Mighty Whitey

My good friend Gonzie Gonzalez was a New York Rican émigré to the Virgin Islands. Actually Gonzie grew up in New Jersey but he had worked in the city. He had followed a beautiful girl he met in a club down to her home on the island of St. Croix with the intention of making her his wife. Gonzie gave up a good disc jockey job on a Spanish language radio station in NYC to take on this love mission. He found a job on a local Virgin Island station doing the Gonzie Gonzalez show in rapid fire Spanish while spinning the latest salsa discs. His show was broadcast throughout the Caribbean but he was reaching only about 1/10th the audience as he had stateside. I loved his show though I could only understand bits and pieces of his patter. The music was great and quickly growing in popularity in the seventies.

The other reason for his migration south was to get in touch with his Caribbean roots. Gonzie had spent time in Puerto Rico visiting relatives when he was a kid but he wanted to know what was happening in the greater Antilles arena.

While all the little islands had substantial Hispanic populations the majority was the black descendants of the slaves of old colonial sugar plantations. The music of the islands was predominately calypso. Salsa had black influence but was also a Creole mix of Cuban beat, Spanish merenge and Puerto Rican folk songs that were set into music motion in big cities of the American north east. Calypso music was old and pure.

Every year before Carnival there was an island and all Caribbean calypso king contest. The best band with the best new song would be installed as the featured lead band during the days of carnival. The big winner could be invited to the grand bacchanal in Rio.

Gonzie loved calypso and played all the competing Mardi Gras tunes on his show. He and other stations would take the votes from listeners. Calypso bands were all black. Gonzie did not think this was fitting in the multicultural complexion of the Caribbean. Yes, the majority was black but you didn't have to look too far to spot the European descendants of the old colonial families, brown faces from Puerto Rico and the east Indies, Muslim shop owners and a scattering of stateside whites.

Gonzie engaged a white troubadour with a good voice and then approached a local steel band and put them together. They took the name 'Mighty Whitey'. I wrote a satirical tune called ' Irie, The boss can sing'. The band was good and the troubadour had blonde hair, the fair complexion of a northern European and a strong voice. By the way, 'Irie or Iree' is Jamaican patois for 'the state of feeling great'.

We cut a tape and Gonzie gave it some play time. We also got 'Mighty Whitey' a gig at the 'Black Out Disco'. We paraded 'Whitey' around the streets of St. Croix and people really loved his vocal style and pasty face. 'Whitey' could also sing other calypso tunes with convincing conviction. He started getting votes, lots of votes.

Whitey won the local competition and was sent to St. Thomas for the carnival. He was not the lead band but did have the biggest following. He didn't get many votes down island (they didn't get the joke) and if they go to Rio they must pay their own way.

Gonzie married Ellena Figeroa and they moved back to New Jersey. I lost track of them after I returned to the states but I will always remember marching to calypso tunes behind the most popular white guy in the Virgin Islands