Pio Kevin - Goa's Ace Master of Ceremonies

When you touch the topic about the best "Master of Ceremonies" on the Goan wedding scene, one name that cannot escape you is that of Pio Kevin. An eloquent speaker, Pio Kevin has been playing the envious role of the Goan wedding emcee, hosting hundreds of weddings in Goa every year for close to 17 years, long after his first wedding in the mid nineties. In his own words, compering is an inborn passion which comes naturally to him. A Mechanical Engineer by profession, he has worked as a Purchase Engineering professional in various corporates and says that the professional experience supplements his skills in wedding management.

Guiding entertainment to where it belongs

Having begun his wedding stint with an unexpected call to emcee a wedding of his colleague at IFB washing machines way back in the April of 1996,  Pio Kevin recalls that it was a moment that changed his whole perspective on how good writing and powerful speech are so much in consonance with each other. While in college, he was the front runner at the youth festivals to bag the first prizes for literary skills ,be it composing instant poetry or writing essays or simply coining some wisecracks. His speaking skills were also harnessed at group discussions and elocution competitions at many early stages of his life. It was therefore only a matter of time  for him to demonstrate his eloquence at a professional level.  So when opportunity to emcee at a wedding came knocking, Pio Kevin Barretto says he took it with both hands.

"The rest wasn't history" says Pio to scratch at the 'oft too repeated' cliche. One has to work honestly and intently to be successful as a compere in Goa he avers.Nobody takes you just for the sake of it. You don't want to be the run of the mill type of a host. Its about creating an identity for yourself.  Pio says that he cherishes the days in the nineties and the early part of the century when Goa had a slew of dance and festive events happening throughout the year where comperes in Goa had many more avenues to demonstrate their penchant for spontaneity and effectively regale the crowds.With time not set at a premium in those days one could take the festivities closer to dawn leaving the compere a lot of scope to showcase his abilities. He says he can never forget those wonderful funfilled days of non-stop entertainment and has reveled in some great nostalgia filled moments with many fellow comperes, having had the privilege of compering for hundreds of dances and events all over Goa over those years. However things have changed in Goa since those days and with the sound decibels being "not so welcome'  after 10 pm , most of these dance events have seen their last days often abruptly closing down a long thriving traditional dance event either due to sound restrictions or due to lack of participation in a busy modern Goa.

Today, Pio Kevin has a very busy calendar mostly with Goan weddings throughout the year. Not only does he find himself busy with Goan weddings but he is a regular at many foreign weddings in Goa which are hosted mostly on the Goan beach fronts. His humour with a range of audiences and expertise at handling different cultures at weddings in Goa  have made him an automatic choice with many wedding planners in Goa. What sets him apart is the fact that he writes most of his witty one liners and coins many of his phrases in a bid to deliver some hilariously picturesque speech.Spontaneity is a big help he avers. Pio also ensures that every wedding is treated differently and that the wedding couple have a  distinct chord and connection with the humour which he says should be relevant to their part of the story. Wit and humour being his forte, he says the basic love of both writing and speaking simply ensures that the wedding at hand is a fun experience.

But speaking is not everything says Pio. An emcee is the manager at a wedding and is engaged for the  task  because most often than not, the wedding couple believes that he can do the job better than anyone else to ensure that the wedding is a smooth affair. According to him, being punctual is imperative while it is also important to ensure that the various events take place in harmony to set timelines. So smooth co-ordination with  various wedding vendors such as the wedding band, photographers, the videographers, decorators ,the attendants  and most importantly the caterers is intrinsic to  good wedding management, according to his time tested view.

The ability of a wedding emcee to adjust, reset, reorganise, rearrange and be amenable to different situations that may arise during a wedding reception without pressing the panic button is the key to being a good master of ceremonies at a wedding , he asserts. It is desirable that a wedding mc in goa knows how to manage different moods and expectations from various guests some of whom may have emotional cords attached to their aspirations and a wedding emcee should ensure that he handles wedding guests sensitively and endeavours to make everyone feel comfortable to the best of his ability. According to him, a master of ceremonies is expected to make the family and guests happy and content, while ensuring that he sticks to the schedule as best as he can.

In order to ensure that the whole event is a well organised and well ironed affair , Pio ensures that he meets almost every wedding couple before the wedding reception day unless it is impossible due to time constraints. The closer the meeting to the wedding day the better it is he says, explaining that he can get to know much more about the reception , the guests and the speakers at the wedding if it is in close proximity to the meeting. Filling up a  meticulously structured information sheet, helps him to get the maximum details about the  wedding couple, the reception on hand, the scheduled timelines, the profile of the guests and much more which ensures that he has enough of fuel to lend the right spirits for a fun filled celebration.

So if you are indeed getting married and looking for a top master of ceremonies from Goa or a "been there done that" kind of a wedding emcee( wedding MC) who believes in good management of your wedding in Goa or a well seasoned, well groomed, well humoured and well spoken master of ceremonies, your able choice could not be argued at all. Look no further for it is indeed  Pio Kevin. Engage him for your wedding in Goa and let the butterflies sit on the flowers rather than have them fluttering in your belly.