Celebrate abilities

Joseph La Placeliere

Joseph La Placeliere, also known as the Mighty Lingo extempore extraordinaire, was born in Trinidad. He was blind from birth.

Joseph attended the Trinidad & Tobago School for Blind Children from 1975 to 1985 and was then integrated into St. Joseph College from 1985 to 1989.

Over the past four years, the Mighty Lingo pursued a career as a calypso singer and excelled. His talent in the extempore field began to show at his debut in 1999 when he entered the Any Howers Extempore competition and placed third. The following year he competed again and ranked even higher: placing second in a field of eight.

In 2001 Joseph performed at the Yangatang calypso tent and made the finals that same year. He has also placed third in the Extempore Finals but was clearly the people’s choice. The crowd in the Queens Park Savannah chanted their boisterous disapproval at the judges when the Mighty Lingo was not crowned as the 2003 Extempo King.

The Mighty Lingo has also made his mark in the parang arena. He is a former member of Los Amigos En Musica. In 2001 he was featured on a parang compilation CD with Sprangalang and other well known performers.

In the words of the Mighty Lingo, “Regardless of disability, excellence is still attainable with persistence; a positive mind; a heart felt dream; and a burning desire to achieve to ones highest potential.

Trinidad has produced several musical engineers who are blind. Among them are: Jason Dason, Anthony Tom and David La Caille.