By Jairo Rodrigues
Eighteen-year-old Jilicia Adela Pinder was on Tuesday last crowned Miss Guyana African Queen; prevailing over seven other contestants in the inaugural pageant at the National Cultural Centre.
The House of Sanae presentation, under the theme ‘Things African’ was in celebration of the 174th anniversary of the freedom of African slaves, and saw 8 beauties representing African villages in Guyana . Jilicia represented the village of Queenstown in Essequibo .
The show began 45 minutes behind schedule but was not a disappointment. The contestants introduced themselves and gave a brief presentation on the villages they were representing.
The ladies then came out for the ‘business wear’ segment where they supported that African women and most importantly the people as a whole can have the highest education and be an integral part of society. Each contestant wore business attire suited for the profession to which they aspire. There were sociologists, biologists, producers and medics. Jilicia was attired as a lawyer.
No segment was as thrilling as the talent portion of the show, where the contestants put on a show worth every penny. Their talents ranged from drumming to drama, dancing to singing. But none was as astonishing as Jilicia who sang a full length song in an African language.
After the talent presentations the contestants had the female audience members at the edges of their seats as they presented dazzling outfits in the evening wear segment. Although most of the gowns featured African styles and designs it was not a surprise to see some Western fashions, and while some contestants graced the stage, one unfortunately nearly fell several times owing to her lengthy dress.
Several prizes were awarded: Coleen Waddell was given the Ms Congeniality Award; Jilicia won the Ms Facebook Beautiful (voted as the most beautiful contestant by the public on Facebook); Sussan Simon won the prize for the Best Cultural Research and Presentation; Jilicia was awarded for having the best talent piece and Tiffany Spencer for the Best Evening wear.
Just after a brief confusion on stage by host Mondale Smith, the results were finally announced. Fourth runner-up was Sussan Simon; third runner-up, Rishanna Lambert; Toni Bentley tied with Tiffany Spencer as first runner-up and Jilicia was crowned the 2012 Ms Guyana African Queen.
