Machel Montano Wins 2025 Road March, While Christians Begin Lent

March 5, 2025 – Machel Montano has won his 11th Road March title, this time with his hit song, “Pardy.” The winner was announced by the Trinidad Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) earlier today. Taking second place was Bunji Garlin‘s “Carry It” with 253 plays, while another Bunji Garlin tune, “Thousands,” placed third with 22 plays. However, on Tuesday, Garlin’s wife, Fay-Ann, announced that they will no longer be participating in this competition.

Now that Carnival is over, a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal begins. Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the start of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting for the Christian community that ends on Easter Sunday. Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago, Reverend Claude Berkley, encouraged his congregation to embrace silence during this sacred time. Bishop Berkley urged parishioners to use their moments of reflection to consider how they are impacting the younger generation, calling for spiritual values to be passed on to young people and children. On Ash Wednesday, believers receive ashes on their foreheads in the shape of a cross as a sign of humility and a reminder of human mortality. Bishop Berkley shared that this symbolism is important for understanding the spiritual value of mercy—both the need for it and the need to extend it to others. He described Ash Wednesday as a powerful spiritual initiation into the Easter season ahead, stating that the demands of Lent are “bearable, meaningful, and worthwhile.”