North West Laventille tops Best Village

NORTH WEST LAVENTILLE Cultural Movement has been crowned overall winner of the 2019 Prime Minister's Best Village Trophy Competition. The group was awarded a trophy and $75,000 at a prizegiving ceremony at the Southern Academy of the Performing Arts (SAPA) last Friday.

Eh Bien Oui Don Don from Trincity and Bon Bassa Productions from Barataria came in second and third respectively.

In the Miss La Reine Rive contest, the winner, Seychelle Ross, took home a challenge trophy and $37,500. Ross represented North West Laventille. Second place winner Kadisha Kent, from the Tobago Drama Guild, received $22,500 and a trophy. Janine Sobers, from Soul Oasis Cultural Ambassadors, came in third winning $18,000.

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, in her address to winners at the ceremony said, on her first day as minister in 2015, she visited the Best Village office in Port of Spain. Her first assignment was the crowning of Miss La Reine Rive that year.

"It is like coming full circle and it feels nostalgic standing here again knowing that it may be the last time I address the Best Village community.”

Without explaining the revelation further, she said the beauty of TT was encapsulated in the Best Village programme.

“It is here you see all people of different backgrounds, different cultures and religion coming together in this true melting pot of culture."

Every ambassador or high commissioner that comes to TT, she said, gravitates towards the Ministry of Culture to make that cultural link to be able to identify themselves with the culture of TT. In many cases, they also bring their own cultural diversity to TT for its enlightenment and enjoyment.

“Every one of them expressed how impressed they are that, in this country, we can coexist with so many cultures, races and religions.”

Gadsby-Dolly urged the audience not to take for granted that the people of TT existed peacefully while celebrating each other's differences.

“This country has so many different holidays and that's wonderful for us because, the fact is, it is the acknowledgement of all the different cultures that makes us who we are and this is something we should never take for granted.”

She said the 53-year-old Best Village programme remained the longest-running national programme that fully embraced TT’s cultural diversity. The 2019 competition was even more intense than usual because each group was vying for a place in the regional stage for Carifesta 14.

Gadsby-Dolly noted that 20 foreign ministers attended Carifesta this year and they all said they were pleased by they way it was managed in TT.

“They were amazed at the way we managed our differences in culture and they had many enquiries on the PM’s Best Village programme.”

For many years, she said, people associated Best Village with low-class performances.

“Being a part of the Best Village community, what you get out of this forum is not low class but excellent quality and that comes from the level of the community working hard to ensure that quality is maintained."

The minister also highlighted the launch of the new Best Village logo this year saying that it embodied the identity and spirit of the brand.

Performing at the event were poetry/spoken word second place winner, Zakiya Gill; tassa winners, Demolition Warriors Tassa Group; and reggae song contest winner, Jamal Charles.