Science student crowned Best Village Queen

SCIENCE student Tineka Francois, who dreams of one day becoming a neurosurgeon, while still pursuing her passion to be a designer, was crowned the Ms La Reine Rive Best Village Queen 2022 on Saturday night.

Representing Vance River Village Council, Francois, 20, was crowned by Sports and Community Development Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, as the curtain came down on the month-long festival of folklore and cultural events known as the Prime Minister's Best Village Competition.

In a show dubbed, Le Gran Z’Affaire, at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando, Francois was a favourite among the 12 competitors, and wowed both the judges and the audience with her grace and intelligence.

A gown she designed, decorated and helped sew, gave her the edge.

The question-and-answer segment in which she identified, Best Village, the Tobago Heritage Festival and Carnival as three events any tourist to TT must experience, also secured her place among the five finalists and eventually the top spot.

In an interview with the Newsday on Sunday, the first time entrant in the competition said the experience took her breath away.

“Winning this for Vance River, a small community, this has never been done before and it is something to marvel at and be thankful for,” she said.

She lamented that over the past few years, especially during the pandemic, the youths seem to have moved away from traditional cultural artforms.

“I believe this win could spark a cultural renewal within my community. I want to use this to advocate for more cultural activities within my community.”

A spoken word artiste, Francois recalled that while a primary school student at the Vance River Primary School, she nurtured the dream of becoming a designer.

Plans for this were shelved based on family expectations and replaced with the practical career choice to pursue medicine and specialise as a neuro-surgeon.

Sciences were among the subjects chosen at both Holy Name Convent in Point Fortin and Holy Faith Convent in Penal, where she studied for and wrote the CSEC and CAPE exams respectively.

With online classes giving her more free time during the pandemic, Francois said her desire to occupy her time wisely, rekindled her yearning to design. She has enrolled with a privately-run design school with the intention of registering with the UTT, upon completion of the course with the design school.

She is also a member of FLVS Management modelling agency, modelling for both local and international designers.

In a brief address, Minister Cudjoe said the Best Village journey over the past few months, from learning to successful execution would undoubtedly be rewarding and fulfilling for the participants.

With the last physical competition being in 2019, Cudjoe noted how the pandemic had put a damper on the competition.

Despite the setbacks, she said, the pandemic provided opportunities to invite new groups and introduce new areas of competition, such as the grow-it-yourself kitchen garden competition.

She congratulated all participants from the different village councils.