private sector continue to work towards the strengthening of St Lucia’s product to ensure that the island remains a leading cruise destination. We also recognize the significant economic contribution
of the cruise sector and therefore we do not focus exclusively on the quantity of passengers also quality passengers. In this regard, we are quite pleased that we have retained our major year-round calls with brands such as Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International and the return of lines such a Silversea Cruises which is known as one of the luxury brands” said Dona Regis, Director of Marketing and Product Development, SLASPA.
Among the other Cruises lines expected to call St Lucia this coming season are: Princess Cruises, Thompson Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Fred Olsen and Seabourn.
This increase was no accident but through the strategic efforts of the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) together with the Ministry of Tourism and private sector partners which implemented effective marketing strategies to the cruise lines throughout the last few years. St Lucia has therefore become one of the best performing cruise destinations in the Southern Caribbean. In 2009, St Lucia ranked 2nd in the Eastern Caribbean (and Barbados) with only Antigua surpassing St Lucia’s cruise arrivals by 2 percent.
For the 2010/11 cruise season however, SLAPSA expects a decline of 14 percent when compared to last year cruise season still remaining above the 600,000 cruise passenger mark. Despite this decline, Port Castries expects to see increased traffic for Celebrity, Holland America, P&O, Cunard and luxury liner SilverSea Cruises. The projected decline is largely as a result of the redeployment of three lines i.e. Aida, Costa and Pullmantur Cruises, while a fourth line Ocean Village cruise line is no longer in operation. Both Aida Cruises and Costa Cruises are expected to return to the island in the 2012/13 cruise season.
“It is quite normal that every two years cruise lines change their deployment patterns, SLASPA together with the Ministry of Tourism and local private sector continue to work towards the strengthening of St Lucia’s product to ensure that the island remains a leading cruise destination. We also recognize the significant economic contribution
of the cruise sector and therefore we do not focus exclusively on the quantity of passengers also quality passengers. In this regard, we are quite pleased that we have retained our major year-round calls with brands such as Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International and the return of lines such a Silversea Cruises which is known as one of the luxury brands” said Dona Regis, Director of Marketing and Product Development, SLASPA.
Among the other Cruises lines expected to call St Lucia this coming season are: Princess Cruises, Thompson Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Fred Olsen and Seabourn.
The LPM has expressed concern about the way citizens with disabilities are treated in St. Lucia and vows to change that regime when an LPM government is elected. Political leader of the LPM, Therold Prudent, says that an LPM administration will protect and safeguard the rights of all citizens regardless of their abilities or disabilities in this country.
Mr. Prudent says that for too long, persons with disabilities have been treated as second class citizens in this country and in some rare cases even mocked and ridiculed by persons who ought to be more sensitive to the plight of the less fortunate St. Lucians.
Mr. Prudent believes that government needs to do more by way of removing the physical and mental hurdles and impediments that persons who are physically and mentally challenged encounter on a daily basis in St. Lucia.
People who are mentally or physically challenged need to be afforded the same respect and rights as those who are not, he said.
Persons who are wheelchair bound need to have the same access to government buildings and sidewalks as those who aren’t. An LPM government will mandate that all government buildings be equip with wheelchair ramps so that the physically challenged will have the same easy access as all other persons using those buildings.
Mr. Prudent says that an LPM government will be a more compassionate and kind government. Under an LPM administration persons with disabilities will be given compassionate considerations when they visit Victoria Hospital by ushering them to the head of the line if there are no serious emergencies that need immediate attention.
An LPM administration supports the idea of giving persons with disabilities discount considerations for needed medication and medical supplies. The LPM will also streamline the process and make it much easier for them to apply for and receive government assistance by way of home care, medical supplies and financial assistance.
—-LPM
Mr. Prudent says that for too long, persons with disabilities have been treated as second class citizens in this country and in some rare cases even mocked and ridiculed by persons who ought to be more sensitive to the plight of the less fortunate St. Lucians.
Mr. Prudent believes that government needs to do more by way of removing the physical and mental hurdles and impediments that persons who are physically and mentally challenged encounter on a daily basis in St. Lucia.
People who are mentally or physically challenged need to be afforded the same respect and rights as those who are not, he said.
Persons who are wheelchair bound need to have the same access to government buildings and sidewalks as those who aren’t. An LPM government will mandate that all government buildings be equip with wheelchair ramps so that the physically challenged will have the same easy access as all other persons using those buildings.
Mr. Prudent says that an LPM government will be a more compassionate and kind government. Under an LPM administration persons with disabilities will be given compassionate considerations when they visit Victoria Hospital by ushering them to the head of the line if there are no serious emergencies that need immediate attention.
An LPM administration supports the idea of giving persons with disabilities discount considerations for needed medication and medical supplies. The LPM will also streamline the process and make it much easier for them to apply for and receive government assistance by way of home care, medical supplies and financial assistance.
—-LPM
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