FORT LAUDERDALE — When Jeanette
Contant-Galitello was 14, her teachers told her that she was too spirited, too
ambitious and too unrealistic. She blew them off, and now she’s running her own
business, Kiskadee Music, and her own nonprofit corporation, Ethical Music.
The producer, composer and performer,
whose stage name is Kiskadee, was born partially sighted and is encouraging
others to blow off negativity.
“Whatever the situation is, it doesn’t
stop you from doing what you want to do,’’ she told a group of teens and young
adults attending a summer camp focusing on entrepreneurship at Lighthouse of
Broward County.
The organization aids visually impaired
people of all ages.
“Have a lot of confidence,’’ she told
them. “Even if you don’t, you can fake it.’’
Music has always been a part of life for
Kiskadee, who was born in England and moved to Coconut Creek in 2008. Her mother studied at the Royal Academy of
Music in London. Her father was one of
the early developers of the steel drums in the Caribbean.
“Together with my brother and sister,
they formed this small steel band and we traveled all over the United Kingdom
and Europe and we played in opera houses and we were on TV and in the press,’’
Kiskadee said.
“Then they sent me to a horrible boarding
school to learn Braille. It was absolutely horrible, horrible!’’ she said.
She said she clearly remembers the
sit-down she had with five teachers and their oral assaults: “You want to
achieve too much in life. … We don’t like the way you dress; you’re too
fashionable. … You shouldn’t be talking to janitors. You shouldn’t be mixing
with the likes of those people. … Just don’t get above yourself, young lady.’’
“They were like this for three hours,’’
Kiskadee said. “I was crying, and then I thought, the more you tell me what I
can’t do, the more I’ll show you what I will do.’’
She showed them by earning a combined
bachelor’s degree in English and French with honors from Roehampton University
in London, and working for the BBC until she hit the glass ceiling and decided
to set up her own business in 1999.
Shortly afterwards, she met her husband, Christopher Contant-Galitello,
who left his job as a project manager at IBM to join her.
He recalled a few instances when they
were working with an engineer who was taking too long to create specific
effects that Kiskadee requested. As the engineer struggled with his mouse,
“Kiskadee went to her equipment and did it in a few seconds, and it shocked
him.’’
She has collaborated with celebrities
including the late Michael Jackson. She has also played in the Caribbean, South
America, China and venues including the Millennium Dome and Wimbledon.
“My most popular performance is Gimme Me
One World,’’ she said. “The theme is one God, one religion, one human race,
written in a calypso style. Ice Cream Sundae is a close follower.’’
Her big turning point happened in 2000
when she called many malls, asking if they would like some “steel band
entertainment to bring the sunshine out, which we have very little of in
London,’’ she said.
Finally, one mall agreed to let them play
and set up a table to sell CDs.
“We go to this big luxury shopping mall
and she sets us up underneath an escalator outside a grocery store,’’ Kiskadee
said. “Guess what. People started coming over
one, two, five, 10, 20. It was amazing and we were selling CDs like
hotcakes. … That was the beginning of the big stuff.’’
But it’s not all glitz and glamour, she
reminded the Lighthouse camp participants.
“You have to know how to sell yourself,’’
Kiskadee said. “Think about all the skills you have. Everyone has skills. Write them down. Identify your business, make a business plan,
put down your business goals and sell your business. I always say to myself: Be
positive and stay ahead of the game. What is lacking? Think about what you want
and what we don’t have right now."
Rudly Jean, 17, of Deerfield Beach, might
already be ahead of the game.
“I want to put speech software in
iPods,’’ he said. “The Shuffles they have, I think, is what blind people use,
but I want to put software in there so you can make it voice-activated.’’
“Sometimes it takes a little bit of
ingenuity,’’ said Dee Nelson, of Plantation, echoing Kiskadee. “We are a
minority. We have to adapt.’’
Matthew Ramirez, 15, of Sunrise, said he
already has created a business plan for a video production company.
“Everybody I talked to in the last couple
of weeks has motivated me more and more to start my own business,’’ he said. “I
can use advanced programs that typical people can’t use, and even if I don’t
know the program, I learn it. I don’t say, ‘I can’t do this.’ ’’
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Photo: Kiskadee, right, urges young people to believe in themselves.
FORT LAUDERDALE — When Jeanette
Contant-Galitello was 14, her teachers told her that she was too spirited, too
ambitious and too unrealistic. She blew them off, and now she’s running her own
business, Kiskadee Music, and her own nonprofit corporation, Ethical Music.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form