From left: DIVICO General Manager Sunny Khatnani, St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) Edwardo Radjouki, and Xtratight Entertainment Director Bertaux ‘Mr. Rude’ Fleming.
PHILIPSBURG--The Caribbean Queen Pageant will no longer be held this Carnival but a Reggae show will be in its place on Sunday, April 27, according to a press statement issued by St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) on Wednesday.
DIVICO, which SCDF has described as “one of Carnival’s most dedicated corporate partners”, will sponsor the show, bringing on Bertaux “Mr. Rude” Fleming of Extratight Entertainment to produce a Reggae event, entitled, “Headliners: Roots and Riddims”.
Four headliners are set to take the stage on April 27, SCDF said, adding that the event will carry the social media hashtag #reggaecyandead.
SCDF said the Caribbean Queen Pageant will be moved to next year’s Carnival, which will be the country’s 55th anniversary of the festival.
SCDF President Edwardo Radjouki said that many of the competing nations for the Caribbean Queen Pageant failed to meet deadlines and expressed significant financial challenges in preparing for the pageant here.
“Instead of hosting an event that neither the public nor the SCDF would be satisfied with, the decision was made to reschedule the pageant for next year’s grand celebrations,” SCDF said.
DIVICO General Manager Sunny Khatnani is quoted in the press release as saying it was important to work with someone who “knows the genre of reggae very well”, a clear reference to Fleming.
“Reggae is a complicated genre. If you don’t know it and understand it, you probably won’t be successful. You need the experience to tackle this genre properly,” Fleming said.
He added that collaborating with DIVICO allows for a strong foundation. “We will bring a sustainable product to the table. Xtratight gave Carnival 10 years of consistency with Night of the Hit Makers, and hopefully, this is Year One of another 10 years.”
In taking on a Reggae concert, Khatnani is taking his biggest leap yet into Carnival.
“We are very excited that DIVICO, Sunny, and his team not only took over the night, but also reached out to the perfect person to guide this reggae experience,” Radjouki said. “DIVICO has been a long-time partner, but this collaboration takes things to a whole new level. This is how Carnival legacies are made. It’s great to see a corporate partner and Xtratight working together on this.”
SCDF said more information about the Reggae show will be released soon.
