CHESTER SAM­BRA­NO

Ri­car­do 'Dad­dy Chi­nee' Melville was crowned Chut­ney So­ca Monarch 2023 in front of a crowd of ap­prox­i­mate­ly 6,000 peo­ple.

Event pro­mot­er, Southex, says his win was "unan­i­mous among the judges, as every one of them had him ahead on their sheets."

Southex says his­to­ry was cre­at­ed at the show, "as this is the first time a non-In­do Trinida­di­an walked away with the ti­tle."

Ricardo 'Daddy Chinee' Melville during his winning performance at the Chutney Soca Monarch finals, on Friday 17 February 2023. He was crowned Chutney Soca Monarch 2023. [Image courtesy Southex Live Events via YouTube]

Katelin Sul­tan, the eight-year-old Chut­ney So­ca star, walked away with the Queen of Chut­ney So­ca ti­tle, beat­ing Ram­ra­jie Prab­hoo in­to sec­ond place.

Katelin was al­so the youngest to ever win a ma­jor ti­tle in one of the main­stream com­pe­ti­tions in Trinidad & To­ba­go’s Car­ni­val.

Katelin Sultan during her winning performance at the Chutney Soca Monarch finals, on Friday 17 February 2023. She was crowned Chutney Soca Queen 2023. [Image courtesy Southex Live Events via YouTube]

The for­mer cham­pi­on, GI Be­har­ry, placed third, while Ken­neth Su­per­sad placed sec­ond in the com­pe­ti­tion.

Apart from the prize mon­ey, Katelin al­so has won two Caribbean Air­lines tick­ets to any des­ti­na­tion they fly to, plus an all-in­clu­sive week­end at the Tropik­ist Ho­tel and Beach re­sort, which make up part of her prize pack­age.

Ricardo 'Daddy Chinee' Melville during his winning performance at the Chutney Soca Monarch finals, on Friday 17 February 2023. He was crowned Chutney Soca Monarch 2023. [Image courtesy Southex Live Events via YouTube]