11th
September 2012
MISS SLHTA
2012
Merissa Stephen
The Miss SLHTA
pageant owed the magic of last Saturday night
to the presence of five iconic St. Lucians and
the celebration of their work through five beauties
of talent.
After a one
year hiatus, the Miss SLHTA pageant came strong
with a master theme and five charismatic contestants.
“The pageant was very successful, as it
met its objective and kept to the theme ‘Celebrating
the icons of St Lucia’s Arts and Culture’.
All the icons came to support the contestants
and some even escorted the contestants on stage,”
states Wendel George, Assistant Project Manager
at SLTHA.
Despite the
absence of the Minister for Tourism, who was
summoned to attend matters of the state overseas,
the show was by all means well attended, whether
by those who came out in full support of their
contestant or by those who appeared to enjoy
the glamour of the evening.
The SLHTA, also
referred to as the ‘Voice of the Hospitality
Industry’, presented its 21st pageant.
Its long history of not only showcasing the
finesse of its women in the sector but also
the machismo of its men, resonates with the
public. Though a successful Saturday staging
of their pageant, some raised issue with the
SLTHA’s inconsistency with the production
of the Mr. and Miss SLHTA show. “I would
not (say) inconsistency,” commented the
Assistant Project Manager, “But rather,
a lack of interest among men in the member properties
and in society in general.”
“Whenever
the word ‘Pageant’ comes up, men
stay away because they feel that pageants, especially
a beauty pageant, relates to women, so therefore
they would rather stay far from that,”
he further said. George also accounted for the
absence of the pageant last year, indicating
that though new to the coordinating team, he
believes that a lack of interest from employees
played a role.
Each girl left
her mark, defining her own moment as the show
progressed into the night. Miss Duty Free Caribbean,
Glenda Willabus, who through her talent personified
tourism, spoke with command and led the audience
through a journey which culminated with the
words “I tourism will do my part and you
St. Lucia, do yours.” She had the privilege
of celebrating Joyce Auguste.
Coming from
Miss Sea Spray, MerlikaModeste, was a performance
of the poem, “Economics”, a literary
work from her icon, KendelHippolyte. Miss Windjammer
Landing, in the person of NadegeMaximin, dramatized
a piece where she captured the audience with
her persona, Ma Wall, “who sees all”.
Maximin’s act was based on the popular
notion ‘if walls could talk’. ‘Ma
Wall’ told the story of good old days
of a kweyol-rich, stable, family household,
and served as an interesting pun for Maxinim’s
icon, Teresa Hall.
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