South monarch 'vindicated' after Calypso Fiesta snub

VINDICATED. That's what newly crowned South Calypso Monarch 2025 Kyle “KC” Cowie said he feels after being omitted from Calypso Fiesta semifinals but whipping several who competed to win the coveted title on February 27.

Cowie, who placed second in the Young King's 2025 competition also defeating “about 10 to 12” Calypso Fiesta contenders, said he was hurt when he was omitted from the 40, plus one reserve, who qualified for the TUCO-run contest held at Skinner Park on February 22.

Believing he had a good, strong social commentary on crime, and an equally good showing on the night the judges adjudicated on him at the Classic Russo Tent, he felt let down when he did not qualify.

“Not seeing my name on the list of semifinalists after a good performance left me down. I was hurt. I had to dig deep to go into the Young Kings competition and give a performance worthy of second place.”

Having won the South Soca Monarch in 2019, he said entering the calypso aspect of the monarch years later and snatching victory from the defending champ, Darwren “Pharoah” Greenidge, had given him motivation to continue.

“Right now, I am the only person to have won both the South Soca and South Calypso Monarch titles.

“I am wearing a smile because I am inspired and confident that I am a good singer and composer.”

KC was among 15 calypsonians who competed for the crown at the Night of the Sando Monarchs competition held at Harris Promenade. The show, which was free to the public, also saw the crowning of the South King and Queen of Carnival.

KC won the competition with his own composition called Western Town, in which he commented on the state of crime, likening TT to the wild, wild west, when differences were settled by the gun. He pleaded with young men who were committing most of the gun crimes in TT, to put down the weapon and live in unity.

“We fed up of that (crime),” he said to the packed audience who responded with lusty applause in agreement.

KC amassed 470 points, 29 ahead of the second-place winner Nicholas “Nikko Ash” Ashby who sang a compelling social commentary, The Last Letter (Dear Son, Dear Pa) about an imprisoned father’s plea to his son to not emulate him but elevate himself as a model citizen.

He received 449 points for this effort, ten points more than Curlissa Charles-Mapp who copped third place with 439 points for her performance of, The Original Superwoman.

Newcomer to the King of Carnival competition Jahmarley Joshua Bisnath, gave a commanding performance as he danced on five feet stilts to effectively portray his moko jumbie depiction of Scarecrow, from the band Pan Mas Traditions.

“I came to win and I did. I put my best foot forward and this is the result.”

Bisnath, the son of Junior Bisnath of the Kaisocah Moko Jumbie fame, received an overwhelming response from the audience. He said it was his first foray into mas, and as a king and to be victorious in his first attempt, had impressed upon him the desire to continue in the tradition, marrying it with his skills and experience as a moko jumbie.

Bisnath has been walking on stilts since he was 18 months old. A semifinalist in the National King of Carnival, Bisnath did not advance to the finals.

The experience on the Queen's Park Savannah stage, he said, “was great. The mentality, the energy in Port of Spain was different, nevertheless it was a great experience to see the ins and outs of the competition.”

Retaining her crown as the South Queen of Carnival, Allison Emma John, portraying The Souvenir Doll from the band Kalicharan Mas, said she was excited and happy with her second consecutive win.

She said her goal is to restore carnival in south to its former glory days, pointing out that a lot of designers and players had migrated to Port of Spain, “causing a brain drain in carnival in San Fernando.

“I just want to see south mas continue to thrive.”

San Fernando mayor Robert Parris who opened the competition two and a half hours after the scheduled 7 pm time, apologised to competitors and patrons for the technical difficulties which caused the late start.

He told the Newsday the service provider “begged for a chance to provide the service, and when he got it, he sub-contracted it to another provider. We are never going to use that service again,” he vowed.