LETTER FROM ERICA WILLIAMS CONNELL:

I am writing to introduce you to Yanik Quesnel from Trinidad and Tobago whose story is, at one and the same time, both heartbreaking, yet immensely heartwarming - and I am soliciting your help! You may have heard of the terrible accident in July at Pigeon Point in Tobago. Yanik and his girlfriend were run over by a speedboat. Carolina (airlifted to her home in Spain ) was gravely injured by the propeller, while Yanik suffered a massive brain injury which has left him completely coherent but with the use of only one arm. He is unable to walk.
Yanik has been receiving treatment at Ryder Trauma Center for some weeks now and is likely to be there for a considerable time. He has just turned 18. He and his mother know only three people here in Miami and I have now made the fourth. I never knew the family in Trinidad but accompanied their friend on her visit to the hospital where I was so moved, so inspired by this boy that I decided I wanted to try to arrange as many visitors for him as I could. While I have attempted - in vain and disappointingly - to convince the youth group from my parish church to see him, I have asked a few Trinidad friends to step into the breach and I, myself, visited tonight.

There, all alone, I found myself in the presence of true courage, and if I may say so, even greatness - yes, at that tender age! Yanik is astonishingly upbeat. He is humble, sensitive, profound and unfailingly compassionate. The International Kids Fund is assisting with his enormous medical bills and when this facility came through, he expressed to me his hesitation in accepting it - believing there were others far more in need of this avenue than he was.

This is more than just a bright young man with a future - and he is no 'nerd' either. He has been, variously and at a younger age, just as excessive and intemperate as most teenagers. At 15, he absconded with his parents' car, totalled it, and was put to work in a soup kitchen in Trinidad as a consequence. It was there, he confided, that he developed a social conscience.
Yanik won an International Baccalaureate (IB) scholarship to Costa Rica after high school and has already finished one year. Upon successful completion, he will be eligible for entry into most major metropol itan universities. The IB programme is recognized internationally. He is a voracious reader, writes poetry, has just entered an online contest and his winning poem will shortly be published. In Costa Rica, his community service included coaching the disabled. In fact, his protege has just won a medal at the Beijing Special Olympics! With the new knowledge and perspective at his disposal, we both agreed that if before he was a good coach, now he will be a GREAT coach. His goal is to study environmental science.

During the two hours I spent with Yanik, it was heartening to see the affection with which the nurses hold him. It is both obvious and infectious. This is an exceedingly special young man who has attained a wisdom some of us can still only guess at. As I said to him, I can't tell you how you're going to get there, but I KNOW you're going to go far. And I have no doubt whatever that he will. His spirit is indomitable and led me to remark to one of the friends I was persuading to visit him that "I just saw God lying in a bed." For it is indisputably BECAUSE a Higher Power is within him that he is able to be so extraordinarily positive and confident.

So many of our children fritter away their talents and abilities. I have personally been uplifted by the experience that is Yanik, and I PRAY that he will obtain the wherewithal to overcome his limitations and not in any way, to be hindered by them. And this is where you come in. My friends and I are asking the Consulate to assist in raising funds for Yanik's continuing care. He may need as much as 10-12 more months of rehabilitation and in fact, he has just undergone a US $40,000 operation to install a device in his spine that will time-release much-needed medication - for the rest of his life - to alleviate the severe leg spasms which MUST be diminished if he is ever to have a shot at walking once again. As you can imagine, the International Kids Fund is hardly a bottomless pit and they have already begun making noises about his longterm care.

All donations can be made to: INTERNATIONAL KIDS FUND, PO BOX 2020, MIAMI , FL 33101. Tel: 877-453-5437 The reference must clearly state: For the benefit of Yanik Quesnel.
With his permission, then, I am sending to you a poem Yanik composed about his condition a few weeks ago. While I can only WRITE about his situation, Yanik's own words will make you FEEL it!

