Lydia Alethia Malcolm, the first-ever Miss Jamaica Festival Queen, described feeling "breathless" upon winning the title at the National Stadium. The 24-year-old physical education teacher from Clarendon emphasised that the competition was distinct from traditional beauty pageants, focusing on intelligence, community involvement, and the ability to articulate one's goals.

First Miss Jamaica Festival Queen

"Breathless." This was how the first Miss Jamaica Festival Queen, Lydia Alethia Malcolm, described the way she felt on hearing that she had won the title from 10 other girls at the National Stadium on Monday.

Now she feels “happy, excited.”

In an interview with the Gleaner yesterday, the 24-year-old physical education teacher from Clarendon gave her impressions of the contest.

“First of all, it is something totally different from a beauty contest, and one should realise this. In this contest we were judged for intelligence, we had to be involved in community work, know what is going on in the country, and be able to express your views on where you are going in life.”

Miss Malcolm said that she felt the older contestants had an edge as they had more time to develop their outlook. And her advice to future contestants is: “You have to be positive. Make sure you keep your cool at all times, especially when you have to make public speeches.”

When questioned on the way the contest was run, Miss Malcolm said there was room for improvement. Although acknowledging difficulties because the contest is new, she said that the organisers would have to make improvements for next year.

"As it was so much more different from a beauty contest, we were like “guinea pigs.” For instance, we could have gone to many more cultural functions to bring out the real meaning of the contest.”

The slim, little girl (she is 5’7” tall) said that she would not have entered a traditional beauty contest because she did not think that her figure would meet the requirements, but she felt that she would hold her own in the new contest, with its emphasis on leadership qualities and other attributes.

Miss Malcolm said that her colleagues encouraged her to enter but that the person who motivated her most was the bursar at Vere Technical High School, where she teaches.

Benefits she says she has got from the contest include meeting people and confidence from speech making.

Asked her views on the role of the Jamaican woman, Miss Malcolm said that a woman’s place was really in the home but that the age that we are living in forced us to make use of every means of production – so why not women! She said, however, that at the same time, one should not lose track of the fact that women had the special responsibility to bring up the children to be future leaders.

“I think that we are already liberated. What we need is recognition, not liberation.” She said.

Miss Malcolm is from a family of seven. She has been teaching for four years now since graduating from Mico Training College. She choreographs dances for her school for Festival competitions and has won two silver medals and two bronze in this field. She is dance chairman of her parish Festival committee and she sings at functions in her parish as well as emceeing shows and doing other community work.

Equally involved in their communities are the first runner -up, Pamela Alvaranga, of St. Elizabeth, who is also a teacher, and Merva Grier, the second runner- up, a student at the Jamaica School of Music.

Miss Alvaranga is a member of the Jaycees and the 4-H club and teaches literacy classes  as well as her regular job in Home Economics, teaching at the Lacovia Secondary School. She attended Shortwood Training College and she hopes to get a degree in the field of Home Economics, Miss Grier, 20 years old, is a graduate of Montego Bay High School and has won medals in Festival song competitions. At present, she is on a scholarship at the Jamaica School of Music. Her ambition is to be a concert singer or a voice tutor.

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