[dropcap]E[/dropcap]very year since 1950, with the exception of 1994 and 1995, about eight of Saint Lucia’s declared most talented, beautiful and fit women have competed for the title of National Carnival Queen. Many of the leading candidates, before taking the big step, would have participated in less demanding pageants in preparation for auditions judged by former queens and tough-as-nails co-ordinators. For contenders, to be declared National Carnival Queen is the local equivalent of winning the title Miss America. A key to doors that might otherwise have remained closed. Many winners of the American pageant have gone on to be movie stars and TV presenters. Almost all of them have landed lucrative endorsement contracts with famous brand names, from Guess jeans to Revlon. A few have even hooked millionaire husbands they might never have met in the first place were it not for that coveted Miss America crown.
But in Saint Lucian reality, often, in the not so distant past, queen candidates had to find their own sponsors who knew they had nothing to gain, save the satisfaction from supporting what they considered a worthy cause. Truth be told, would-be contestants were turned off by the expectations of one or two potential sponsors. Thankfully this is not the case today. Swimsuits and gowns used to be paid for, too often, by parents and other relatives.
Then comes the day they’ve all been waiting for. Their faces plastered in make-up, the ladies take their turns on stage in a variety of costumes to perform before an audience comprising mainly family, friends and individuals associated with their sponsors. Consider the fact that for most of the contestants this would be their first performance before a large audience that too often demonstrates group prejudices. Yes, the ladies may dazzle with their performer’s smiles but inside many are scared to death. They bravely go where many of their friends feared to tread, bolstered by the promises made them by the organisers.
Unfortunately many, if not most, of the Carnival Queen winners have suffered disappointment. For them the glitz and glamour, the media exposure, time in the spotlight was short-lived. I spoke with several contestants, recent and not so recent, six of whom had actually strutted off with the queen crown and sash. All them requested protective anonymity.
“After the show you’re all on your own,” one of them told me. “Following the long nights, early mornings, the rigid diets, beauty regimens and practice sessions leading up to the competition, what a great reward to be chosen. But not long afterward you start questioning yourself, asking: Is that all there is?”
Carnival Queens are required to attend national events, to be a representative of the nation’s youth and always maintain an air of regality, if only imagined. What do they get in return? “I had to fend for myself,” another former winner told me. “I had to pay from my own pocket for what I wore to special events. If I imagined myself a queen under my crown, for sure I was a queen without means.”
Said another winner: “People won’t understand pageantry is like a job. Your chaperone does what is expected of him or her up to the moment you’re crowned. His involvement is over almost immediately after that. Same with your sponsor. Now you belong to the committee that should take responsibility for your maintenance during your reign, but does not. If you should lose your job because you chose to concentrate on winning the Carnival Queen title—yes, it’s happened to some contestants—you’re on your own. You must provide for yourself!”
Admittedly, three of the former queens interviewed offered a different take. One of them was happy to report her sponsors had matched the winner’s $10,000 prize money. Another queen expressed the view that following the show it is the Carnival Queen committee that should take full responsibility for everything concerning the queen’s activities.
Going into the contest many of the young women believe the title will provide a platform from which to make social contributions. They say so in often televised promotional interviews. The current Carnival Queen, Chancy Fontenelle, appeared on Mas Attack’s final episode last July, when she spoke of her ambition to contribute to her community. However, this is what another former Carnival Queen told me: “It’s all talk. When the causes I advocate required financial assistance, the committee would beat about the bush. Then they’d assign me to things like lighting a Christmas tree, hosting a walk and other irrelevant stuff. Then that’s all I’d have to talk about during my final speech.” Another former queen added: “If you want to do little things like workshops at schools or clubs, money for materials must come out of your own pocket.”
In 2009, a scholarship opportunity was attached to the National Carnival Queen title. But only two of the former queens interviewed confirmed they had received partial scholarship—as promised! One of the others said: “They told me it was a full scholarship and so I entered expecting that. But after the first semester I was called to the accounts department for not paying my other half. I had also been told my books would be paid for but I was eventually billed for them. After I spoke to the dean he waived some fees but I still ended up paying part of my ‘full scholarship’.”
In 2015 the Carnival Queen show announcer confirmed the year’s winner would receive a “four-year scholarship, compliments of the Mexican Embassy”. However, two years after completing her queen’s responsibilities, the 2015 winner remains here without any kind of scholarship. She opted not to discuss the subject with me.
The present Carnival Queen proved equally reticent. Chancy Fontenelle did not want to jeopardize “future regional pageants” and in any case would not comment without first consulting with her chaperone. The word from others involved with the pageant is that she was offered a scholarship to Taiwan as part of her prize. Contestants from the past few years complain that the planning committee has refrained from public announcements pertaining to prizes before show time. They also groused that show recordings are unavailable on social media.
Now that Marvel Studios has produced a movie with a black protagonist superhero, with all the lead female actors rocking natural hair, and Davina Bennet’s afro was paired with an equally prominent yellow gown on the Miss Universe 2017 stage, perhaps the St. Lucia Carnival Queen committee will be less insistent on straight hair, natural and otherwise. Several past contestants bemoaned the committee’s intolerance of their natural hair. By reliable account, contestants in the 2016 pageant were instructed either to resort to straight weaves or to straighten the hair they were born with.
Of all the women interviewed, few said they would encourage others to be Carnival Queen contestants. This time around Events Saint Lucia will be involved in the competition’s organisation, which will hopefully be better executed compared to the Cultural Development Foundation in previous years.
