Just when everyone was getting ready to write her off, Big Red’s luck changed. She is right back in the soca mix, holding court as Road March Queen 2008 and sharing the spotlight with a hot Venezuelan import.
There may be tensions between Guyana and Venezuela but not as far as Michelle ‘Big Red’ King and Venezuelan Joselis Suarez are concerned. The two teamed up for the infectious “On De Road Again”, which was released in time for Mashramani and became the biggest hit on the road.
If bands were not playing the track on February 23, it could only have been because they had trouble finding the CD. Big Red and Joselis were part of the revelry and from all reports, they were generating more heat than the morning sun.
The crowd only had to say the words, “Baila, baila”. For Joselis, who does not speak a word of English that means keep going, entertain until they stop chanting and have a blast. And did she obey?! By the time it was all over the young Venezuelan who was here for the first time and at her first Mashramani was near exhaustion but she would do it all again without hesitation.
In an interview with The Scene last week, Joselis with the aid of interpreter, Fiona Singh of the Venezuelan Institute, said the entire experience was fantastic and one of those things that she is not going to forget for a long time to come. 
So how did it all happen? Michelle, who goes by her stage name Big Red, explained that Joselis is the friend of a close friend. Even before they met, Big Red had heard of Joselis; mostly good things about her singing and how she was eager to come to Guyana.
Big Red was in the process of recording a song for the road march competition and then it hit her that collaboration with Joselis would be fresh, different and unexpected. When Joselis finally arrived in Guyana they hooked up and within a short period Big Red’s song had a new spin on it.
“The song was translated for Joselis and parts of it were re-written in Spanish. She actually wrote the Spanish bit, then we took it from there. It was her first soca song but she was a natural,” Big Red said.
Shortly after, the women hit the studio and the song was recorded. Big Red noted that Burchmore Simon of Kross Kolor Records did the arrangements while Spotlight Productions was responsible for the video.
Once the song was recorded, Big Red said, the feeling came over her that it was going to be well received. She said many people who heard it initially believed it was a foreign track and was not recorded locally. That, she joked, was the sole working of Joselis, whose Spanish part make the song seem foreign.
But when the video was released there were no more questions as to whether it was local. Big Red said the idea really was to make a song that was different. Added to this, she said, the goal was also to collaborate with Joselis to demonstrate that there is more to Guyana/Venezuelan relations than economics.
Joselis, who is 18 years old, but has been singing since she was a little girl, said the thought of working with Big Red was a bit intimidating since she had become familiar with the local singer after arriving in Guyana.
“Big Red is the best in Guyana,” she declared adding that she would not have wanted to have her start here any other way. For her it was a dream to work with Big Red but she is hoping the fairytale does not end here.
The young singer said she wants to work with Big Red again and possibly record a few songs on her own while here. She is optimistic that within another few months her English will improve so much that she will be able to pull off another interview with The Scene without the aid of an interpreter.
Joselis revealed that while she was in Venezuela the news she received about Guyana was always negative.
“I heard nothing good at all and my family did not want me to come. But I did anyway and even then, they were still mad. But after the song came out and they were able to see it back home on DVD, I am getting a call everyday,” she said smiling.
The Venezuelan said she plans on staying on in Guyana for a while to learn more about the country since she has hopes of going back to Venezuela and projecting a different image of Guyana, the true image.
Joselis said her father and older sister are singers back home but she is the first to branch out. Since she has been here, she has received a lot of praise much of which, she said, might be because she is “not bad looking”.
No doubt, what Joselis meant to say was that her hot, head-turning looks have been a boost. However, she proudly announced that she is engaged and soon to be wed. She even flashed her ring. (ianaseales@yahoo.com)
