Tag Archives: Bunji Garlin

“[…] Here in Trinidad and Tobago, the Road March results still rely on a manual system—TUCO officials physically count song plays at competition venues. “This outdated process is not only time-consuming but also vulnerable to human error, bias, and undue influence…. Embracing digitalisation in Carnival adjudication could resolve these challenges …

Soca star Machel Montano landed a joint record 11th Road March title in Carnival 2025, as his song, Pardy, edged Ian ‘Bunji Garlin’ Alvarez to the prestigious title. The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) announced this afternoon that Pardy was the song of choice on the road with 267 plays …

The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) has sacked tabulator, Samantha Richards, for “unauthorised” comments on the then ongoing 2025 Road March race. TUCO revealed its decision early on Ash Wednesday morning, a day after Richards updated CNC3 on the competition to select the dominant soca song for carnival masqueraders in …

“[…] Bunji’s clever ragga-style rapid-fire toasting managed to include a range of references, from isosceles to Wallabees… Their joint ownership of Hard Fete is itself more powerful than anything either of them said in defence of it, and they had plenty to say. “[…] Nailah and Skinny’s offering is a …

Does soca empress Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez now have four Road March titles, on the back of her credit for current hit tune Hard Fete? On Wednesday, TUCO (Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation) announced that Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez and Fay-Ann were co-winners of the 2023 Visit Trinidad Road March title, which might …

“[…] Our family will have our names on everything together just like cooperate institutes, groceries, shops, stores and other businesses. “And if that is a problem for you then… there’s cliffs all over the island that have no barriers and no need for parachutes. Feel free…” The following is a …

Soca power couple Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez and Fay-Ann Lyons are the first Road March champions of the post-Covid-19 pandemic era, as the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) announced the husband and wife pair as the Visit Trinidad Road March champions. Their popular song, Hard Fete, was played 135 times …

Derek Walcott, Nobel Prize winner, once lamented: “Colonials, we began with this malarial enervation: that nothing could ever be built among these rotting shacks, barefooted backyards and moulting shingles; that being poor, we already had the theatre of our lives.”  Yet, he is at one with Chinua Achebe, the towering …

By the time of writing, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Health Minister Dr Deyalsingh, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, Communications Minister Donna Cox, National Security Minister Stuart Young and a small army of doctors have all faced the public, represented by their emissary, the media. And yet …

Soca star Machel Montano is now just one hit away from the all-time record for Road March titles, as he was awarded his tenth crown today by TUCO for Famalay—a collaboration which includes Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez and Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle. Famalay was played 346 times at the respective …

When you have just finished sermonising, in the wake of a murdered young woman, and the first person to offer you a “thumbs up” would probably be ex-Port of Spain Mayor Raymond Tim Kee… Maybe you didn’t appeal to the target audience you had in mind. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley …

It has been the impetus for a few soca men and women to develop the capacity for serious money-making but, overall, the International Soca Monarch (ISM) has, for years, done a great deal to put the genre several steps back. It has encouraged unhealthy sectionalism and underdeveloped the soca music …