Talk:Roaring Lion

Start

Hi there, You may contact me @ one of the following: Keielacairi*at*aol.com or Choonkanz*at*yahoo.com. Until then, all the best to you for the New Year.

By the way, thanks for keeping the memory of my doting father, a wonderful and legendary entertainer, alive and well. I am very thankful and appreciative that you are seeking to find out the truth about him. There is one thing that folks don't know about the- Roaring Lion- he was an awesome and doting father. He always made me feel like I was the most special daughter in the entire world. He personified charm, was the epitome of class and style and exuded a quiet confidence. That was my dad, the Roaring Lion. Incidentally, he had one name I forgot- Arius. Just remember this, though he had lots of names the Roaring Lion was no thief...Thanks. ( smile). Pamilla deLeon- Lewis

Name

The article says that he was born Rafael de Leon, then it says that he changed his name to Rafael de Leon. This is contradictory. Punkmorten 12:21, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Okay, I've fixed this. I've never encountered an individual with a more difficult set of names, and his own testimony in interviews still leaves questions unanswered. Wish I could see his actual birth certificate! Hope some calypso experts can help fill out the article; he was one of the best. Badagnani 20:35, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Information from daughter of Roaring Lion

My name is Pamilla deLeon- Lewis, the daughter of the Roaring Lion and would like to set the record straight. This fact can be checked I was at his state funeral in Trinidad. The Roaring Lion was born Rafael Cairi Llama deLeon but was renamed Hubert Charles by his foster parent whose last name was Najiima Charles. Please note: Rafael Cairi Llama deLeon, was survived by his daughter, Pamilla deLeon- Lewis, an Author, Motivational Speaker and Performance Poet who resides in Brooklyn, New York, Christobal deLeon, Brooklyn, New York, Mohondas deLeon, who resides in Norway, Krishna deLeon, who resides in Paris, and Rafael deLeon Jr, who resides in Minnesota. USA. 205.188.116.135 23 December 2005 (UTC)

Ms. deLeon-Lewis, thank you for this valuable information, which will be added to the article. May we contact you for additional information? Badagnani 00:17, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

Dear Ms. deLeon-Lewis, thank you for the additional information. There are so many questions and discrepancies between the previously published information about your father and the information you are adding, and it would be wonderful if these could be gone through here. I did email you in December to ask about a few things, but haven't heard back. Badagnani 03:11, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, but I never received your email and I really don't get a chance to check out these pages. Please contact me at your earliest convenience, I'll gladly help in anyway that I can. Use pamilladeleonlewis@gmail.com, I check it daily. I have edited my name to reflect the spelling on my birth paper..most folks spell it pamela but that's incorrect and btw, daddy's surname is deLeon- lower case 'd.'Hope this helps.

Birth/death

Removed from article due to lack of verifiability:

Rafael deLeon was born on June 15, 1902 and died July 11, 1999. He was 97 years old. Badagnani 18:10, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Children

The current list gives the names of 8 children, yet the article states that he had perhaps as many as ten children in total. Badagnani 03:39, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Birthplace

The commonly given birthplace is Aroquita, in the Caura Hills. However, this source [1] states Belmont, Port of Spain. I believe Lion, as many calypsonians, may have told different stories at different times to heighten his mystery and appeal, and this may have been one example. How may we verify his exact birthplace? A birth certificate would be good to refer to in this case. Further, Trinidadians I have asked cannot locate any place called "Aroquita." Badagnani 03:41, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

DeLeon, De Leon, or de Leon

The last name was just changed to "de Leon." Which was Lion's preferred writing of this surname? That is probably the one that should be used. A specimen of his writing (a letter or something similar) with the spelling of his name as he used it) would be helpful in verifying this. Badagnani 03:50, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Roaring Lion's book, Calypso From France to Trinidad: 800 Years of History, gives his surname as "de Leon," although it does appear several times in the preface as "De Leon." Badagnani 09:33, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

New edits

More additions have been made, entirely unsourced. Whatever appears here must be verifiable, and, although the person making the edits anonymously seems knowledgeable, the information does conflict with earlier published information. Thus, we really need to address each point here at "discussion" before inserting it into the article. Clippings, birth certificate, information about children's names, correspondence containing Roaring Lion's name spelled the way he preferred, etc. will be very important. Please, I'll ask again, let's work together here on this. Badagnani 23:04, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Please add some mention of Love Thy Neighbor, even if brief. Thanks. :) Also a discography listing all his records would be a great addition.

Saga Boy, anyone?

Fond memories of hearing RL's songs in Trinidad c.1948. Can't find any CD or casette featuring "Fan me Saga Boy" or "Turn Around Gal". Anyone have a source? if so, pls write mjr92115@hotmail.com. thanks

68.8.166.237 05:35, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

So which is correct? (Name)

In the text, it says he was born "Rafael de Leon", but the fact box says his birth name is "Hubert Raphael Charles", which doesn't appear anywhere else, except in a note. 194.28.125.14 (talk) 21:26, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

Reggae and Caribbean Music lists his birth name as "Hubert Raphael Charles". The All Music Guide also says he was born "Hubert Raphael Charles", indicating that he later changed his name to "Rafael de Leon". There's a footnote in our Wikipedia article that says The oft-printed statement that Roaring Lion was born "Hubert Raphael Charles" is thus incorrect, at least as far as the surname "Charles" is concerned. referring to a Miss Charles that took care of him, but that footnote doesn't link to any source that would support the assertion. Perhaps more digging is in order, but if we are unable to find something definitive and have a solid source stating that his birth is "Rafael de Leon", we should probably mention that the birth name is disputed and indicate which sources say what.

To further complicate matters, the Information from daughter of Roaring Lion section above indicates that his birth name was Rafael Cairi Llama deLeon, though we probably can't use that comment as a reference... Gobōnobō ^{+ c} 07:12, 18 May 2013 (UTC)