The festival that once celebrated authentic Guyanese music, the Carib Soca Monarch competition, has returned to the Mash calendar of events after a two-year absence. This year it will feature 11 newcomers and three overseas-based Guyanese artistes.

The Competition, which was exclusively promoted and managed by Ansa Mcal under its Carib Beer brand, is now being managed by the Ministry of Social Cohesion but continues to enjoy sponsorship from Ansa McAl.

Both the Ministry and Ansa Mcal officials dodged questions on the challenges that led to the competition not being held for several years, but said they were excited about its return.

Ansa Mcal’s Nigel Worrel explained that a total of 15 competitors have already made it to the semi- finals through a process of in-house judging.

The Semi Finals will be held in Linden followed by the Finals at Durban Park in Georgetown on February 17th. The semi-finalists include: Samantha Grant, Quacy Coates, Vanilla, Young Bill Rogers and Diana Chapman

The winner of the competition will walk away with $1.5 million while the second-place finalist will walk away with $750,000. The third and fourth place winners will get $500,000 and $250,000 respectively.

According to the Ministry, the competition will continue to be managed by the Central Mash Committee but it is anticipated that Ansa Mcal will continue to offer sponsorship to the event.

The total budget for the Carib Soca Monarch is $12.5 million.