All hail the Windward Afro queens!

WHEN it was first introduced on Tobago’s cultural landscape, more than five decades ago, the Miss Windward Afro Queen show was meant to be a celebration of Africanness and female empowerment – a true reflection of the traditions and values that have defined the Motherland for generations.

In the 2025 edition of the show, titled Ancestral Royalty – Resilience, Beauty & Unity of a People, organisers are returning to its original format in a way that combines African customs and rituals with Tobago’s unique cultural identity.

The event, one of the highlights of Tobago’s Carnival celebrations, takes place at the Cyd Gray Sporting Complex, Roxborough, on February 26, from 7pm.

Jesse Taylor, cultural officer 11, Department of Culture and Antiquities, said this year’s focus was deliberate.

“We have tried to use the way the Africans struggled, even in their moments of torture, despair and distress to show that the one thing they had in common was unity,” he told WMN in an interview at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex on February 11.

“Even coming out of the transatlantic era, they were still able to preserve their identity and use that identity to permeate it throughout the Caribbean. That is why we have all of the descendants of Africa and all of the traditions we uphold. So we are going back to the roots of the show.”

For this year’s event, Taylor said the organisers heeded the cries of the Windward Carnival Committee, which has traditionally regarded the show as one of its flagship presentations.

“We have always tried to use the Afro Queen show to encourage carnival activity in the east because, believe it or not, a lot of people in the east do not come to town, notwithstanding there are a few activities held in the east of that magnitude.”

Taylor said there also was an overwhelming sentiment that the Afro Queen show was best suited to the Tobago leg of the national festival as opposed to the October carnival.

As such, he said Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris, assistant secretary Niall George and administrator Julien Skeete all felt it should be restored to its grandeur but with improvements.

Taylor recalled in the days, not so long ago, when patrons wore strictly African clothing to the event.

“But they have moved more into the celebration. And there is nothing wrong with that, an appreciation of our carnival characters, traditional mas and calypso. But that, in itself, made less important, the role and function of the African woman as a role model and source of resilience for the continued development of the young people. What was missing was the Africanness of the show.”

In the upcoming show, Taylor said nine delegates, ranging in age 16-26, were selected from groups that are largely from the eastern part of Tobago.

“So we have groups that have just been formed and some that have made their mark in the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy Competition, in the Heritage Festival as groups that have competed and won.

“The intention is the use the queen as a vehicle to transport education and to spark a desire in one’s mind about African retention and how important it is for the family and the village to raise the child. You find those things all over but especially in Tobago.”

The delegates, he said, will be judged in three categories: self-introduction, casual wear and formal gown.

The winner receives $12,000 while second and third place gets $10,000 and $8,000, respectively. Special prizes will also be awarded for the best hairstyle/headdress, most photogenic delegate among other categories. There also will be a people’s choice award where viewers can vote online.

Reigning queen Kersha Kent, of Delaford, will be on hand to crown the winner.

Taylor said the nine young women will each represent a Pan African country, using the colours red, green and yellow to symbolise the power, struggle, glory and growth of Africa.

To this end, he said the organisers are hoping that the show will kindle, not just among the young women in Tobago, a renewed sense of unity, pride and appreciation for the island’s cultural identity.

“As we go forward, we are mindful of how the values of yesterday, shape our modern day and take us along that journey.”

In the same vein, Taylor said, Carnival, with its various facets, must also be acknowledged and celebrated.

“Even as we do our celebration, we must admit that the evolution of Carnival, its passage and the story of Carnival coming out of a post-colonial era, we now have seen the benefits of those things, the jamette carnival, the tamboo bamboo, the steelpan, drums, calypso and soca.”

He added, “So the girls have been asked to do an inspired casual wear and they are being given various aspects of Carnival – from J’Ouvert to Canboulay to steel pan, calypso. The challenge will be to interpret this.”

Taylor said the intention is to marry all of these elements with the island’s tourism thrust “so that we cannot just do a show but we can also be able to showcase the beauty of our tourism. It is also entertainment and education.”

The participants, he said, must interpret for the audience, various elements of Carnival: calypso music; Canboulay; oil drum; J’ouvert; limbo; steelpan; tamboo bamboo; last lap; and mud mas.

Taylor said, “In this particular edition, each of the nine young ladies are expected to speak for one minute on what their portrayal represents. So if a young woman chooses mud mas or J’Ouvert for her portrayal, then they must look and sound like J’Ouvert or mud mas.

“So it also gives them an opportunity to become better at articulation so that they can really, in essence, develop a sense of appreciation for the island. So they will be their own Tobago ambassadors.”

Taylor said this segment also will provide opportunities for the island’s artisans.

“All of the designs must be done with recycled material. So we are creating also economic activity for people who are involved in craft, using calabash, shells, beads and fabric. We are creating a niche industry that Tobago has been lacking.”

In the gown segment, titled Colour Me Africa, the delegates are expected to create and portray a “unique, memorable and awe-inspiring design” focusing on the legacy aspect of the event’s theme as well as the Africa tribe they portray.

Taylor said the gowns must reflect “our culture, way of life and our Caribbean style and legacy.”

Outside of the Afro Queen show, patrons can also look forward to the Windward Calypso Monarch competition and elements of traditional mas.

“So the Windward Afro Queen show, for all intents and purposes, will be a Tobago-styled Dimanche Gras with the understanding that it is not the night before Carnival.”

Taylor urged culture enthusiasts to come out in their numbers to support the venture, which he expects will be a true celebration of Africanness.

Afro Queen delegates

Jullisia Sandy – Guinea (Camboulay)

Ky’isha Joseph – Zimbabwe (Limbo)

Keiann Jerry – Mali (Calypso)

Kershel Pierre – Benin (Tamboo Bamboo)

Jaedha Carrington – Cameroon (Last Lap)

Khaliyah Thomas Denoon – Congo (Mud Mas)

Naomi Ramesar – Senegal (Oil Drum)

Shurnecia Walker – Ethiopia (J’Ouvert)

Kairyse Manswell – Ghana (Steelpan)