PORT OF SPAIN – The mood in Trinidad and Tobago involves Carnival mas’ and gas as Trinis prepare to host their International Soca Monarch finals, known as Fantastic Friday, featuring lone Barbadian finalist Mikey tonight at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Twenty-six artistes are down to face the judges tonight –14 in the Groovy Soca Monarch contest and 12, including Barbados’ Party Monarch king, Mikey Mercer, in the Power Soca Monarch – on the eve of possibly the twin island’s largest oil strike by the Oil fields Workers Trade Union (OWTU), which has threatened a 90-day strike starting Monday after talks broke down with the island’s main supplier Petrotrin over a promised wage hike.
Mikey will face big night competitors including defending champion, Machel Montano, who has one of the biggest radio albums this year, featuring Surrender Yuh Batty and Mr Fete.
Montano should face his biggest challenge from Iwer George’s No Pain in the Power Soca segement, and from Kerwin Dubois’ Bacchanalist in the Groovy Soca.
Other finalists in what is undoubtedly the most lucrative competition in Carnival – TT$2 million (BDS$625 000) – are, in the following order: Power Soca – Mikey, Fireman of St Vincent, Erphaan Alves, Destra Garcia, Nadia Batson, Shurwayne Winchester, Iwer, Blaxx, Machel Montano, Prophet Benjamin, Hard Knoxx of Antigua and Swappi.
Groovy Soca – JW & Blaze, Shal Marshall, Destra, Super Jigga TC, Chucky, Nadia Batson, Erphaan Alves, Blaxx, Patrice Roberts, KI, Benjai, Montano, defending Groovy king Kees Dieffenthaller, and Kerwin Dubois.
Soca Monarch promoter William Munro promised a “world-class event”.
Meanwhile, essential services are being affected by the fuel shortage caused by panic buying of fuel in south Trinidad, with service stations that supply the police, fire service and ambulances complaining of running out of fuel between Tuesday and yesterday.
This occurred despite the assurance from Minister of Energy Kevin Ramnarine, the national petrolem company and Petrotrin that no shortage would occur if the workers went on strike.
