Cocoa in the Sun

KIERAN ANDREW KHAN

Anjali Ramlalsingh donned a stunning gown to be crowned Miss La Reine Rive 2018 at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts, last Sunday. The dress, reflecting the lifecycle of the cocoa tree and its namesake pod, was adorned with actual cocoa pods and sealed the victory for the 18-year-old as she embarks on her new focus: a degree in Psychology.

“I was first runner-up at both the PNM Divali Queen and Mastana Bahar competitions, so my dance teacher who is also my designer, thought it would be a natural extension and a good experience to enter La Reine Rive,” she noted of her decision to enter. The pageant, a central part of the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy Competition is an annual developmental programme aimed at discovering talented young people in the communities across the country and has been a staple, more or less, of the country’s national cultural calendar since 1963.

“The pageant gave me an opportunity to not just learn more of myself but also about everyone else in the competition and about the history and culture of TT too,” Ramlalsingh pointed out.

The piece de resistance for the 18-year old’s competition was the stunning gown, aptly called ‘Cocoa in the Sun’ which featured dried cocoa beans and pods that were individually harvested and dried by her family and layered on the hand-dyed, tanned fabric and adorned, with the support of her dance company, with crystals to catch the light.

Of the breath-taking piece, she said, “Given that I was representing the Nariva/Mayaro region, I wanted to capture the history and hard work of the cocoa farmers in the area – but also use the opportunity to show that cocoa can be applied to so much more than just an end product like chocolate bars or as a drink.”

“We not only made it a central component of the gown, but we harvested the pods ourselves from my uncle’s cocoa trees and spent months to bring the final dress to fruition. My parents, fellow members of the Swastika Dance Group and Michael Salickram’s assistant, Joyceline Abraham, all played a big part in creating the final piece for the night.”

As for her win, she plans to use the platform to hoist the flag of TT’s culture even higher. “I hope to act as a true ambassador for our local heritage and culture and to further assist the Ministry of Community Development in their work to bring our culture to the forefront of society to showcase the many other positive attributes and aspects of our country,” the pageant winner vowed.

“Many people know of Best Village but they may not be aware of just how much it dives into letting youth know that there is this space for them to showcase their talent – whether they are poets, writers, or can deliver monologues or dance like myself. Best Village is a stepping stone to a better and brighter path for youth. I also do plan to highlight the charity work that we undertake during my reign and to continue my passion of dance and embark on my studies in psychology too,” Ramlalsingh promised.

This September, she begins studies at the University of the West Indies but does have her own notions of how she can combine her chosen academic path with her other joys in life. “I want to be involved on campus, particularly with sporting aspects so that perhaps I can offer sports psychology or dance psychology; I’m not sure if that’s something that people offer or have considered, but I find it therapeutic to dance so perhaps I can find a way to channel therapies for people using dance or sport too!”