So­ca icon Machel Mon­tano has shared his ex­cite­ment and grat­i­tude af­ter win­ning the 2026 Trinidad and To­ba­go Road March, mark­ing a his­toric mile­stone and break­ing a 50-year record.

“What an ab­solute hon­or and joy it is to cel­e­brate this 2026 Road March win!!! I am be­yond words, and the feel­ing is on­ly com­pa­ra­ble to my first win in 1997,” Mon­tano wrote on so­cial me­dia.

He con­grat­u­lat­ed fel­low artists, say­ing, “To Voice, Bun­ji Gar­lin, and all the oth­er con­tenders, I ex­tend my con­grat­u­la­tions and grat­i­tude for a most chal­leng­ing race. All great songs and valiant ef­forts to reach the fin­ish line!!!”

Mon­tano al­so ex­pressed ap­pre­ci­a­tion for fans and Car­ni­val par­tic­i­pants: “I thank all the fans and mas­quer­aders for the pas­sion and sup­port for all of us!!! To every­one that played a role, writ­ers, pro­duc­ers, mu­si­cians, DJ’s, pro­mo teams, etc… well done!!! The spir­it of the Car­ni­val rode on the wings of the mu­sic, and it was eu­phor­ic.”

Re­flect­ing on the sig­nif­i­cance of the achieve­ment, he added, “I am grate­ful to be a part of the his­toric break­ing of this 50-year record and hope it will be in­spi­ra­tion to all, es­pe­cial­ly to the up­com­ing young men and women in our in­dus­try!!! Keep dream­ing and set­ting goals while work­ing hard, be­ing de­ter­mined and ded­i­cat­ed. You can and will achieve any­thing you put your mind and ef­forts to­ward.”

He thanked to his team, fam­i­ly, and loved ones: “To my team, my fam­i­ly, friends, and loved ones… thank you for sup­port­ing and en­cour­ag­ing me!!! Love M"