–takes coveted Miss Emancipation 2016 title

By Tamica Garnett
THE crowd went wild last Sunday night at the National Cultural Centre when Vergenoegen’s Delisha Wright took the coveted Miss Emancipation 2016 title after prevailing over six other beauties.Placing first, second and third runners-up respectively were young environmentalist Jasmine Adams, University of Guyana’s Gabriella Chapman, and aspiring medical doctor and Linden resident Shellon Massiah.

Though she wasn’t the crowd favourite early into the contest, things began to change for Delisha when she came out in the evening gown segment, donning a SAS designed orange-and-gold two-piece, accessorised with a gold headdress.

But it was in the final-question department that she really hit it big with the audience, who were bowled over by her eloquent answer. Many rose to their feet as shouts of “Beautiful!” and “Well done!” rent the air, causing Ms. Wright at one point to pause and wait for the applause to subside before she could complete her answer.

WELL RECEIVED
Wright’s speech was particularly well received for her reference to the March 2015 execution of social activist Courtney Crum-Ewing.
The defining question, which was read by Technical Facilitator to the Minister of Education, Vincent Alexander, was: “The United Nations has designated 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent; what is the theme for this year? And based on that theme, what would you like to see achieved in Guyana to fulfill the objectives of the theme?”

To her credit, Wright knew the answer to the first half of the question, which was: “Recognition, Justice and Development”. This enabled her to move on to the second half of the question. And her response, in its entirety, was: “What I would like to see in Guyana? The road to a free world for people in Guyana is very rocky. They suffer from lack of opportunities to excel; lack of justice, like our dear Brother Crum-Ewing, who has not received justice as yet; they suffer from racial discrimination. Our ancestors did it before, with pressure on them and chains linked to each other. Let us therefore be linked like our ancestors, not with chains, but with love and unity so that we would be able to stand, be heard, and make our mark like our ancestors before us.”

Wright also won the award for the “Best STEM Project”, a segment of the pageant that had to be completed before Sunday night, where each delegate had to work on a presentation dealing with some aspect of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The STEM project was worth 30% of the lady’s overall score in the pageant.

OTHER AWARDS
In other accolades of the night, Faith Harding, Delegate #2, was adjudged as having the “Best Introduction”; while Shomane Daniels, Delegate #3, won the “People’s Choice” award for earning the most Online votes.

Gabriella Chapman’s stunning red-and-gold evening gown was a big hit with the crowd, as was Harding’s outstanding off-the-shoulder blue dress. Chapman’s gown was designed by acclaimed local designer Jason Shurland.

The night began with a business wear segment, for which Delisha wore a smart green waistcoat and skirt ensemble, paired with white shoes.
This was quickly followed by the girls doing their introduction bit. They were then quizzed on their knowledge of certain African historical issues, such as the fact that Africans had populated the Americas even before the Europeans. The questions were based on what was taught in several training sessions that the girls had to attend as part of their preparation for the pageant.

The way the questions were put over was often not appreciated by the crowd, with many believing that the questions were too extensive and wordy. One delegate even had to ask that her question be explained further.

MISHAPS
In another instance, one delegate ended up being given a question that was already given to another delegate, which caused the flummoxed judges to have to apologise. This subsequently confused the delegate, who started off answering the first question, before having to apologise and start all over again.

Not done yet, the ceremony was plagued with a number of mishaps, ranging from not-working ‘microphones’ to lighting issues.

The event was chaired by media personality Mondale Smith, who at times found himself at odds with the audience, as many patrons often shouted and heckled when things were not going smoothly.

On the bright side, however, local singer Abel Stokes was on site to perform. He did a “Smile Guyana” cover of Chronixx’s “Smile Jamaica”, and later serenaded the ladies with a rendition of Taurus Riley’s “She’s Royal”.