Five Guyanese are among the 43 semi-finalists in the 2014 Lotto Plus Chutney Soca Monarch, which commences this weekend in Trinidad and Tobago but unfortunately, the newly crowned Guyanese Monarch, Pooran Seeraj will not be a part of the competition for a number of reasons beyond his control.
Those who are slated to represent Guyana at the international level are Terry Gajraj, Dave Lall, Jerry Singh, Marissa Deodat and Junjeezy.
In a recent interview, Guyana’s Chutney King, Pooran Seeraj expressed his disappointment at not being able to represent Guyana at the international competition. He said that while he is not sure who is to be blamed for his non-representation, he is certain that it is too late to travel to the island to participate.
He noted if he was to participate, it would have meant that he had to be in Trinidad to participate in the rehearsals and getting his stage setting in order. Nevertheless, he wishes the competing artistes the best of luck, especially the Guyanese.
This year’s competition is expected to be one of the most keenly contested semi-finals, and will be the first time the competition has seen the participation of so many non-Indo Trinidadians.
The Lotto Plus Chutney Soca Monarch carded for Saturday, February 1, at Rienzi Complex, Couva will feature 14 non-Indo competitors out of the 43 contestants. It also features seven collaborations between chutney and soca artistes.
There are competitors from five different countries competing on Saturday: United States of America, Canada, Guyana, Switzerland and of course Trinidad and Tobago. The youngest contestant is 21 years of age and the eldest, 70.
This has to be the most diverse of all competitions in Trinidad and Tobago and is a true representation of the diverse and multi-cultural society that we live in. It represents ‘real unity’ through music and competition.
Saturday’s semi-final is carded to kick off at 20:00h. It will be carried ‘live’ in the twin-island republic and it will be streamed to the world via ‘bpartofit.com’.
Text voting, online voting and ‘live’ judges will decide who goes to the Grand Finale at Skinner Park, San Fernando. Voting will be open to all networks in TT, Guyana, U.S.A. and Canada.
Among the 43 in the semi-finals are Reshma Ramlal, Ki Persad, Nishard Mehru, Rick Ramoutar, Ravi B, Omadath Maharaj, Prophet Benjamin, Neeshad Sultan, Sally Sagram, Anand Yankeran, Adesh Samaroo, Veekash Sahadeo, De Hunter, Rikki Jai, Olatunji and Saleem Beharry.