More than 150 friends, family members and well-wishers came to celebrate “Aunt” Julia Hydes’ 103rd Birthday with a special party at the Harquail theatre.

Five generations of the Hydes family were represented at the party and everyone joined in singing “Happy Birthday,” to Aunt Julia.

A special guest was Aunt Julia’s oldest child, Francis, who was visiting from abroad.

Aunt Julia is widely regarded as a Cayman music culture icon. She famous for playing her drum and singing the songs handed down to her, each one telling a story from Cayman’s past. At the party she played her drum and sang gospel songs for her birthday guests, and was joined by the Barnett Family musical ensemble. At one stage, Edroy Hydes one of Aunt Julia’s children, joined in with singing a few old favorites too.

Loxley Banks who helped organise the party, said: “She’s been a friend of mine all my life. She’s wonderful, because she epitomises thankfulness, and gives thanks constantly to the Lord above for anything she receives,” he said.

Aunt Julia’s knowledge of old-time Cayman music is very extensive, and each song has a story behind it, a gem of Cayman’s nearly-forgotten history.

Her style exemplifies the uniqueness of local music- an intricate blend of traditional European and American popular songs and folk melodies, mixed with African rhythms beaten out on the drum. She uses two tones, from both the side of the drum and the centre of the drum in alternation, which has its roots in African call-and answer rhythm.

Julia was born on January 25, 1909, in West Bay where she still lives. She was the youngest of 12 children, Like many young Caymanian women growing up at that time, she helped her mother and other relatives with the traditional art of cutting silver thatch leaves, drying and preparing them, and then plaiting them into strong rope, and thatch baskets.

She took to the drum as soon as it was introduced to her by her cousin, fiddler Leighton “Duxie” Ebanks. She recalled that when she first held the guava-wood sticks, she felt “A great sense of Joy. My love for music has continued ever since. I never had any lessons, I just watched, paid attention and made up my own style of drumming.”