Practically every place on earth is sending a candidate to the Philippines these days for the annual Miss Universe pageant, but the Dutch side is not one of them. It’s been that way for it seems like ages and the reason involves a rather long story.
Suffice to say that various persons were crowned Miss St. Maarten in the past such as Angelique Martes-Romou, also the last known local franchise-holder. The title was combined with that of Senior Carnival Queen in recent years, but participation in the biggest international pageants has remained elusive.
Not that competing at, for example, Culturama in Nevis or in The Friendly Island’s own Miss Hibiscus isn’t worthy. However, Miss Universe and to a lesser extent Miss World simply offer unrivalled global exposure for both the contestants and the flag they represent.
It may seem like a trivial matter, but in many countries tourist authorities even hold the franchises for these pageants because they are considered important promotional tools. This allows for the necessary investment in both the local contest to select a candidate and preparation of the winner for contests abroad.
Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there’s no denying St. Maarten has lots of young women who are not only good-looking, but intelligent, well-spoken, smart and worldly, often mastering several languages. In addition, even a top-10 finish would be an achievement for such a small community.
Once the intended new Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) has finally passed the screening and been installed, he should waste no time in tackling this matter, if necessary with the Miss Universe and Miss World organisations themselves, so that at the very next opportunity St. Maarten’s female cream of the crop can again be showcased on a global stage.
