As of Saturday, July 26, Belize has a new queen. Charmaine Chinapen, 21, is Miss Belize 2008-09.
The Curacao-born St. John’s University (New York) chemistry major and former top high school student in CSEC examinations plans to become a neurosurgeon and work in war-torn zones with Doctors Without Borders.
She has an extensive career in modeling and the performing arts, and acted in Belize’s first feature-length film, “Choices,” released in 2006.
But she was not crowned at the Bliss, or the Civic, or even the Princess, but at the home office of Pageants Belize director Margaret Johnson at #7049 Racoon Street Extension in Belize City, before a small coterie of family, friends and five judges.
According to the Pageants Belize website, the pageant was audited by Castillo Sanchez and Burrell, and judged by five prominent Belizeans: News 5 presenter Marleni Cuellar, former Miss Belize Becky Bernard, Lennon “DJ Tambran” Young, Leroy Green of the Ministry of Education and Samson Jacobs, personal trainer for local pageants.
Chinapen beat out 4 other contestants on the night and 10 others over a four-month period in which the contest was held mainly over the Internet. She told us today that Saturday night’s victory was the culmination of a lifelong dream and an “awesome” opportunity to represent her country internationally.
The latest flap continues a rough year for Pageants Belize, including a press conference in March in which three queens competing under its banner – Miss Belize Universe 2007-08 Tanisha Vernon, her predecessor Maria Jeffrey and Miss Belize World 2007-08 Felicita Arzu – lashed out at Pageants Belize director Margaret Johnson for not keeping her promises and handing over prizes the young women won, and denounced various snafus that dented their chances at success in the Miss Universe and Miss World contests held, respectively, in Sanya, China last December, and Mexico City, Mexico, last May.
According to a July 24 press release, Charmaine, as winner will represent Belize at Miss World 2008 in Kiev, Ukraine, on October 4. There is no word from Pageants Belize as to who will be our delegate to Miss Universe 2009; Belize did not send a delegate to the pageant held in Nha Trang, Vietnam, earlier this month.
And as for the young lady who should have represented Belize there, Tanisha Vernon, Pageants Belize says it has officially severed ties with her based on “recent unsubstantiated allegations” she has made and “her constant insubordination to all our requests,” and alleges that Tanisha continues to be “offensive in writing, phone text to Pageants Belize and others who are still associated with us.”
Saturday night’s coronation was performed by last year’s first runner-up, Iris Medina of Orange Walk Town, who will also represent Belize at the upcoming Reina de la Costa Maya Pageant in August, in which Maria Jeffrey is the current titleholder. Johnson said today that Tanisha had failed to sign her contract and that she could not expect to continue as queen without doing so.
Johnson, Charmaine, her mother Margaret, and pageant photographer Michael Arnold visited Amandala today to tell their side of the story.
Johnson says the Belize Civic Center was reserved for Saturday, but Pageants Belize’ negotiations with “investors” backing the pageant fell through, and therefore the organization lost the venue and could not get anywhere else on short notice. A reception was held after the pageant at the Smoky Mermaid Restaurant on Cork Street.
Johnson admits to being surprised and a bit “hurt” over Belizeans’ reactions to the announcement, which Arnold blames on misconceptions made in Monday’s television coverage on Channel 5, and especially Channel 7. All media houses, Johnson says, received press releases on July 24 informing them of the pageant, but only Channel 7 showed up.
The room in which the pageant was held is sufficiently spacious for a pageant and the run-through was the same as in any other pageant, except for the inclusion of an extra swimsuit appearance and the closeting of contestants for the traditional “final question” by judges, Johnson added.
Johnson maintains that the Miss World organizers signed off on everything she has done and consider it a legitimate pageant. The buzz about Miss Belize has already begun in international pageant circles, she noted.
Johnson did not say what Charmaine won on Saturday night, or indeed, if past queens like Tanisha Vernon, Maria Jeffrey and Felicita Arzu will get the prizes they won at their respective pageants.
(Amandala recognizes that there are other perspectives to the Miss Belize story, and we intended to cover those perspectives in the next weekend issue of the newspaper.)