‘Don’t limit yourself‘

Jamaica welcomed its new Miss Universe Jamaica, Rachel Silvera, who was crowned early Monday morning, succeeding Dr Jordanne Lauren Levy. Silvera, who was sashed as a finalist in May, seemed like a shoo-in for the title. A familiar face to the public, the 25-year-old previously attempted to win the crown in 2022 when she achieved first runner-up to Toshami Calvin’s Miss Universe Jamaica success. The pageant playground was not new to Silvera, and it showed in her stellar performance on coronation night, winning sectional prizes for best in swimwear, evening gown, the question-and-answer segment, and the People’s Choice Award.

Silvera acknowledged the public’s high expectations and used them as motivation, reinforcing her sense of belonging in her new role. This encouragement will support her through the rigorous training as she prepares for the international Miss Universe competition to be held in Mexico later this year.

Despite her focus on securing the Miss Universe title for Jamaica, Silvera remains committed to her mission as a role model. The St Mary native aims to inspire young, dark-skinned women from rural Jamaica, drawing from her own experiences of overcoming bullying as a child.

“I grew up in the country in St Mary and I was bullied a lot as a child. I don’t think people understand the social implications of bullying, especially as a black girl in a colourist culture. It really crippled my self-belief system. So I just want to tell the rural girls and rural young women that it’s possible. Don’t limit yourself to where you come from; and not even just where you come from, your age, whatever it is. You are limitless.”

The newly crowned beauty queen’s words were echoed by fellow contestants 52-year-old Dr Sandra Swaby and 59-year-old Elaine Allen-Landy. The two women, who caused a stir within the pageant world when they were announced as finalists, achieved fourth runner-up and top 15 placements, respectively. Swaby, who is a cosmetic surgeon, bonded with the younger women and became a voice for those in her age group. She is satisfied with the message she sent by entering.

“I have been privileged to experience some phenomenal young women. The future of Jamaica is safe and that gives me a lot of pleasure, it gives me a lot of humility and a lot of pride in my people … . What I hope is that women my age and older will see me and say, you know, if Dr Swaby did it, so can I. Not only thinking about entering a pageant but entering any phase of their life they want to enter and do anything they want to do. [They don’t have] to hold back. [They can] just live their full life all the time, being unafraid and uninterrupted.”

Allen-Landy said it was great to “pave the way and open up the gate” for mature women in the competition.

“It feels great to know that I’m [one of] the first [mature women to enter under the new rules] and even those who come after me, I’ll still be the first. It was great that I was able to pave the way and to open up the gate, because I’m sure there are a lot of women who probably didn’t want to [enter] and wasn’t sure of themselves. Now that they saw that, hey, a woman my age, my size, with cellulite and with everything that we get can enter [Miss Universe Jamaica]. It’s all about body positivity and just loving yourself.”

Allen-Landy continued, “I hope that they don’t look at the younger ones and be intimidated … because the younger ones, they embrace us and they look to us as an example.”

entertainment@gleanerjm.com