October 1 marked a momentous occasion in the Latina community. It's the day 21-year-old model and pageant queen Raissa Santana made history by becoming the first black woman to gain the title of Miss Brazil in more than thirty years. Santana is also the second black woman in the history of the competition to ever hold the title. (The first Afro-Brazilian woman to win was Deise Nunes in 1986.) This year's pageant featured more black women overall—six out of 27 contestants. But the ratio still doesn't account for the large population of Afro-Brazilians who reside in the country. According to the Latin Times, 54 percent of Brazil’s population considers themselves black or multiracial, yet the pageant has only had two black winners.
For decades Afro-Brazilians have faced discrimination in their own country due to the color of their skin and their hair texture, which has sparked black power movements in the country. Take for example the hair empowerment marchesMarcha do Empoderamento Crespo in Salvador de Bahia and Marcha do Orgulho Crespo Brasil in São Paulo. Santana’s win is not only one for herself but for all women of color who have found themselves consistently underrepresented. Essence reports that Sanatana was "very emotional" after her win, saying: "This here is a mixture of great emotions. I didn’t expect to win this title, but I am very happy to have won this title and to represent black beauty and encourage girls who have the dream of having something, to conquer, to be a model, to be a Miss…Now I want to encourage these girls and show them that they can." Since we're sure we'll be seeing a lot more of Santana (hopefully as a Miss Universe contestant!) we decided to do a bit of digging of our own to learn more about this Brazilian beauty. Here's what we learned.
1. Santana was bullied growing up, in part because of her natural hair.
In an interview with Banda Portal, Santana opened up about her experience with bullying, when she was “branded as ugly" growing up. She felt she had to straighten her hair even as a young child because she was told her natural hair wasn't beautiful.
2. She’s a big sports fan.
You can always find Santana supporting her favorite teams like Palmeiras, afutbol team in São Paul.
3. Modeling and winning pageants aren’t the only things on her to-do list.
The Paraná native attends school—majoring in marketing—and also spends time giving back to her community.
Learn how to get a Brazilian nail design.
4. She's part of the BeyHive.
The pageant queen has posted several Instagram photos using #girlpower quotes from classic Beyoncé songs, including the ultimate break-up song "Best Thing I Never Had." You can never go wrong with Queen Bey's wise words.
5. Her family comes first.
Santana is one of five children raised by a single mother. She's always sharing the love and support from her family on her Instagram.
Now that we've been introduced to this empowering Latina, she can count on our support, too. We'll be rooting for you, Raissa Santana.
http://www.allure.com/story/raissa-santana-miss-brazil-2016