An Insight Into THE INTERNATIONAL SOCA MONARCH

The Soca Monarch competition has emerged as the number one Carnival event in Trinidad and Tobago, followed keenly by Trinbagonians in the diaspora and the entire Caribbean.  Started in 1993, the idea for the show came from an unlikely place, the Young Kings competition. “It was never planned and it came about accidentally. In fact my deceased wife played a big part in deciding to do an event called the Soca Monarch Competition,” said William Munro, founder of Caribbean Prestige Foundation. He said they were looking at the Young King’s show at Skinner Park, San Fernando, and noticed that the camera kept focusing on a young man with two Carib beers in his hands.” “It was a strange experience, because at that moment a party type singer was on stage and the individual was in a frenzy throwing one beer on his head and dancing away like nobody’s business.”

He noted that the Young King’s show was a competition with only social commentary songs but the jumpy tunes caught his wife’s attention.  They both discussed the possibility of having a competition with those tunes.  The idea was then discussed in detail, with his friend Gregory Fernandez who responded positively to the idea. Gregory Fernandez was eager to invest the sum of TT$35,000 at that time of which Munro remains grateful for Fernandez’s belief in his vision. Munro said he always wanted a unique competition. “That artistes performing just one party song, people would be partying all night. That was my thinking back then and that still remains my thinking now.”

The first Soca Monarch Competition was held at the Spectrum in Port of Spain, but at that time, Munro said he had difficulties with tent managers, since they didn’t want artistes to work at the tents and perform at his event. “It was real, real problems, but I soldiered on.” Superblue dominated the competition in its early years and is credited with its popularity.  “At the time Superblue was becoming very popular and I must say he played a big part in the success of the Soca Monarch Competition. Superblue put everything into his stage act and presentation,” Munro reflected. History would record that Munro had always set about to give artistes a big payday. Back then, the first prize in the Soca Monarch Competition was TT $25,000. Today, it is TT $2 million and CPF, the umbrella body of the International Soca Monarch Competition is grateful to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the People’s Partnership (PP) Government for taking culture to a brand new level.

Munro revealed that the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Association (TUCO) gave the Soca Monarch Competition its first endorsement to ease the pressure Munro was going through to get the Soca Monarch Competition where he wanted it to go. Munro said he invested millions of dollars into the development of culture but the pressure didn’t stop, especially from tent owners and their managers.
Calypsonians All Rounder and Stalin both defied tent mangers in early days of the Soca Monarch Competition, Munro said. “I owe them a great depth of gratitude, including calypsonian Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters, who quickly gave support to me while he headed TUCO and now he is the Minster of Arts and Multiclutralism.” “Another name I want to include in the credits is a gentleman named Anthony ‘Lexo’ Alexis who has supported the event from day one and he may very well be the biggest fan of the competition.” “One day he told me, the Friday before Carnival is a special day because of the Soca Monarch Competition, it made everything fantastic and the day should be called - Fantastic Friday.”

“Everyone I spoke with back then loved the idea and today ‘Fantastic Friday’ is the signature stamp of the International Soca Monarch Competition - the greatest Soca event on earth!” “Lexo never wanted credit for it but I insisted that the people of Trinidad and Tobago must know that he coined the magical words Fantastic Friday.” The growth of the International Soca Monarch Competition intensified over the years to the point where it has embraced the concept of ‘Soca Tourism’. “The Foundation has always been the driving force behind ‘Soca Tourism’ over the years. We included artistes from the Caribbean islands into the Fantastic Friday showdown. The winners of each island’s Soca Monarch Competition are selected to be in our event. Prime Ministers and Ministers of the various islands also attend the high profile event, not to mention the supporters of the selected artiste from these various countries.”

The important point Munro was articulating is that Trinidad and Tobago’s Government stands to be the biggest beneficiary of “Soca Tourism.” “Foreign exchange amounting into millions of dollars is accrued annually. The Piarco International Airport is packed weeks before Fantastic Friday. The taxis ply a lucrative trade plus the hotels and vendors all operate at an optimal level during the Carnival season.” Munro explained happily. Even sponsors benefit. Angostura Limited was the first sponsor in 1993 and Carib Brewery Limited has been the longest standing sponsor. The wider vision of the Foundation is to develop a template for Pay-Per–View on a global scale and merchandise the International Soca Monarch Competition. “The International Soca Monarch Competition is our gift to the world”, Munro said.