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Royalty Crowned for Christmas Festival

Dec. 3, 2007 — The Crucian Christmas festival crowned its first royalty with the selection of De'Quade Lopez and Allayeah JohnBaptiste as prince and princess and Breyana Almestica as duchess.
The show at the St. Croix Educational Complex Sunday abounded with talent and fierce competition. Contestants wowed the audience with dance and drama interpretations while weaving their knowledge of St. Croix history into their presentations.
Competing for the prince and princess title were:
— Kijon Washington, 11, a seventh grader at St. Patrick's Catholic School, and Shanice James, 11, a sixth grader at Ricardo Richards Elementary School;
— George Somerszaul III, 11, a sixth grade at Charles H. Emanuel Elementary School, and Keosha Quinn, 10, a sixth grader at Ricardo Richards Elementary School;
— Akeem Crispin, 10, a fifth grader at Alfredo Andrews Elementary School, and Raenesia Matthew, 10, a fifth grader at Ricardo Richards Elementary School; and
— De'Quade Lopez, 8, a third grader at Lew Muckle Elementary School, and Allayeah JohnBaptiste, 11, a sixth grader at St. Mary's Catholic School.
The St. Croix Festival duchess contestants were:
— Kiara Arnold, 4, attending the Free Will Baptist School in K-4;
— Athalie Alvarez, 6, attending the Alexander Henderson Elementary School in first grade;
— Markeymah Cargile, 4, attending the School of the Good Shepherd in pre-kindergarten;
— Breyana Almestica, 5, attending the St. Croix Christian Academy in the first grade; and
— Fayjah Cruz, 5, attending the Alexander Henderson School in kindergarten.


Festival Duchess Breyana Almestica.

Other awards were handed out to the prince and princess contestants:
— First runner-up: Keosha Quinn and George Sumerszaul III;
— Mr. and Miss Popularity: Kijon Washington and Shanice James;
— Mr. and Miss Congeniality: Akeem Crispin and Allayeah JohnBaptiste; and
— Mr. and Miss Photogenic: Akeem Crispin and Keosha Quinn.
Other winners in the Duchess contest were:
— First runner-up: Markeymah Cargile;
— Second runner-up: Athalie Alverez;
— Miss Popularity: Fayjah Cruz; and
— Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic: Markeymah Cargile.
In their introduction speeches, Lopez said he aspires to be a criminal-justice lawyer and a professional basketball player, while JohnBaptiste announced her intentions to be a doctor.

Allayeah JohnBaptiste dances ballet in the talent competition.

In their talent segment, the winning duo portrayed a ballerina and a toy soldier in a "cultural toy shop" who come to life. After marveling at their ability to move, Lopez — dressed in the traditional toy-soldier uniform of a navy blue military jacket and tall, furry white hat — showed off his dance steps with the popular hiphop dance "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" by Soulja Boy, which had the crowd jumping to its feet. JohnBaptiste, in a royal blue tutu with a glittery madras top, amazed the crowd as she performed a ballet, staying on the point of her toes until the crowd exploded in applause. She ended her selection with a full split.
The couple concluded their talent by dancing to a quelbe beat until it was time to return to the toy shelf.
For their cultural costume segment, Lopez and JohnBaptiste told the story of Christopher Columbus and Queen Mary. Columbus, played by Lopez, searched for the new world in his second voyage. Lopez, sailing in on his ship, was dressed in clothing of the period, complete with gray wig and telescope to spot islands on the horizon. His partner, JohnBaptiste, dressed as Queen Mary, told the story of the leader of the 1878 revolt sent to jail in Denmark for her part in the uprising.

Breyana Almestica portrays Queen Mary.

Almestica, the new festival duchess, also paid homage to Queen Mary in her cultural costume segment. The costume featured mock flames shooting from her shoulders, and the three queens of the fireburn on her headpiece. In her hand she held a torch with red mock flames at the tip. Her dress was made of crocus sack, which was widely used by the laboring population in the 1800s. It was accented with a gingham apron, the precursor to today's madras fabric.
Almestica arrived on stage for her party wear in a carriage fit for a princess. Her baby blue ball gown sparkled and shimmered as she modeled across the stage until the clock struck midnight and she was whisked away by her coachmen.
The other participants put on great performances, earning lots of applause, shouts and screams from the audience of more than 300 people.
Emerging from behind a model of a sugar mill for their introduction, Washington and James listed their scholastic, arts and athletic accomplishments, saying their "quest for knowledge will never rest." Sumerszaul and Quinn bounded on stage to a lively quelbe beat with "tenacity, love and self-determination," declaring they are a "force to be reckoned with."
Duchess contender Arnold, emerging as a hibiscus flower, set the pace in the native flower or fruit segment, while Alverez chose to portray the official V.I. flower, the Ginger Thomas. Cargile, who said her favorite subject is coloring, portrayed an anthurium lily. Almestica represented a coconut tree in a bronze gown with a metallic green headpiece which — like palm fronds — swayed in the breeze. Cruz dressed as a guava fruit and told the audience about its many uses.
The talent segment brought out the best in all the contestants. Crispin and Matthew celebrated the estates, landmarks and diversity of St. Croix while touching on the cultural aspect of melle, or gossip. With a background of two modest native homes and life-sized replicas of a man and a woman attached to each of them, the pair exchanged gossip and ended by dancing around the stage with their "partners."
The show, which began about 20 minutes past its start time of 4 p.m., lasted almost seven hours. The delays were mostly due to the large and elaborate sets used in each presentation by the nine contestants, said Pageant Coordinator Maria Hendricks.
The winners will open the Festival Village Dec. 26 and preside over the festival activities.
All photos by Stewart Schulterbrandt for the Crucian Christmas Festival Committee

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