tidings
Yvonne Webb
SCIENCE student Tineka Francois, who dreams of one day becoming a neurosurgeon while still pursuing her passion of being a fashion designer, was crowned Ms La Reine Rive, Queen of the Best Village 2022 on Saturday night.
Representing Vance River Village Council, Francois, 20, was crowned by Sports and Community Development Minister Shamfa Cudjoe as the curtain fell on the month-long festival of folklore and cultural events known as the Premier’s Best Village Competition.
In a dubbed show, Le Gran Z’Affaire, at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando, Francois was the favorite among 12 contestants and wowed both the judges and the audience with her grace and intelligence.
A dress she designed, decorated and helped sew gave her the edge.
The question-and-answer segment in which she identified the Best Village, Tobago Heritage Festival and Carnival as three events every TT tourist should experience also secured her place among the five finalists and ultimately first place.
In an interview with Newsday on Sunday, the first-time contestant said the experience took her breath away.
“To win this for Vance River, a small community, that’s never been done before and it’s something to be amazed and grateful for,” she said.
She complained that in recent years, especially during the pandemic, young people seem to have moved away from traditional cultural art forms.
“I believe that this victory can promote a cultural renewal within my community. I want to use this to advocate for more cultural activities within my community.”
A spoken word artist, Francois recalled that while an elementary school student at Vance River Elementary School, she harbored the dream of becoming a designer.
Plans for this were canceled based on family expectations and replaced with the practical career choice of pursuing medicine and specializing as a neurosurgeon.
Sciences were among the subjects chosen at both the Holy Name Convent in Point Fortin and the Convent of the Holy Faith in Penal, where she studied 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 reignited her desire to design. She is enrolled in a private design school with the intention of enrolling in UTT after completing her design school course.
She is also a member of the modeling agency FLVS Management, modeling for both local and international designers.
In a short speech, Minister Cudjoe said that the journey to the best village over the past few months, from learning to successful execution would definitely be rewarding and fulfilling for the participants.
With the last physical competition in 2019, Cudjoe noted how the pandemic had put a damper on the competition.
Despite the setbacks, she said, the pandemic offered opportunities to invite new groups and introduce new areas of competition, such as the grow-your-own kitchen garden competition.
She congratulated all the participants from the various village councils.
