VASCO: Commotion broke out over the choice of Queen Momo for the carnival floats parade at Vasco on Monday as two women sparred over the Queen’s position.
The organisers however controlled the situation by permitting both the ‘Queens’ to join the King Momo entourage.
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The Vasco Carnival Committee had selected Eva Fernandes as the Carnival Queen while, another lady, Adv Leona Barreto from Curtorim, boarded the King Momo’s vehicle, claiming to be the Carnival Queen for the floats parade.
But the Vasco Carnival Committee did not like it and asked Adv Barreto to step down immediately and requested Eva Fernandes to board the vehicle.
This resulted in exchange of words between the Committee members and Adv Barreto. The Committee stood firm in its decision and allowed Eva Fernandes, a resident of Vasco to be Carnival Queen.
At the same time, they allowed Adv Barreto to remain on the vehicle and join the parade even as talks were that the King Momo was flanked by two ‘queens’.
The Vasco Committee members claimed that Carnival Queen has to be from the port town and that she is not selected by the Department of Tourism, like the way selection of King Momo is done by inviting applications. They said it was completing wrong on part of Adv Leona Barreto to claim as the Carnival Queen.
The Committee refused to allow King Momo who wanted to continue with Adv Barreto as Queen and insisted that Eva Fernandes will be the Queen.
“Since Carnival is a festival of joy, gun and happiness we did not want to have any dispute with anybody thereby bringing the festival a wrong name. We decided that nobody should be left unhappy and hurt and allowed both women to move along with the King Momo float claiming that Eva Fernandes will be the Carnival Queen,” said one of the members.
Later in a video message, Adv Leona Barreto said that Carnival is a festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent and was being celebrating for the past 58 years in the State.
“While we make merry, let’s not forget to remember our Father of Goan nationalism Dr Tristao de Braganza Cunha, all those who fought to protect Goa’s identity,” Adv Barreto said.
