Where ever the copious sound of parang music is heard in Trinidad and Tobago and now parts of the wider English and Spanish speaking Caribbean, the name Sharlene Flores and her band “Flores De San Jose” immediately comes to mind for their euphonious, lucidly expressed sound; and their kinetically inspired and energetic on stage presence. Sharlene indubitably a punctilious supernova in every detail has been the recipient of many accolades and local and international awards such as the Nafita Award and the medal “Su la Trinite” from the island of Martinique. As a cultural ambassador Sharlene has performed at the Sunshine Awards in New York City and at the Colony Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Sharlene’s Band “Flores De San Jose” has adopted an eclectic mosaic of musical flavours in the formation of a unique but Universal Caribbean PotPourri of cogent music, using Zuc, Merringue, Soca and introducing Steelpan and Tassa drums in a harmonious combination of instruments and melodies in their effervescent and renascent rhythms. Sharlene who hails from the old capital of St. Joseph in Trinidad and Tobago accepted an invitation from a friend in 1975 to join the famed Parang Group San Jose Serenaders when he recognised her unique bi-lingual singing talents and In 1978 Sharlene became the late Gloria Alcazar’s successor of San Jose Serenaders. In 1982 the band “Flores De San Jose” was formed and immediately became a major force through their unique and infectious brand of Latin Parang Music and with a sagacious eye for fashion forever changed the image of the parrandero by introducing trendy, sartorial elegance to the stage. In 1988 Sharlene and Flores De San Jose recorded their first six track LP Album with their smashing hit “Si Yo Pudiera” which occupied the charts for six week and copped “The National Award for Excellence in the Arts” (NAFITA) for her haunting rendition of “Bendita tu Eres” written by hubby Wayne Flores, winning the best parang song of the year and creating history by becoming the first parang group to win the Nafita award. Following their first six track album “Latin Fire” the band created history when they released the first ever compack disc of redoubtable memorable hits like Parang Soca Fun, El Angel Gabriel, Recuerdos, Vamos, Vamos, Vamos, written and compose by Sharlene, capturing the ethos of the Caribbean Community with a beautiful ballard, ‘Burbujas De Amor”, Spanish Confusion and Margarita Christmas with their assertively flamboyant confident style of music. A proud and dedicated ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago’s culture, Sharlene took parang to the Sunshine Awards in New York City and in another first opened a special category for parang music, when she performed her ever popular hit “Parang Soca Fun”. In a bold but calculated move in 1995 Sharlene crossed over into the calypso arena singing her first calypso “Hurricane”, a pan composition played by Solo Harmonites, Sangre Grande Cordettes, and Pamberi, she entered the National Joint Action Committee’s Calypso Competition with a beautiful song entited “Today tomorrow” composed by Alvin Daniel. In 1996 sharlene recorded two more calypsos entitled, “Baby Dance with Me” and Latin Soca, written and composed by The Original De Fosto. In 1999 the group was awarded the medal “Su la Trinite” by the Mayor of Martinique for their role in twinning both islands. On November 24th 2000, the group continued their thrust as cultural ambassadors, when they performed at the Colony hotel in Toronto, Canada taking our rich multi-faceted yuletide heritage and traditions to Canadians at large. Finally in a memorable historial moment in 2009 Sharlene performed for her royal highness Queen Sofia of Spain. With the myriad achievements of Sharlene and Flores De San Jose thus far, one gets the feeling that the best is yet to come. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Sharlene+Flores">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.