In his kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific, Filipo Lemoto is a commoner but now he feels like a king. Lemoto, 26, is the Digicel Rising Star 2010 in Tonga and was in T&T for six days. "In Tonga we have the king, nobility and commoners (each speaking a different language). I'm a commoner. Now I'm treated like a king," Lemoto told the Sunday Guardian at the Marriot Hotel in Port-of-Spain where he was staying. "It's great. I live in an extended family of 11 in one house. Right now, if I was home, I would be washing dishes, cooking us lunch and feeding the pigs. "Here I am in a five-star hotel." Lemoto, of Polynesian, Jewish and African extract, said he was shocked when he won and was speechless. "Back home, the young people like R&B, not too much rock. But everybody was rooting for me. "There was vote margin of over 50,000 between me and the other finalist."
For grabbing first place with his alternative rock/country version of Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses about two weeks ago, Lemoto was awarded 2,000 pa'anga (Tonga money) and the trip to T&T. "He came in a limousine and had strawberries and champagne," Digicel's communications manager Penny Gomez said. And he fell in love with our mountains. "T&T is beautiful. Tonga is flat. Your mountains are wow!" Lemoto was touring the city and visiting the beaches. Actually, Lemoto, who sports a Samoan tattoo and knows all his cultural dances, is quite grounded. "Life is normal" for him, he explained. In Tonga, he graduated from teachers' training college with a diploma in education and taught economics for a while at a business college. He wants to make teaching his career. "I have to look for a job. In Tonga, while there is a shortage of teachers, the government does not have enough money to hire all the graudates."
He said Tonga, which has a population of 100,000, depends on agriculture and tourism to sustain its economy and is among the poorest countries in the world. He said the tallest building there is five stories but citizens have a high standard of living. "There is no poverty in Tonga, only hardship. It's a paradise," Lemoto said.
The Digicel competition in Tonga is a big stepping stone for him.
He has some advice for people: "Gaze upon the stars. Keep your head up. "In Tonga, my people are shy. It's a major thing holding them back. People should really try to let go of that behaviour." Lemoto had some special advice for T&T's youth. "If the youth here stay off drugs, when they are straight and clear, they can make the right choices."