2 BIG WINNERS AT 2011 SONG COMPETITION

Some of Belize's best performing artists were decked out in the country's national colors last Friday evening, at the Memorial Park 'belting out' some of the hippest, catchiest original tunes of the decade, as they competed alongside less known artists in the 2011 National Song Competition. 24 artists competed in one of three featured categories, which included a Junior , Senior Patriotic and Senior Carnival song competition. At the end of the almost five hour contest, it was crowd favorite and pleaser, Ernestine Carballo who revved up the crowd, with the big win of the night, the number one Carnival song: "Carnival is Here"!. And, Carballo's hit song couldn't have come at a more appropriate time! Just in time to set the mood and the pace, for this Saturday's Carnival Road march.

Ernestine Carballo
"I did it for my Belizean people, because I believe that everything you do, you do with the best of your ability, and I believe that every song I write it has to have some kind of relation with whatever life story or whatever people are going through, in your life or whatever situation, from the young to the granny has to relate and has to be happy and has to rejoice, and I am doing this for Belize because I really want to take Belize on a different level on the map. I feel truly bless and I feel from the bottom of my heart, I am very grateful because, you know Jules, it's not now that I am working it's from last year straight through, with all the carnival bands. I went all the way to Chetumal. I went all over the place with all the carnival mass camps to make sure they practice the steps and train them. I got my choreography together with my dancers from Mother Nature; I found time every single day every weekend to practice with the singers. I put in a lot of work every time. I had to do over the song, actually two times because my producer Kendal Simpson had to go to Miami, so I had to wait on her and when she came back, I had to do it all over, so it's like a lot of work and a lot of finance. I spent like over three thousand dollars. It's a lot of work and I am grateful that my hard work has truly paid off."

Another big winner in this year's Song Competition is little less known, Jamie Humes who won first place in the Patriotic Senior song competition beating out second place Captain Roby and 3rd place winner Nello Player. Humes says while he appreciates that his "Dis Da Fu We" original is not the most traditional of patriotic songs, he wasn't surprised at all about his big upset!

Jamie Humes
"With writing my songs I usually tend to use parables in then like you say it's a modern, postmodern thing and that's where the parables come into to playing with our history and that what I played alone with, including the history in the song."

Jules Vasquez
"Now you knew that you were doing an unconventional song and that no one would pick Jamie for a patriotic song - singer. Are you surprised that you still won?"

Jamie Humes
"I don't want to sound full of myself, but I am not surprised because the genre and everything was coming different. It is all about being different right now."

Jules Vasquez
"So explain to me, what specifically you want people to think, to hear, to feel when they hear your patriotic song?"

Jamie Humes
"The pride with in it, the pride and the message and the time that I took, and not even my song you know, because the other song were good as well, and I would like people to take the time out to and listen to their songs as well."

Other winners in this year's Song Competition include, Anika Perez who won the Junior Category with "21st of September", and Tara Gill placing second with "Give me Back my Sweet Belize". In the Carnival Senior competition, Supa G placed second with his latest release "Jump Jump", and Leslie "Bastic" Jenkins placed third with his song "Our Anniversary".

Channel 7