Reigning Miss La Reine Rive, Mekelia Miller, in many ways defines much of what the Best Village tradition represents.
She has had a longstanding love and respect for the tradition, and has vivid memories of watching every available episode of the show with her grandmother. She was intrigued by the presence of people who looked like her, doing the things that she loved and telling stories that resonated with her.
Her victory as the representative for the group Eh Bien Oui Don Don, based in the Trincity community, has been roughly ten years in the making and well worth the wait.
Miller was born and raised in La Horquetta, but has roots in Tobago. She regrets not growing up experiencing Tobago’s rich heritage.
As a graduate of Bishop Anstey High School East, she was delighted to formally study theatre arts, and to meet and bond with a number of other like-minded young people.
"Attending Bishop's afforded me the opportunity to delve into the world of culture, and to become involved in the Best Village competition," Miller told WMN. She and her schoolmates agreed to form a cultural group to ensure their “sense of camaraderie among the alumni that had studied the performing arts, was maintained.” In this way, they “would continue creating and working together post-graduation.”
This was where Eh Bien Oui Don Don was born. The name is a Patois expression that translates to "allyuh listen to this, is a good one."
The chance to represent her community as the Miss La Reine Rive aspirant was a singular honour, partly because she feels that her ten-year journey of trial and error prepared her to comfortably step into this role as queen, as well as to be a mentor to the other members of her team. At 27, Miller considers herself a Best Village veteran, having gained experience with the competition just out of secondary school. Her selection by colleagues then to be the pageant entrant was almost a foregone conclusion, since she had participated in the 2012 Ms Full-Figured Teen Trinidad and Tobago pageant. With a difference of five points separating her from the winner, Miller walked away with the second prize. She describes this as being “a life changing moment,” which she said allowed her “to unlock a whole new world, in terms of my identity, my confidence and my approach to life in general.”
“It was like a debutant moment for me, I received the right kind of training and refining that I needed at that time. As a plus-sized teenager in 2012, the world perceived us very differently from the way they do now.”
In hindsight, she acknowledges that the Miss La Reine Rive contest has a certain prestige when compared to the other competitions, and she may have underestimated what was required.
“I don’t think a 17-year-old version of myself would have been able to deliver what was expected of a Miss La Reine Rive queen at that time.”
[caption id="attachment_1037934" align="alignnone" width="803"] At 27, Mekelia Miller considers herself a Best Village veteran. - Lincoln Holder[/caption]
She hadn't considered that
