Black History Month: Trinidadian Gilman ‘Gil’ Theophilus Figaro, Sr., founder and chairman of the Sunshine Awards

Trinidadian-born Teaneck, NJ-based Gilman “Gil” Theophilus Figaro, Sr., songwriter, scriptwriter and producer, or “Figgie” as he is called by his Caribbean fans, is synonymous with “quality productions.” He is the founder and chairman of the Sunshine Awards. 

Figaro has found his place among the veteran Caribbean promoters – making his contribution to Caribbean culture through art, dance, music and poetry – as he continues to raise the level of excellence with each of his exciting and entertaining productions. 

Born of poor parents (poor materially but rich with hope and values) and raised in San Fernando in South Trinidad, Figaro told Caribbean Life on Friday that his earliest musical influences came from his calypsonian uncle, Daniel Emmanuel Jardine Gilchrist (Young Killer/Uncle Fats). 

At 8, Figaro said he was introduced by his uncle to the world of calypso. 

He said his uncle would often take him to the calypso tents when he performed with other super stars such as the Mighty Sparrow, Lord Kitchener, Lord Christo and Mighty Bomber. 

He said Uncle Fats later taught him the art of songwriting and that of creating melodies. 

As a student in high school, St. Benedict’s College, La Romain, San Fernando, Figaro said he joined the school’s military band as a trombone player. He also sang in the choir, played soccer and cricket, and was president of the Student Government. 

Figaro said he wrote his first song, “People”, at 15, and produced his high school’s first carnival and calypso show. 

Two years after graduating from high school, Figaro said he migrated to the United States to pursue a college degree in business at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. 

He went on to complete an MBA at Long Island University, while working many jobs, to pay for his education, including cab driving in the five boroughs of New York. 

In 1985, Figaro said he founded the nonprofit, Calypso for Africa, Inc., “to musically answer the call from his brothers and sisters in drought-stricken Ethiopia. 

He said he co-authored and produced the hit track, “Now is the Time,” the proceeds of which were donated to Ethiopia through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

“This track included 72 calypsonians spanning four generations – from the late Roaring Lion, Lord Pretender and the late Lord Kitchener to Machel Montano and Natasha Wilson – from the Caribbean,” said Figaro, stating that the project was launched at the United Nations in 1987 with the legendary Roberta Flack as the co-host. 

He said his determination to enhance the integrity and global awareness of Caribbean art forms has never waned, founding and producing, in 1989, the SUNSHINE Awards™ “to pay tribute to the creators, performers and promoters of Caribbean art, dance, music and poetry.”

“A special feature of the program is the perpetuation of the Sunshine Awards™ Hall of Fame, also established in that year,” he said. 

In 1991, Figaro said the Sunshine Awards received the endorsement of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the organization responsible for the GRAMMY Awards. 

Figaro said he is “confident that there will be, in the near future, the establishment of a category for calypso and steel band music on the GRAMMY Awards, seeing the Sunshine Awards as conduit to achieving that goal.”

In fact, over the years, Figaro said the Sunshine Awards Program has expanded in scope and breath with a global view to include Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, South America and United States. 

As someone who has always placed a great emphasis on education, Figaro, in 1998, established the Sunshine Awards™ Student Recognition Program. 

“This program annually recognizes and applauds the scholastic achievements of the top male and female students from a selected Caribbean island,” he said. 

“The students are brought to New York to be the presenters of the ‘Best Recording for Children’ category on the Sunshine Awards™ and are taken on educational and cultural tours during their weeklong stay in the city,” he added. 

In 1994, the United Nations selected the theme song for the Sunshine Awards™ “Sunshine”, penned by Figaro, GRAMMY Award recipient, William Salter, and Joe Brown as the commemorative theme for the “Caribbean Festival” in Torino, Italy. 

Figaro said he co-produced, with Joe Brown – Natasha Wilson performing “Sunshine” – for this nostalgic CD, released in Europe that same year.

In the summer of 1995, Figaro said he released another CD with the title track paying tribute to his mother. 

He said “My Mother’s Hands” was categorized by many Caribbean radio stations as the most requested track in 1995/1996.

In 1996, Figaro said he documented another chapter in the history books of Caribbean music, writing the script, and  producing and co-hosting the first Annual Indo-Caribbean Music Awards in Port-of-Spain, the Trinidad capital, for Jamaica Me Crazy (JMC) Records. He said the theme was “Reflections.” 

Figaro said his “high quality productions and scripts” persuaded Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College, in April 1998, to contract him to write the script and produce its first Annual Steelband Festival, “The Pride of the Caribbean,” which featured well-known pannists Andy Narell and Robert Greenwich. 

Figaro said “the flawless execution and professional delivery of this sold-out event” secured him the invitation to produce four more shows for their 1998/1999 season. 

