St. Mary’s celebrates success with 33rd annual Jamaica

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

Dancing under the stars came easy at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church 33rd Annual Jamaica celebration with Tejano music legend Jimmy Edwards with Avizo Band opening the 2008 event on Friday, June 25, and Little Joe y La Familia belting out audience favorites on Saturday, July 26.
Once again, Jamaica was a success for St. Mary?

??s. Parishioners brought their families along with plenty of friends to partake in the annual festivities.
There were no concrete numbers ready at press time, but Religious Education Director and Jamaica Coordinator, Eva Mendez reported that the Jamaica was a “big success.”
“It was wonderful,” She said. “Everything went great. We didn’t get any rain during either of the days we had our Jamaica. The tamales were selling like crazy and, like always, the highlight of the Jamaica was Little Joe. Everyone had a good time dancing, having fun and enjoying the music.”
The celebration began on Friday evening when the Jamaica grounds opened at 6 p.m.
Food and game booths, bingo and the silent auction allowed the early crowd to have fun and enjoy dinner before the main event.
Jimmy Edwards with Avizo Band opened the music portion of the night at 8:30 p.m. They played as some of the crowd approached the stage and enjoyed the music while others danced.
The Jamaica Queen’s Coronation began just after 10 p.m. Last year’s Jamaica Queen, Courtney Capello, transferred the crown to 2008 Jamaica Queen Adrianna Rodriguez. Their parents and escorts accompanied both queens during the coronation ceremony.
Jimmy Edwards with Avizo came back to the stage after Rodriguez was crowned. They closed the first night of the Jamaica with lively dance music and sent the crowd home happy.
Saturday drew a bigger crowd than Friday, with people arriving early to get a good spot for the Little Joe show.
The crowd enjoyed more fun, games and food while they waited for the arrival of 2-time Grammy Award winner, Little Joe y La Familia.
The much-anticipated show started at 8:30 p.m., with older couples taking up half of the dance floor as the younger crowd gathered in front of the stage.
After two sets, the band took a break to allow Father Robert Becker and Rodriguez to draw for the 2008 Jamaica Raffle. Winners received gift certificates worth between $2,500 for first place and $250 for sixth place. The seventh place winner won a religious gift item valued at $300.
After all the prizes were announced, Little Joe closed his show and the night with a 20-minute medley of some of his best hits, leaving the crowd singing along and cheering for more.
See you at next year’s Jamaica.
agarza@post-register.com