CASAN­DRA THOMP­SON

Three young women have been cho­sen to rep­re­sent To­ba­go in the Miss Uni­verse Trinidad and To­ba­go Pageant.Shinequa Maya Fran­cis, 18, of Rox­bor­ough, Latisha Hospedales, 24 of Carn­bee and Ka­reesia Hen­ry, 20, of Mt Pleas­ant were cho­sen from among 11 beau­ti­ful women who were screened.The women came from all over the is­land to Movi­eTowne To­ba­go at the Gulf City Mall in Low­lands, for a chance to rep­re­sent this coun­try in the pres­ti­gious in­ter­na­tion­al pageant.

Ian Lee, na­tion­al di­rec­tor and fran­chise hold­er of the Miss Uni­verse Trinidad and To­ba­go pageant said the pan­el chose one ad­di­tion­al girl than in­tend­ed, since they were im­pressed by the qual­i­ty of the girls screened."I was im­pressed, I love it. To­ba­go has def­i­nite­ly stepped up the mark here and we are go­ing to have some se­ri­ous com­pe­ti­tion. I see se­ri­ous po­ten­tial in the three girls we saw go for­ward, so there is no hes­i­ta­tion and wor­ry about the stan­dard of show as you see the num­ber was in­creased from two to three that we are tak­ing back to the na­tion­al semis," he said.

Lee said when he as­sumed the po­si­tion of na­tion­al di­rec­tor he vowed to have a more holis­tic rep­re­sen­ta­tion of the Miss Uni­verse Pageant to rep­re­sent Trinidad and To­ba­go.He said since screen­ing for the show was held in Trinidad in the past, it was hard "that rough di­a­mond com­ing to Port-of-Spain." The next screen­ing will be held in Port-of-Spain on April 16 at the Kapok Ho­tel.The 2011 Miss Uni­verse Pageant will be held in Sep­tem­ber in Sao Paulo, Brazil.