He said he proceeded to produce and direct an evening of Caribbean comedy, “Laugh Till You Belly Bust” and the Center’s first “Christmas in the Caribbean” program. 

“Both shows were a huge success, resulting in the production of ‘Laugh Till You Belly Bust, Part 2,’ and popular demand for a repeat of ‘Christmas in the Caribbean’ in December 2000,” Figaro said.

In 1998, Figaro said his “concern and compassion for humanity and the less fortunate” compelled him to accept an invitation from Air Jamaica Limited to “set up and head a musical project for the people of Montserrat, who lost families, homes and jobs as a result of a series of volcanic eruptions on their island.”

He said he once again got together with songwriter, Joe Brown, and co-authored the “Song for Montserrat.” 

“The result was the ‘Family in Action for Montserrat Project,’ which brought together an ensemble of 119 top performing artists representing the entire Caribbean region,” Figaro said. 

He said world-renowned performers – such as the Mighty Sparrow; Rita Marley; Carlene Davis; Chalkdust; David Rudder; Arrow; Junior Tucker; keyboard player and arranger Frankie McIntosh; Platinum and Gold saxophonist Charles Dougherty; and Miguel Bassail from Puerto Rico – were among the artists who recorded the song for distribution on CD, cassette and video. 

Figaro said he was invited to attend the United Nations International Day for Disaster Prevention and Reduction Conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 14, 1998, where he introduced the “Family in Action for Montserrat Project,” and screened the video for the participants in the audience. 

The “Song for Montserrat” is currently under consideration by the Guinness Book of World Records for possible listing for the largest number of artists (119) performing on a single track, Figaro said. 

In that same year (1998), Figaro said he received “The Heritage Award” from the renowned Hawks International organization for his contribution to the upliftment of the artform of calypso and steel band music.

At the 1999 Sunshine Awards™, Figaro said he was honored with a proclamation by the Manhattan Borough President, C. Virginia Fields, “recognizing and commending him for celebrating the richness of Caribbean cultural expression through the presentation of the Sunshine Awards™”. 

The proclamation also commended Figaro for the founding, in 1998, of the Sunshine Awards™ Student Recognition Program. He received another proclamation from the President of the Borough of Brooklyn, Howard Golden, in 2000. 

Over the years, Figaro said has “won the respect of people in and outside the music industry”, and is frequently asked to produce and direct music events in several arenas. 

Among these were the University of the West Indies 2000 and 2001 Galas, “Building A Legacy,” which paid special tribute to the former United States Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Retired General Colin Powell, of Jamaican parentage, and the world-renowned actor, Bahamian Sidney Poitier. 

Figaro said he produced and directed the evenings’ entertainment, which highlighted performances by the Calypso King of the World, the Mighty Sparrow, and Arrow, the writer of the popular hit, “Hot, Hot, Hot.”

In 2003, Figaro said he “actively participated in the bicentennial celebration of the Haitian revolution,” contributing his “time, talents and voice to the recording project titled, ‘Happy Birthday Haiti’”. 

He said this CD was produced by the world-famous Haitian drummer / percussionist, Jean Jean-Pierre, to commemorate and highlight the significance of the 1804 Haitian revolution. 

“Happy Birthday Haiti” included narrations from actors Ossie Davis and Danny Glover, actress Susan Sarandon, and Figaro. 

On Jan. 3, 2004, Figaro hosted the “Happy Birthday Haiti” concert/program and the release of the CD for a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall in New York City. 

The next year, he produced the CD “Then, Now and Forever – Volume 1” as a tribute to his uncle, calypsonian Young Killer (Daniel Emmanuel Jardine Gilchrist). 

In 2006, Figaro said he was the “proud recipient” of his alma mater’s, St. Benedict’s College of La Romaine, San Fernando, Golden Jubilee Award in recognition of his “unparalleled contribution to the performing arts. 

A year later, Figaro received the “Producer of the Year Award” from Unique Events for producing and directing the “Reggae in Symphony” program series at Brooklyn College.  

In 2011, Figaro produced with legendary music producer, Joe Brown, the CD “Nihil Omnino Christo” (“Christ Above All”). 

This historic CD, which includes a combination of music and speeches commemorates, the 100th Birthday of Dr. Basil Matthews, the founder of Figaro’s alma mater, St. Benedict’s College, and the 55th Anniversary of the school. 

In 2017, Figaro released another CD, “4 Times Blessed”, which was dedicated to his grandchildren.

A man of many talents, driven by his passion for the Caribbean and its artforms, Figaro is also renowned for his vision and firm belief that “there are no boundaries to creativity.”

For someone who has accomplished so much and who continues to make a significant contribution to the world, through music, Figaro is still surprisingly seen by his friends and peers as being “a very modest and unassuming man making a difference in people’s lives.”