Viewers know all about the National Song Competition. It's kind of like the unofficial start of the September Celebrations after an official theme is selected.
Every year, the competition travels to a different part of the country, where fans get a preview of the next big carnival and patriotic song that will dominate next month's celebrations. Local musicians and artists compete amongst each other for bragging rights and thousands of dollars in cash prizes.
On Saturday, this year's competition was held at the Andres Campos Civic Center in Corozal Town. And, after all the scores were tabulated winners were chosen from both the junior and senior categories.
This year's winning contestants in the Junior's Carnival Category was Amiri "Prince" Gentle from Toledo won first place with his song "The Patriots". Zeana "ZAE!" Myers of Corozal placed second with her submission "Celebrate With Mih".
In the Junior Belize Song category, Huston "Punta Youth" Alvarez won first place with his song "My Home". The runner-up was Amiri "Prince" Gentle with his song entry of "The Jewel Belize"
In the Senior Belize Song category, the National Song Competition veteran, Cecil "Cocono Bwai" Jenkins Jr., won his 5th victory with the song "Belize History", which was a collaboration between him and his grandmother, Raquel Baptist.
This afternoon, we got a chance to speak with Cocono Bwai, about his winning entry:
Cecil "Cocono Bwai" Jenkins Jr. - 2019 Winner, Belize Song
"I'm the defending champ for 2019, and I wrote a song, Belize History. So, it's everything that happened in the past year about Guatemala, and this ICJ referendum, the voting. I decided that I had to put something out there that will hit because Belize already voted yes to the ICJ. So, I just wrote the song, and I went to my grandmother, Miss Raquel Baptist, and asked her if she wanted to do the collaboration with me, and she said, yes, let us do it. So, I went to the studio, Junie Mar Production, down south, and we did it."
"Backstage, the performance, I was watching the performers before me, and it was just solid. When I say solid, the band, everything was nice - the stage presence. Our cultural outfit was just fitting for our song, and our coordination - everything. People only listen to songs, and they just don't understand the meaning behind certain songs, until when the song becomes a favorite to the people."
"First off, it mentions that before I was born in this Country, Belize's history was already set, treaties and everything was already set. So, now that I am here living this situation with Guatemala. My granny explained in the song, in her verse, that she is tired of the claim, and she says that from the time she was born, until the time she rests, she will represent and keep up Belize's tradition."
"I don't have any rings, but could look at my fingers and count. The first year, 2014, when I was in High School, Wesley College, at 17 years, 2015, I graduated from the juniors to the senior category. So, it started all over again, and I placed first. 2016, Border to Border, I placed again. 2017 I lost. The competition was down south in Dangriga, and Denise Castillo placed. Big up to Denise Castillo, she was my travel mate. And in 2018, I placed in Cayo. That was big, Proud Belizean. And now this year in 2019, so, I have 5 titles under my belt."
The second-place winner for the Senior Belize Song category was Egbert Gill from Corozal, with his entry, "This is Belize".
Jarett "JC" Cornejo, who's also from Corozal, won the Senior Carnival song category with his entry "Raise Your Flag"; he also won the People's Choice award. Second place went to Leslie "Bastic" Jenkins from Belize City with his entry, "Party Never Done".
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