Hail queen Aniya!

Aniya Sealy, 13, has been playing mas for ten years and she does not intend to stop.

She has portrayed the queen costume for Spoilt Rotten Kids for the past two years and this year she placed first with her portrayal of Phoenix Rising from the Ashes to be the 2020 Junior Queen of Carnival.

“When I placed first I was extremely elated. I even screamed. I believed that I had a sure chance of placing high in the top ten. I lived my costume design. It was lovely. It even glitters in the night when light shines on it.”

Aniya has been playing mas since the age of three and used to play with “Aunty Rosalind” (Rosalind Gabriel). “I enjoy Carnival. I like the bright colours. I like dressing up and putting on different types of make-up. I like feeling free and dancing with my friends and family.”

She said playing queen was a lot different from being a regular masquerader because she had to smile a lot for the judges and she could not just jump up. Instead, she had to “dance the costume” and portray the mas. She said there was also more responsibility because she had to represent the band, and, of course, it was more competitive.

She said she had the cold during Carnival and did not feel well so it was tiring, but she tried her best and even enjoyed being at the Dimanche Gras show since it was not a competition and she had already won.

She said it also felt good when her teachers and fellow students at Providence Girls’ Catholic School, Belmont, congratulated her and sometimes announced her as the junior queen when she entered a room.

The form two student added that she did all her home work and revision before competitions so her school work did not pile up on her at nights after she was tired from competing.

She said her mother, Melissa Phillip, found that playing queen was a lot of work and was not sure if she would allow Aniya to be a queen next year but Aniya had different ideas. “I have to defend my crown. There’s no quitting now.”

She also intends to play mas as an adult. She said she liked Tribe but she wanted to encourage Spoilt Rotten Kids to make a section for adults so she could continue to play with them when she became too old for children’s mas.