Fay-Ann leads Road March raceBy Leiselle Maraj and Alexander Bruzual Wednesday, February 25 2009
Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez is the first woman to win the Soca Monarch crown and thousands of masqueraders yesterday made her their queen of the road, prancing to her hit “Meet Superblue” and setting the stage for her to win her third Road March.
The results are to be announced today, but if the frequency with which Lyons-Alvarez’s song received airplay yesterday, never failing to whip masqueraders into a frenzy at most judging points in Port-of-Spain and San Fernando, is anything to go by, the crown appears to be hers.
Destra Garcia’s “Bacchanal” is however not to be discounted as she steadily gained ground on the Soca Monarch during the course of the day.
The race for the Road March was keenly contested from the time bands hit the main judging point at the Queen’s Park Savannah at 8 am.
Music trucks blasted both the originals and road mixes of the two tracks and masqueraders did not mind the heavy rotation.
Alvarez-Lyons, who has already made history for the 2009 Carnival season, winning both the Power and Groovy Soca Monarch on Fantastic Friday, stands a strong chance of winning the title for a second year running, and her third overall.
When Newsday attempted to contact the soca queen, who is eight months pregnant, she was said to be resting at home.
The two women left their male challengers, Blaxx, begging for water with his popular piece “Tusty” and Machel Montano struggling to keep pace with “Wild Antz”.
The accuracy of the Road March count, however, was questioned by several masqueraders who reported their bands were paid off to play a particular song in an effort to push the song as the most played.
There were several intervals where bands chose to break from the constant repetition of these songs. These were mostly the small and medium bands which chipped to the beat of steel pan and calypsos. The DJs on the music truck of Panorama 2009 second placed winner, Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars’ mas band, “The Garret Revisited- A Tribute to Neville Jules”, opted to play Tigress’ (Joanne Rowley) composition “Yuh Ent See Wajang Yet” which placed second at the Calypso Monarch final on Sunday night. Interestingly enough, Diego Martin West MP, Keith Rowley, the subject of her song, was among the masqueraders in that band. Legacy and Trevor Wallace’s Mas also began their presentations with Chinese songs and disco music in keeping with their themes, “Kingdom of the Dragon” and “Dance Yuh Dance” respectively. They, however, returned to “Meet Superblue” and “Bacchanal” once their presentations were over.
“Meet Superblue” dominated the atmosphere at downtown Port-of-Spain yesterday as band after band chose this song for masqueraders to cross the judging point at South Quay. There was an interval between 9.59 am and 11.09, where the song was the only one played as several bands crossed the judging point, including the large band, Trini Revellers, and the small band, Pulse 8.
For the better part of the morning, “Meet Superblue” played the most, with occasional bands such as Trevor Wallace , playing “Bacchanal”. However as the afternoon came, the competition grew stiffer as Blaxx’s “Tusty” suddenly began to be played by several bands as they crossed the judging point. “Bacchanal” also was heard repeatedly, and it soon became clear that despite the competition in downtown Port-of-Spain, the battle for the Road March was between Lyons-Alvarez and Garcia, with the former in the lead.
San Fernando’s results could be the decider, as at the judging points on Indenpendence Avenue and Coffee Street, band of band chose “Meet Superblue”.
