The first Miss African Queen will be chosen on Saturday night at the
Bliss Center. But there will no swimsuits and no evening gowns. That is because
this pageant is about culture and history. There are 7 contestants – most
of them adult women - and we spoke to two of them as well as the organizers.
Lurleen Betson Gamboa, Contestant
“This pageant will be based solely on African outwears, the talent
section will be based on the images of different females of African descent
and so it is not a regular pageant. It is going to be a pageant which educates
the public which gives us more in-depth about different people form Africa as
well as different countries in Africa.”
I will be portraying Maya Angelou and she is well known for her writing, for
her poetry and she is also a dancer which many people don’t know. So I
will be trying my best to portray her.”
Sherette Staine, Contestant
“I will be portraying Rosa Parks and she is the one actually started
the civil rights movement.”
Birdy Francis, Organizer
“We want to be proud of our culture – that’s what we’re
calling our theme – ‘Proud of Mi Culture – all a we dah one.’
We are asking everyone to dress in their own native attire - whether it is Garifuna,
Mestizo, or East Indian, Creole or whatever your cultural costume is please
wear it and come out.
Like Sherette says there is no swimsuit however it is cultural, educational,
and informative. So that is the reason to come out. It is family fun the whole
family can come – it won’t be offensive to anybody but educational
and entertaining.”
Karen Vernon, Organizer
“We’re going to be donating proceeds from the pageant to Mary’s
Open Door which is an open house in the Cayo District for battered women.”
The other 5 contestants are Shanin Pitts, Sherry Mae Valerio, Avil
Steadman, Adele Ramos, and Dorla Vaughn. Tickets are available at the Bliss
Box office. Again the funds go to charity.
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