Copacabana Fridayz at Bluebeat in Montego Bay featuring DJ Irie Latino...Friday, July 23rd, 2010 (click to enlarge/pulse para agrandar)

We went till 4:30 in the morning. It was great seeing so many people here from Colombia and Venezuela and our regulars from Mexico, Cuba and Spain. Thanks as usual to our usual Mobay Yardies and Indians. Sumfest was on but we still got our crowd and I am happy you all came out. You known Irie Latino vibes always keep going and going and going...!

Copacabana Fridayz at Bluebeat in Montego Bay featuring DJ Irie Latino...Friday, July 16th, 2010 (click to enlarge/pulse para agrandar)

Well the rain came down at the beginning of the night but so what? It's Copacabana Friday at Bluebeat in Montego Bay, Jamaica and we don't let a little thing like rain stop us. Hey, this is the tropics and we are the only hurricane in town. Some folks moved from the terrace to the lounge but how about those girls who just kept dancing in the rain! The rain eventually eased and the heat of the Latin beats, reggaeton, salsa and merengue turned all that water on the terrace to pure steam. Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, the United States, Trinidad and Jamaica were all represented by smiling, happy, lovely people. That's how we do a Latin night from Jamaica to the world in beautiful Mobay town...

An Irie Latino Drinking Solution

If you are having a stressful evening, go down to the Far Out Fish Hut (see earlier blog post) and order an Appleton Special Rum and Coke. The waitress will serve the Appleton Special in a glass filled with ice and she'll give you the Pepsi (instead of Coke) in a bottle. Now take your drink and find the bench and table nearest to the Caribbean Sea. Sit down and face the ocean. Don't try to forget your problems. Just relax and after a short while your problems will flow right out of you into the vast expanse of water and sky a few feet away. Believe it or not, just like everything else in the universe your problems need their freedom too, and the tropical evening offers them so much more than your tense muscles and over-worked brain. They will fly away in a minute, skipping along the waves, probably heading north to Cuba for salsa, cigars and a stroll through the streets of Santiago.

Once they have gone, this problematic world will seem a little different. You will realize the Caribbean breeze is offering a gentle massage if you're willing to accept it, the waves breaking on the reef are singing a song and that fly buzzing around the table isn't so annoying anymore. He's just playing a silly game. A cruise ship appears over the horizon and it occurs to you that people around the world are paying an arm and a leg to join you on the north coast of Jamaica.

The rum in that glass is crying out for attention. Add the Pepsi to the rum, take a sip and suddenly Timba music can be heard coming from Cuba ninety miles across the sea and it's in perfect sync with that good old Jamaican reggae. Now that's a sweet DJ Irie Latino blend, wouldn't you say? I think I'll have another rum, boys and girls. Don't worry about me. It's not a drinking problem. It's a drinking solution. Cheers!

Reggae Sumfest 2010's Lineup Of Stars

Copacabana Fridayz at Bluebeat in Montego Bay featuring DJ Irie Latino...Friday, July 10th, 2010 (click to enlarge/pulse para agrandar)

Put a Bluebeat cocktail to your lips, enjoy that tropical breeze floating across the terrace from the Caribbean Sea and let that beat move your hips, your legs, your whole body to that salsa, reggaeton or merengue rhythm. Look around and see the smiles, hear the laughter and share the chatter. It's Friday, everything is cool and as a matter of fact everything is just great and you deserve every fun-filled minute. It's another Copacabana Friday just for you. The regulars were there so the rum poured freely and the jokes didn't stop until the last song was played. Cuba was represented and so was Colombia, Spain, Venezuela, Peru, the Dominican Republic, the United States, England and of course "the Rock". It's Copacabana, baby, where the whole world comes together. A shoutout to the celebrity who was in the house but shall remain nameless. Good to see you again, amigo, and "nuff respect"!

Reggae Sumfest 2010 Was Launched With A Great Party At Pier One

Forgive me but if you offer me a couple rum and cokes and some good company then that's all I will mostly be interested in for the night and that's exactly what happened last night. It was really a great vibe but let's not forget that the occasion held at Montego Bay's favourite party venue, Pier One, was the launch of this year's Reggae Sumfest, Jamaica's premiere reggae and international music show for the past 18 years which will run from July 17-24 in Montego Bay, so I owe you a semblance of some decent reporting.

The event was well attended by sponsors and guests from around Jamaica and Montego Bay including representatives of Digicel, Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Hotel, Secrets Resort and Spa, Holiday Inn, Sunset Beach Resort and Spa, the Palmyra, the Twisted Kilt, Margaritaville Caribbean, Satori Resort, Altamont Court Hotel, Coral Cliff, Jamaica Air Shuttle and others. From a strictly party perspective it was good to see "people persons" like Sophia Max-Brown, Crazy Neil, Gary Gourzong, Andre Dixon and Donahue Jarret in the place. Hey, it's all about vibes so I'm giving props where they are due. People make the world go round, baby.

But seriously, there was indeed a Reggae Sumfest presentation as expected detailing the performers at this year's show and profiling the official sponsors. This took place somewhere between my third and fifth rum and coke. Johnny Gourzong, Reggae Sumfest's executive director made the key presentation and I caught something very important he said about the Spanish football team and their star player Iniesta in this year's football World Cup. It's good to see that even Reggae Sumfest has their priorities straight when it comes to current affairs and global events. Waka waka...you follow me?

The presentation included a great video of all the performers at Reggae Sumfest 2010. If you're going to ask me who they all are then you really don't know me, do you? But I was promised by Reggae Sumfest officialdom that I will soon be able to link to the video from my blog so keep your attention fixed on Irie Latino. From what I saw via the video Reggae Sumfest 2010 will be a great show as usual featuring the likes of Mavado, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Chris Brown, Jah Cure, Usher, Shaggy, Tarrus Riley and Beenie Man to name just a few.

Oh! Richie Loops will also be there...you know...the guy whose drink is in his cup, it's in his cup because what's in his cup stays in his cup because his drink is in his cup. Yep, it's in his cup because his drink is in his cup because it's in his...you guessed it...his cup! Did I mention that his drink is in his cup? It's in his cup. Looking forward to seeing him...and his flippin' cup! I don't really understand why I love that song so much but my psychiatrist and I are working through the problem. Jokes aside, big up to Richie for THE Jamaican song of 2010!

Finally, let me just say that the food was excellent and respect is due to Pier One especially for the quiche. I hope nobody noticed just how many servings I helped myself to. Thank you to Anna-Kay Russell, one of Pier One's bright young owner/managers for inviting me to open the buffet. Clearly, she knows how to identify the hungry bellies in the crowd. Congrats to the whole Pier One team for always making the party special and for always making their patrons feel so much more than special. It was a great start to Reggae Sumfest 2010! (Click on the pics to enlarge)