Photo: Photo via @joyjah on Instagram

This past Thursday’s Hollywood screening of the sequel to Marvel’s Black Panther saw a number of celebrity appearances, including Tyler Perry, Rihanna, and Michael B. Jordan.

by Khaila Gentle

BELIZE CITY, Fri. Oct. 28, 2022

Belizean-born model Joyjah Estrada has carved a name for herself as a beauty and lifestyle influencer on social media, having amassed almost half a million followers on Instagram. And on Wednesday night, she walked among some of the biggest names in Hollywood while representing her home and her heritage at the world premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The long awaited movie is the latest installment in the cinematic universe created by comic book movie giant Marvel Studios, and its world premiere was notably elegant. It took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, with celebrities in attendance running the gamut from Tyler Perry to Rihanna. But what Belizeans were most excited to see was one of their own strutting down the purple carpet.

Estrada attended the event as a representative for MAC cosmetics, which will be collaborating with Wakanda Forever through the release of new themed makeup products, but she also elected to represent her roots, donning a bright yellow, black, and white skirt and dress set with a matching hair tie. The outfit was created by Hopkins resident Olive Miranda Nunez.

In the caption of a video posted on the model’s TikTok account, which has a following of just over a quarter million people, she notes “do it for the culture & to God be the glory!”

On Instagram, Estrada wrote “Feeling like the most beautiful girl in the world and so proud. Moments like this one is bigger than me, and I was so sure I wanted to wear my traditional Garifuna Outfit.”

Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be showing in theaters on November 11, including here at home, at the Ramada Princess Cinema in Belize City.