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| Volume No. 1 Issue No. 47 - Friday August 29, 2003 |
Beauty, Power & Politics- Queen of the Caribbean Show
 by Raymond Henderson
MORE PHOTOS
Crowning of the Queen
Finalists in the Competetion
Queen of the Caribbean
When Miss St Lucia won the Queen of Caribbean Show in Guadeloupe on the weekend, the organizers claimed it a crowning moment for Caribbean integration generally, and Roseau � Basse-Terre Corporation in particular.
The show was also the culmination of a pilgrimage by contestants from around the region to Dominica. There, the first leg of the competition was held at the Palm Grove Freshwater Resort on Wednesday August 27.
Miss Curacao won that swimwear competition. From Roseau in the Nature Isle, the delegates boarded the Caribbean Ferries for Pointe a Pitre (P.a P.) on the Butterfly Isle. The points gained in Roseau would be carried over to the second leg of the competition in Bass-Terre on Saturday, August 30th.
There was tremendous excitement wherever the delegates went: from socializing at the Players Club, to shopping on Rue de la Republique, or just relaxing pool-side at the St. Georges Hotel in St. Luce, Basse-Terre (where delegates were hosted). The pageant was beyond what the contestants expected.
International Coordinator Gordon Henderson said that all involved found Queen of the Caribbean to be a �good show�. He said the bids were already in for Guadeloupe to host next years pageant.
�They feel a need to redeem themselves.� He explained that as a result of some unfortunate circumstances there was lateness in rehearsals and the running of the show. �All squarely on the part of the Guadeloupe counterparts,� the International Coordinator said.
 In fact there were problems hosting the two parts of the show. Technical difficulties were common to both venues. In Dominica, an in-house electrical problem interrupted the show twice.
And in Guadeloupe also, an in-house electrical problem cause the control room to malfunction resulting in confusion during the opening parade of the contestants in national costume.
The curtains at the auditorium never worked during the show, creating transition problems for the producers and stage managers.
However, once these difficulties were overcome, the guest performers gave the show a compelling momentum that drove the show to a successful conclusion in the wee morning ours.
The show was not without controversy. Dominican fans of the queen show wondered why the entire event wasn�t kept at home where it has been for the last two years. Then, once in Guadeloupe there was a fight between the commercial centre � Point a Pitre and political centre � Basse-Terre to host the pageant.
President of the Guadeloupe Archipelago, Madame Lucette Michaux Chevry used her muscle to keep the show at The Auditorium near her Regional Council office.
In the end, Miss St. Lucia, Jardin Fanis was crowned Queen of the Caribbean. Second was Miss Guadeloupe, and third was Miss Barbados. All the contestants seemed pleased with the results.
However some say, they hope that the Miss Guadeloupe can redeem herself at the next Queen of the Caribbean pageant because this current delegate did not win any awards but still managed to come second. But like all international events, there is bound to be tension and rivalry - all in the name of friendship and integration.
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