The Miss Earth Guyana preliminaries were held at the Aracari Resort last Saturday night, where the seven finalists gave of their best in the talent and costume categories. Performances displayed vigour, gracefulness and poise.
The night began with Katyana Ross doing a dance which led into a song by Mohan Singh. Francina Lanferman and co-host Mohan Singh then invited the contestants who briefly introduced themselves with the Dynamic Tassa Troupe as background accompaniment.
While the contestants prepared to get back onstage to do their talent pieces, Lashaunda Browne serenaded the audience with her rendition of Adele’s “Set Fire To Rain”.
The first contestant up was Gabriella Chapman who did a spoken word piece, before lifting up her mesmerizing voice in song, but each girl brought stiff competition, none could really outdo the other in this category. Anasa Williams who came next give a splendid cover of “One Moment in Time”. Oriana Castello switched things up when she did a dance to Beyoncé’s “I Was Here”. Luann Pellew took the audience by storm when she began her spoken word piece, but unfortunately, she had a memory block and to the audience’s dismay was unable to finish. Contestant number five, Akiesha Payne came like a force with her dramatic poetry. Anita Baker did a fusion of spoken word and a soulful dance to Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song”. Xamiera Kippins finished this category with her hypnotic contemporary dance to “This Bitter Earth” and with every move enthralled the audience.
Bringing the audience back out of their trance from the talent category, Mohan Singh did a cover of the Indian hit song, “Kya Hua Tera Wada”.
The next item on the programme had the audience up and about rocking with laughter. Five slips of papers were left under selected seats and those who found them were automatically winners. Three of these winners walked away with prizes from the pageant’s official sponsor, DemBake while the two holding slips that said Aracari Resort won a weekend for two in a luxury deluxe room inclusive of all meals, free WiFi, secured parking and access to the pool and gym.
For the costume category each contestant was expected to come up with their own superhero, whose purpose would also resonate with that of Miss Earth.
Gabriella was ‘Iridescence’ – this hero is said to exude love, class, sophistication, firm principles, confidence and power and is one whose purpose is to protect the minerals of Guyana. Her costume sported a cape, symbolic of her ability to soar as gracefully as an angel yet mighty as a horse. Her chest, embellished with beads and stones, represented the abundance of minerals in Guyana. The iridescent colour choice represented variety and diversity while her bodysuit was made of cracked ice hologram fabric to express the hero queen’s appreciation for challenges.
Queen Amazonia Kaieteura was what Anasa became in this category. She’s a unique character who is said to live in the canopy jungles using her wings to trap greenhouse gases and converting them to usable oxygen. She has what is called the Kaieteur spray that she uses to eliminate all harmful substances from the water to provide a cleaner habitat for marine animals. Her costume which was made from materials found in nature like shells and dried plants and some cloth was used for her as continued protection.
Oriana was Guardian of the Earth. Her costume with hundreds of sequins was created by designer Dexter Gardener. Her headdress which was adorned with blue crystalline embellishments had four feathers secured to it paid homage to lost biodiversity and also represents the four elements she has command of: green for the earth, blue for the water, white for the air and red for the fire. This earth warrior bore on her shoulders a four-feet wings created from the coconut palm pointers that were spray painted then covered in delta green glitter, to represent Guyana’s lush green forest while blue feathers and roses depicted the Zircon gem that the guardian used as her adornments. This piece drew much admiration from the audience and judges.
Luann made her way onstage as Opallios, the element warrior. Her mission is to protect the planet. Her translucent colours included: red, green, white, blue and orange said to aid in her being powerful. The first four colours represented the four elements of nature; green for the earth’s rich forestry, red for fire and the passion she exudes in protecting against forest fires, white for preventing against polluted air and blue for the water. Her other sources of power came from other gems distributed throughout her costume and represented zircon, diamond, jade, ruby, sapphire and emerald. Her staff that accentuated her piece supported her powers in protecting the earth.
Guardian of Ouora, Akisha, wore a costume complete with a shield, mask and spear. The shield and spear protect against pollution of chemical substances while her mask allowed for her to see human plans for the earth preparing to keep it safe at any cost. She has the power to heal both plants and animals. The white on her costume represented the pure water of the running lakes, black showed she was strong and secret as the night, red showed that she was a living sacrifice for her planet, green the lush forest and brown for the sands of time.
Mother Gaia, the earth goddess was Anita, who is the protector of our biodiversity paradise and is the inspiration to all for keeping a clean environment. She battles with those trying to harm the rich flora and fauna. Her forest green leggings accentuated with flowers and rhinestones represented the forest. Her corset represented her strength and acted as a shield for the earth. Her arms which were covered by weaves and vines forming a glove said to be a capturing tool for intruders while her cape allowed for disguise at her behest. She carried a staff said to have the power to cure damaged elements of the earth. Her astounding piece was designed by House of Pearson.
Xamiera, adorned with thousands of glass beads, gems, sequins and natural indigenous seeds complemented by feathers, bamboo, woven cotton and thousands of seashells was Empress of the Rupununi. Believing that the forests should be protected, she acts to provide a home for the Indigenous people who live there. Her costume, entirely handmade, took two months to create. Parts of it were created by the Indigenous people as a gift to her. The Empress carried a bow and arrow housed in natural bamboo sack hung around her body which was heavily supported by a beaded band sporting the Indigenous symbols of hope. The bow was embellished with jaguar pattern and feathers. The headwear, which also flowed down her back was intricately designed of gems, seeds, shells, and exotic feathers in the hues of black, earth tones and red. She wore a body suit hand beaded with dangling fringe symbolic of the movement of her people to Guyana. The Empress of the Rupununi has the power to talk to nature and protect it from approaching danger.
Once Xamiera disappeared, all the contestants returned onstage for a final view of their pieces. This ended the evening.
The Miss Earth Guyana committee will announce the results on May 1.
Coronation night, which was scheduled for this evening, has since been postponed to June in deference to the upcoming Guyana Carnival. A specific date, time and venue will be announced later.
