Music filled the great hall of the St. George Botanical Garden Saturday night, splashing out of the brightly lit hall and over the darkened gardens as the St. Croix Heritage Dancers celebrated their 28th year with their annual ball.
The decor and most of the partygoers inside the full hall were trimmed in shades of green.
The St. Croix Heritage Dancers Inc. was formed in 1981 to preserve and present the culture of the island. On Saturday, another part of that culture was presented when, for the first time, the king and queen of the ball were two Hispanic members, Domitila Vargas, who moved to St. Croix from Puerto Rico in 1979, and Pablo Rojas, originally from Ecuador.
Vargas is a recently retired teacher from the Pearl B. Larsen School who specialized in bilingual education. She has been a member of a host of community groups, and co-hosted "La Flora Hispana," a Spanish language radio program on the island.
Community service has long been an important part of Rojas’ life, from volunteer firefighting to leading Boy Scout troops. An insatiable traveler, he has visited most of South and Central America, and lived in the United States before coming to St. Croix.
The ball drew young and old alike, from Bradley E. Christian, who became president of the organization in 1981 and still holds that post, to 1-year-old Yennasia Nugent, who was dressed as a princess as she perched in the lap of aunt Takiyah Antoine.
Christian and Wynona Hendricks acted as masters of ceremony for the event. Following a dinner and the grand entrance by Rojas and Vargas, there were special honors for two long-time community members, Cedelle Petersen-Christopher and Christopher "Ferdi" Simmonds.
Petersen-Christopher is a St. Croix native who works as a teacher and librarian at Claude O. Markoe Elementary School. An accomplished singer, she has used her musical skills in a variety of settings, both as entertainment and education.
Born on St. Croix 80 years ago, Simmonds and his musical family were always performing, eventually forming the popular island musical group The Simmonds Brothers. That group eventually merged into Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights.
The invocation and benediction were given by the Rev. Dwight Ogier of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, and Sen. Usie Richards gave the toast.
The evening, of course, also included a dance demonstration, and concluded with a grand waltz led by the king and queen honorees.
