Luta holds no grudges as kaiso king

Luta beat Chalkdust, the reigning monarch, in a close contest at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Sunday night. "In 1993 he was the reigning monarch and in 1994 I won, so on both occasions when I came through, he was the defending monarch," he said.

The duo were fellow teachers at the Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive School, where Luta began teaching in 1993.

Newsday asked Luta about Chalkdust winning the Calypso Monarch People’s Choice. He was not bothered. He recalled that a radio poll last week had put Chalkdust as the favourite contender, despite no one having heard his songs since he has not been performing this year in a tent.

"How could you choose Chalkdust when you have not heard a line?" When asked if he had performed better than Chalkdust, "I didn’t see his performance. I stayed backstage. I was very focused," he said.

He added, "I did my best and I don’t compete with anybody else."

Luta said he felt "very good" about winning.

Last Sunday’s win brought Luta a prize of $275,000, but he favoured higher purses, saying, "These days that is small money."

By contrast, he said, the Soca Monarch gets a prize of $500,000 and a lot more work offers,"yet calypso is more potent to shape the society and is of more value."

"The Calypso Monarch should get a million dollars," he said.

His win, he said, vindicates his feelings that he should have won a calypso contest held on Independence Day. "It’s very nice to come back with the same two songs and to win now."

He sees his win as a victory for calypso.

"I had so many calypsonians supporting me in this competition," he said. He recalled the on-stage appearance during his performance of Cardinal, Mba, Funny, and Trinidad Rio. He also thanked Short Pants for his support despite his own concerns to get his daughter Heather MacIntosh into the contest.

He said calypsonians should look to heal and notcreate more bitterness.

"I am pained about certain things in the society but I don’t act out this bitterness to create more bitterness. As calypsonians we should heal," he said.

Luta said he offered suggestions but did not call anyone’s name in his two songs, "Check the foundation" and "Kaiso, kaiso".

He did not want to generate bad vibes.

He was asked what was his formula for winning. "The power of the songs. I’m alone on stage with no props, just with the conviction and sincerity of my lyrics," is how he put it.

He quipped that while everyone claimed credit for success, no one took the blame for our society’s failures. Luta said his earlier wins this season had boosted his confidence at Dimanche Gras.

He urged calypsonians to keep things nice, saying that he clearly got his message across to the audience on Sunday, without resorting to calling anyone’s name. Asked if he now had plans to tour as Calypso Monarch, he said that usually goes with the title, although he has not got any formal itinerary.