Kevan Calliste Repeats as Junior Extempo Monarch | 2017

© file photo from the Trinidad Guardian Newspaper 
Kevan Calliste,left, of St. Benedict's College defeats Josiah Du Barry of Barataria South Secondary to retain his crown as 2017 National Junior Ex-Tempo Monarch at Cipriani Labour College, Valsayn yesterday.

It was announced on WACK Radio 90.1 Fm this afternoon that Kevan Calliste, grandson of Veteran Calypsonian Dr. Leroy Calliste aka 'Black Stalin' repeated as the Junior Extempo Monarch for Carnival 2017. From a field of thirteen contestants Kevan Calliste and Josiah Du Barry battled for the Extempo Crown. Calliste emerged as winner repeating the feat he accomplished the previous year.

 The results were as follows:
  1. Kevan Calliste (Repeat Junior Extempo Monarch)
  2. Josiah Du Barry 
  3. Isaiah John
Sourced from the Trinidad Guardian News Paper: Young people to sing extempore!
The final of the second annual Junior Extempo Monarch Competition, presented by Friends of the Youth of T&T (FYOTT), is scheduled to take place at the Cipriani Labour College Auditorium, Valsayn on Thursday, February 9, from 10 am.

Defending champion is St Benedict’s College student Kevan Calliste, grandson of veteran calypsonian Black Stalin (Dr Leroy Calliste), who won the title at the inaugural competition last year at the SWWTU Hall, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

FYOTT conducted a workshop for intended participants at the Pleasantville Community Centre, San Fernando on Wednesday and the preliminary round of judging began yesterday at the Police Retirees’ Association, Riverside Plaza Annex, Besson Street, Port-of-Spain, for contestants in the North/East region.

Preliminary judging continues on today, Friday, for contestants in the South/Central region, at the Pleasantville Community Centre, San Fernando. Starting time on both days is 10 am.

Patron of the event, President Anthony Carmona, last year noted it was the first occasion on which secondary school students were participating in “an important quintessential feature of our art form.”

He said the competition provided an opportunity for the younger generation to learn the importance of perseverance, vision, and belief in self, in order to accomplish great things.

“We underestimate the impact extempo has on the world,” he contended, adding this was the only country in the world this genre of the art form was alive and well. He referred to extempo as “the gayelle of calypso,” in which words and music were used as opposed to the sticks used in the stick-fighting gayelle.

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