Repercussions by Yanik v. Quesnel

The monotony can poison the strongest of men
Being as before is my only yen
So much in my life has been broken
Cursed with a seemingly indefinite stillness
My paralysis I believe to be a chronic illness
Rarely is effort not followed by progress
I summoned the will and therefore it is impossible to fail
To the disease progress is my only assail
Persistent struggling has been to my avail

REMEMBER: SEND YOUR BANK DRAFT OR WIRE TRANSFER TO: INTERNATIONAL KIDS FUND, PO BOX 2020, MIAMI , FL 33101. Tel: 877-453-5437 or donate online here https://www.internationalkidsfund.org/how_you_can_help/donation.cfm

Select Yanick Quesnel from the drop down.

Clearly state that your donation is "for the benefit of Yanik Quesnel".

Now you can watch IZATRINI Videos on the go, just subscribe to the IZATRINI Video Podcast on iTunes.

Shots ring out one winter night and a bullet meant for a local street dealer kills a ten-year-old boy. In the downtown Toronto community of Parkdale, grief and suspicion hang heavily in the air, while the nightly patrons at Miss G’s Caribbean TakeAway resume their ritual of beer and banter. But one of them, Gene Wright, cannot go on. He begs his friends for help. In a most unusual development, six Black men make a pact to form a support group in hopes of salvaging their broken spirits and redeeming their besieged community.

A Winter Tale is set against the backdrop of a multicultural community's unrealized hopes and dreams. Bitter and tragic, funny and hopeful, the film tells a uniquely Canadian story that features Toronto as a central character.

Director -  Frances-Anne Solomon is a Director, Producer and Writer in film, TV, radio, theatre, and new media. Born in England of Trinidadian parents, she was raised and educated in the Caribbean and Canada, lived and worked in the UK for several years, and has been based in Toronto since 1999.

Theatres: Coming to Cinemas in T&T in May 2008

View Movie Trailer

Cast: Professa: Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall
Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall is a popular comedian, historian, producer and singer/composer from Trinidad. He has worked with Caribbean Tales in the Gemini-nominated sitcom "Lord Have Mercy". See Full Cast

Crew: CHRISTOPHER PINHEIRO: Production Designer - The founding Artistic Director of the Toronto-based SwizzleStick Theatre, he designs and directs scenarios for Stilt-Dancing Moko Jumbies and has been working on Caribana since 1985 with Shadowland, VideoCabaret and the Toronto Island Mas Band. Recipient of a Commonwealth Foundation Fellowship in Textile Design, he study-toured in India. Beginning with the Trinidad Theatre Workshop of Derek Walcott, he was a foundation member of the Banyan Television Workshop and the Callaloo Company of Peter Minshall. This is his second project with Leda Serene.  The first was as Art Director on “What My Mother Told Me.”

MAURI HALL: Composer - Mauri has been doing music since the age of seven, singing and song writing, as well as composing. He has produced many songs for radio in Trinidad and Tobago, working with artists such as Bunji Garlin and 3 Canal. He has composed for Literature Alive, a 13-part documentry series which aired on Bravo! in late 2005 for Leda Serene Films. Mauri has composed for theatre productions such as A Winter Tale (Leda Serene/Caribbean Tales) and is also working on the music for a feature film version of A Winter Tale. He is also an audio engineer, holding a diploma in recording engineering from Recording Arts Canada and has worked professionally as an audio engineer since 2000. 
See Full Crew.

Hailing from Toronto, Canadas most versatile DJ, Court Jester has earned the title with more than 10 years of playing beats in the key of life, as well as on the University Of Torontos Campus Radio station CIUT 89.5FM. He has proved that a jack of all trades can in fact be a master of many skillfully mastering reggae, soca, house and old school as well as his heritage musics - R&B, and Hip Hop.

Adding to the arsenal, his trademark Crunk sets, Jester truly juggles all musical genres as easily as the crowds that he rocks from coast to coast and internationally... To date, Jester has played on shows with some of the worlds top DJs and artists like Faith Evans, 112, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, Sean Paul, Jermaine Dupri & The SoSo Def All Stars, Kanye West, Donell Jones, P-Diddy, Lord Jazz (L.O.T.U.G.), Kid Capri, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Tony Matterhorn, Starting From Scratch, Ginuwine as well as some of socas best artists Machel Montano & Xtatik, Alison Hinds & Square One, Bunji Garlin, Dawg-E-Slaughter, Maximus Dan, Burning Flames, Krosfyah, Rupee, Shurwayne Winchester & Traffik, Treason, and so many more.

