Shas­tri Boodan

Free­lance Con­trib­u­tor

The stage is set for a night of wit, rhythm and so­cial com­men­tary as the fi­nals of the Cou­va Ju­nior and Se­nior Ca­lyp­so Monarch com­pe­ti­tions draw near. Fol­low­ing an in­tense screen­ing process held last week­end at the Bal­main Com­mu­ni­ty Cen­tre, the best young and sea­soned voic­es in ca­lyp­so have earned their places in the spot­light.

Chair­man of the Cou­va Car­ni­val Com­mit­tee (CCC), Ram­c­hand Ra­jbal Maraj, said the fi­nal­ists were se­lect­ed through the com­mit­tee’s stan­dard judg­ing process. From the field of com­peti­tors, eight ju­nior ca­lyp­so­ni­ans and 12 se­nior per­form­ers emerged and will now vie for the monarch ti­tles.

The fi­nal­ists will face the judges on Feb­ru­ary 13 at the Cou­va Pub­lic Car Park, where lyri­cal mas­tery, stage pres­ence and mu­si­cal de­liv­ery will be put to the test. At stake is a to­tal prize purse of $40,000, adding ex­tra ex­cite­ment to what is ex­pect­ed to be a high­ly com­pet­i­tive show.

De­fend­ing their crowns are Joanne Gib­son, the reign­ing Se­nior Ca­lyp­so Monarch, and Katelin Sul­tan, the cur­rent Ju­nior Monarch, both of whom will be seek­ing to im­press once again as chal­lengers aim to de­throne them.

The event is free to the pub­lic and is sched­uled to be­gin at 7.30 pm, of­fer­ing ca­lyp­so lovers an op­por­tu­ni­ty to ex­pe­ri­ence the vi­bran­cy of Cou­va’s Car­ni­val cul­ture and sup­port the next gen­er­a­tion of ca­lyp­so tal­ent.

Ju­nior Fi­nal­ists

Katelin Sul­tan- De­fend­ing Monarch

Janaya Clarke

Ny­la Hamil­ton

Alex­ia Alex­is

Jah Majesty Charles

Chelsea Fi­garo

Celib­ri-T Charles

Asia Tidd

Se­nior Fi­nal­ists

Joanne Gib­son- De­fend­ing Se­nior Monarch

Nicholas Lu­cas

Ker­ine Williams Fi­garo

Ju­dith Ed­wards

Omarie As­son

Shinelle Davis

Ruhanie Ram­dass and Mar­cus Seep­er­sad

Anasta­cia Richard­son

Al­lana Sa­landy

Rose­mary Mitchell

He­len Jones

Lystra Nurse

Geor­gia McIn­tyre

Meg­ul­la Si­mon