RAISSA SANTANA BECOMES FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO WIN MISS BRAZIL IN 30 YEARS, ONLY SECOND IN HISTORY
Since the Miss Brazil pageant started 61 years ago, there has only been one Black woman to win the title (Deise Nunes in 1986). Raissa Santana has just become the second.
Santana, 21, from Paraná in southern Brazil, was crowned on Saturday in Sao Paulo. In July, she won Miss Paraná (along with ten thousand reais, a graduate or post-graduate scholarship and more), and spoke out about the importance of diversity after her win during the summer:
“Diversity. We are all diversity, there is no word to define the human being, today I can be love, tomorrow I can be pain then I can be faith, hope! There are no differences that make us who we are?!”
The marketing student went on to win the whole thing in a competition that was cited as being the most diverse ever, as six out of 27 women were reportedly Afro-Brazilian. Of course, that doesn’t sound like much for a country with more than half of a population that is Afro-Brazilian, but, it’s definitely progress. This is especially true when they’re stripping carnival queen titles from Black women for being too dark.
“I’m very emotional. This here is a mixture of great emotions,” Santana said after her win according to Black Women of Brazil. “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.”
Santana reportedly won a trip to Italy and Colombia, jewelry, a 2017 Kia Picanto, a contract to be the face of Polishop (a popular seller of goods in Brazil), and the chance to compete for the country in the Miss Universe competition in January in the Philippines.
Before Santana’s win, former Miss Brazil winner Deise Nunes said that seeing Santana and the other Black women competing is great, especially if they are vocal about affirming the value of Black culture and beauty.
“This opens doors for them,” Nunes said, “and, if one is elected, it is important that she in fact embraces the cause of negritude and always fights for respect, opportunity and space.”
Sounds like Santana is going to do just that! Check out the moment she won, and more images of the beautiful Brazilian beauty queen below:
http://madamenoire.com/720239/raissa-santana-miss-brazil/
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