Simon crowned Marabella monarch

CALYPSO women took three of the four top prizes in the first Marabella Community Calypso Monarch competition last Friday.

Calypsonian/soca artiste Meguella Simon beat ten other contestants to the title.

Simon has been on the soca/calypso forefront for a long time. On Friday night, dressed in the national colours, she sang a powerful social commentary called Speak Life, at New City Avenue.

Three judges including senators Sean Sobers and Anita Haynes and Roy Gomez awarded her a total of 364 points, 13 points ahead of second-place winner Lystra Nurse.

Nurse scored 351 points with another powerful rendition of Parent Lamentation. She delivered a very potent message to parents to pay close attention to what their children are doing.

Kadeem Graham got 333 points to take the third place, leaving cast member of Kaiso Showkase, Daniella Roxanne Singh, in fourth place with 328 points. Graham’s selection was What is Love, while Singh sang What is D Plan.

The competition, witnessed by over 1,000 spectators, was organised by soca artiste Mickyle Calliste in collaboration with the Marabella community.

Calliste, a member of the well-known cultural Calliste family which includes his uncle Leroy “Black Stalin” Calliste, said he intends to make it an annual event.

Calliste, 19, contested and lost the Marabella West electoral district for the United National Congress (UNC) in the December 2 local government elections.

During his campaign he said he encountered a lot of talented people and saw the competition, which was free to the public, as an avenue for them to express themselves.

Leading up to the election, he spoke about Marabella being one of the most economically depressed areas, beset by crime and unemployment and his desire to help the youths escape from the poverty.

He believes one way to help develop his community is through politics hence his reason for contesting the last local elections.

Although he lost, Calliste said he is not giving up his dream to make a difference in the community and the calypso competition was only the first step in this process.

He intends to stage a crime walk during around Easter and a cultural camp during the August vacation for many of the talented young people he encountered during his campaign, to hone their skills.