He has also made appearances on various media outlets such as radio stations FLOW 93.5FM,
CKLN 88.1FM, CHIN 100.7, The Beat 94.5FM (Vancouver), WEFM 96.1FM (Trinidad), as well as television appearances on Much Music's Much Vibe, Da Mix, and Electric Circus. Jester can still be heard on 89.5FM every Thursday morning from 5:30-8:30am with co-host DJ Chief providing the best in hip hop, soca, reggae, r&b - WORLDWIDE (www.ciut.fm). 

Jester has definitely earned the title of Canadas Most Versatile DJ not just by the way he entertains crowds but as a voice on the radio as well as lending his hand in promoting various
events. He has expanded his talents and is now producing and voicing commercials for various events/projects. Jester is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

For bookings: info@courtjesteronline.com
11th Hour Management:
Ryan - 416.419.3075
ryan@courtjesteronline.com

Nicole - 416.602.2100
nic@courtjesteronline.com

http://www.courtjesteronline.com


>> Download the IZATRINI.com March Soca Music Podcast featuring DJ Jester
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KeKeRe

gaining air-play in Tobago on Tambrin 92.7 FM and local recognition as a dynamic performer.

In early 2003 KeKeRe decided it was time for him to further develop his engineering and producing skills. He, therefore, enrolled and studied audio engineering and production at the prestigious digital arts college Recording Arts Canada [RAC] in Toronto.

Upon returning from the cold KeKeRe got an opportunity to work with the legendary Machel Montano and Xtatik. With Machel he coordinated video screens for live shows, engineered audio recordings and studio mixing. He also got involved in song writing and making riddims while at Machel's Ed Gordon Studios.

KeKeRe has performed in The 3canal Show: 'Jab In The Box' for 2005, a show which aired on Synergy TV for the 2005 carnival season. In 2007 he performed his new song, New Generation, in 'The Bacchanal Show' with 3canal, garnering good reviews, with a performance called "Sterlin" by Paul Richards of 96.1 FM.

For the 2008 Calypso Season in the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival KeKeRe performed with the Glow Calypso Tent in Tobago. He was able to place second, with a song called WAP, to Princess Adana in the first ever Tobago Groovy Soca Monarch Competition and fourth after Tobago Chalkie, Squeeze and Calypso Prince in the NJAC Tobago Young Kings Competition. Towards the end of the short season he spent the last week performing at Queens Hall, Port of Spain in The 3canal Show, "SHINE".

Artists and producers with whom Mauri 'KeKeRe' Hall has worked, either as producer, composer, performer or engineer, include Bunji Garlin. Culture B, Mr. Slaughter, Joe 'Tempo' Ceasar, Farmer Nappy, Benjai, Shel Shok, Kernal Roberts, Spot Rushaz, Khari Killer, Fayann Lyons Alvarez, Gotti, Patrice Roberts, Ninja, Peter C. Lewis, Machel Montano, Gavin Walters, 3canal, David Rudder and Ainsley King.

Mauri has also composed music for film and television. His work can be heard on, the Trinidad born Toronto based filmmaker, Frances Anne Solomon's latest TV series which features Caribbean Canadian writers and her award winning feature film

KeKeRe The Rebel and Vengeance Crew create a World Music, rooted in the rich musical traditions of Soca and Calypso inspired by Tobago, which they call 'APOCALYPSO' (meaning 'lifting of the veil through calypso to disclose something hidden from humankind, a revelation through calypso').

KeKeRe's debut CD, NEW GENERATION, will hit the street May 2008. Preview tracks are available for download on trinidadtunes.com.

Take a listen to a sample of the latest track on the Lara Riddim by Fashion Police – “Do the Lara” produced by Mauril Hall (KeKeRe)

For more Artist information check:
http://myspace.com/kekeretherebel2
imdb.com