Guyana made a quite splash at last Sunday’s Barbados Music, Fashion and Film Awards (BMFFA) with its largest representative contingent yet, which was well received.
Local fashion icon Sonia Noel and US-based songstress Lisa Punch joined local artistes Ernesta Nelson, Travis Bowen and Mystic 
along with photographer Aubrey James in Barbados, positively representing Guyana in a huge way. Unfortunately though, Mystic fell ill and was unable to perform.
At the show, staged at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Barbados, Barbadians welcomed Sonia ‘home’ with a Regional Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to fashion in the Caribbean. Sonia had lived in Barbados for a time, where she owned and operated two boutiques and in 2008 was the official designer of the Barbados Music Awards. She told this publication that she felt humbled and honoured to receive the lifetime award and the welcome she was given felt like “coming home”.
Sonia presented a line of fashion: ensembles and separates, which was well appreciated and saw several business queries.
Lisa, who recently migrated to the United States, had secured her spot on the Barbados stage since last year in the Gold Coast Records Talent Search held during Guyana Fashion Week, in which she was bested by Travis. Lisa connected with the audience, belting out “Secret Admirer”, one of her local hits and grabbing the attention of Barbados media. A photo of her performing appeared in Tuesday’s Barbados Nation with a report detailing Guyana’s representation under the headline ‘Punch line’, a play on her surname.
Travis, whose presence at the BMFFA was via the same route, performed an Enrique Iglesias hit. As winner of the Gold Coast Records Talent Search he is now being groomed, in Barbados, for international work and a record deal. Ernesta added Caribbean spice with a soca rendition.
According to a press release, the addition of fashion and film to the Barbados Music Awards was part of a campaign to integrate the region through the creative industries and ultimately promote the Caribbean brand as an alternative on the global agenda.
Ronnie Morris, producer of the Award showcase, also a Director of Guyana Fashion Week was quoted as saying that “this is just a beginning of remarkable things to come, in terms of collaborating with Guyanese artistes.” He also commended Sonia for facilitating the growth of dynamic inter-regional networking endeavours, the release said.
