Miss Angola to the Universe!

miss_univserse_2011, a photo by Venkateswarlu Boya on Flickr.

I am not going to mince words here. Miss Angola had my full backing--not that she needed it--because she is an intelligent and beautiful Black woman. She was more deserving of that title than any of the other contestants posed up on that stage tonight. You can quote me on that because it's the truth.

The Miss Universe Pageant is not a show that I usually tune into. In fact I thought that the competition had already taken place this year. That may be the reason that I only tuned into the competition when the top ten were selected but saying that I'm disappointed that I did would be a lie.

I had already crowned Leslie Lopes--Miss Angola, now Miss Universe until next year-- in my mind. Her video interview spoke eloquently of her dreams to better herself rather than something petty and superficial, which I found a bit surprising for a competition where beauty is the main factor. That being said she was certainly the most stunning girl there and she even seemed to exude affability (if she isn't then she's a great actress). Based on that alone I believe that the crown was hers. I may not know much about pageants but I'm quite sure the aforementioned is what the judges search for in Miss Universe--and I sort of researched it 2 minutes ago. What really made me love this 24 year old Angolan beauty queen was her response to her interview question. When asked which of her physical traits she would change, she replied, "Thank God I'm very satisfied with the way God created me and I wouldn't change a thing. I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life."

I had to make some noise when those words left her lips. Why? Because I am tired of hearing women go on about wanting to change their looks. Honey, if it isn't harming your health, don't change a thing. Honestly, I was even happier that it was a Black woman who said it. Yeah, I went there. How could I not? We keep taking a beating for being less attractive than other races (which is NOT the case) so much so that we can't keep our men. Then there's that whole dark-skin/light skin rubbish and interracial dating solely for the purpose of having children with 3a hair (Fail!). Of course, if I looked like Miss Angola I wouldn't change a thing either but then again I won't do that looking like good old me and neither should anyone.

I must admit that I still won't be adding Miss Universe to my annual calender. Yes, different ethnicities having been passing around the crown for years but I still feel that a diverse representation of beauty in this competition is lacking. But what do I know?

Enjoy your year in the presidential suite, Miss Angola!