Winsome Asha Pieters crowned Miss Carnival in St Vincent
'I was overwhelmed by the Guyanese show of support'
By Shauna Jemmott
Guyana Chronicle
July 7, 2004
FORMER Miss Guyana Talented Teen Asha Pieters was crowned Miss Carnival Saturday evening in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Pieters, the first Guyanese to win the Miss Carnival title, was chosen by the Simpli Royal Committee to represent her homeland at the Miss Carnival contests, which is one of the Caribbean's most prestigious pageants.
Speaking to the Chronicle by telephone from Young Island, an Island Resort located in the Grenadines, Asha said winning the pageant was an "extraordinary experience".
"It was a great experience for me and I was overwhelmed by the Guyanese people who came out to support me."
She was adjudged Miss Photogenic, the most intelligent delegate for performing best in the interview segment, and was also given the 'Miss Best Community Service' award.
The pageant featured the segments of National Costume, Introduction, Talent and Swimwear, Evening Gown and Interview.
Pieters expressed gratitude to all those who supported her and especially to the Simpli Royal Committee headed by Ms Pamela Dillon.
She described her stay in the Caribbean Island, which visit concludes tomorrow as "most comfortable and interesting".
"The girls are great, very friendly. And in all my pageant experience this is the best group of girls that I have ever worked with. The food is good and so is the accommodation... We met the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet on Wednesday. And we had a motorcade on the same day... we went to a Glow party, calypso finals and song festival."
Pieters is well known for performing her ambassadorial duties admirably whenever she represents Guyana on the international pageant stage, and her win means a lot to Guyana, especially in the area of tourism.
In a previous interview with the Chronicle, Pieters had declared that she would not settle for anything less than being crowned Queen at the Miss Carnival pageant.
"I am very strong, I am prepared and I don't want to settle for anything less than the crown...I've been out of pageants for two years and I want to come back bigger, stronger and better," Pieters had pledged.
Guyana's Tourism Minister Manzoor Nadir had said last month that his Ministry will support Pieters' efforts to represent Guyana well at pageants on her slate this year.
The Miss Guyana Universe 2001 runner-up was pushed into international pageantry in 2002 when she represented Guyana at the Miss Caribbean Teen pageant in Barbados and won the 'Best Talent' award. The following year, she was crowned Miss West Indies, and was adjudged first runner-up in the Miss Antilles International pageant in Venezuela just two months ago, where she also won the Miss Photogenic prize.
The Miss Carnival Beauty Show, which is the highlight of the St. Vincent Carnival called `Vincy Mas' was staged Saturday night by the Beauty Shows Committee, which is itself a section of the country's Carnival Development Committee.
Other contestants came from Trinidad and Tobago; Antigua and Barbuda; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Grenada; St. Kitts and Nevis; Dominica; the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Curacao, St. Lucia and Barbados.
Asha is the third Guyanese beauty to contest the Miss Carnival title. Guyana, which began participating in the pageant just three years ago, was first represented by former Miss Guyana African Heritage queen, Shauna Jemmott in 2001, and Miss Guyana Talented Teen 2000, Ulex Atwell in 2002. Guyanese are always known to be favourites at the pageant and receive a lot of support from the large Guyanese population in that island.
The next major pageant on Asha's slate is the Miss Caribbean Jaycees, which will be staged in Antigua on July 30, 2004. The Guyanese beauty was also invited to participate in the Miss India International in Trinidad and Tobago in November this year. Apart from the crown, Asha was presented with jewellery and a cash prize of US$4,700.