One Saint Lucian artiste has slammed a member of the political opposition following over what he says is unfair targeting of creatives who participated in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. UWP Castries South candidate Tommy Descartes raised questions about the government’s $738,559 contribution to the trip.
For many in the delegation, the criticism undermines the sacrifices made to represent Saint Lucia on a global stage.
Dennery Segment artist Umpa, who was scheduled to attend but could not due to prior commitments, pushed back strongly at Descartes’ remarks. “Majority of the SLU delegation to Japan was made up of youth. Bossman, are you against the youth or are you for the youth?”
Another creative, speaking anonymously, called the backlash demoralizing. “It’s embarrassing to see I went to represent my country and we are being rewarded with negativity and spite. This is really disgusting, people went to uplift and bring the country and culture to light across the world, and we were outstanding. The people really embraced us, only to come back and see ‘monkeys’ jumping on the internet trying to find something negative when there is none. And you call yourself leaders!”
Export Saint Lucia, which coordinated the trip, stressed that the journey demanded extraordinary effort from performers. “They had to travel, one of the legs was 16 hours, and then when they got to Japan, they had to perform the next day or after just one rehearsal,” said Glenfield Gabriel, Director of Client Management at Export Saint Lucia. “There was a lot of sacrifice in that.”
At a press briefing, CEO Sunita Daniel defended the government’s role, noting that while Japanese organizers covered most costs, their funding extended only to a limited number of artists.
To broaden representation to 30 creatives, Saint Lucia’s contribution went toward airfare and outfitting the national pavilion.
“For the creatives funded by Expo Japan, airfare was about $4,000 per person since their route took them through the UK and Dubai. By contrast, those funded by the government traveled via Canada, with tickets costing roughly $2,000 each,” she explained.
Daniel added that the true cost of participation facilitated logistics, PR material, and performer support.
Officials argue the investment was worthwhile, positioning Saint Lucia as a cultural and economic force on the world stage while opening new opportunities in tourism, trade, and the creative industries.
