By Oluatoyin Alleyne
It came as no big surprise when just before 11 pm on Saturday 19-year-old Jenel Cox was crowned Miss Guyana Universe 2009 at the National Cultural Centre, eclipsing 14 other young women vying for the coveted crown.
Cox, who oozed confidence from the moment she introduced herself on stage, looked stunning in a black gown which was accentuated with a silver-sequined bodice and a train. Her gown was definitely one of the best two of the night and as she flaunted it on stage many were heard questioning who the designer was.
Jenel Cox after being crowned Miss Guyana Universe on Saturday night. (See story on page 19.) (Xclusive Photo Studio)
Cox later told Stabroek News that the dress was in fact ordered online – smart choice when one considers that some of her competitors were forced to model disastrous gowns.
Cox, who sparked much debate after her statement in the intelligence segment that she agreed that criminals should be shot when they attempt to escape, had the support of a significant portion of the almost packed cultural centre from the point she introduced herself on stage. When she was finally named the winner the reception was deafening as patrons stood on their feet and waved and some even jumped up and down as the jubilation continued for at least five minutes.
Minutes after the crown was placed on her head, Cox told reporters that she worked hard and as such was confident about winning while promising that a lot can be expected from her in the future.
Cox, who was sponsored by Unicom, won herself $2.5 million dollars in gifts and prizes with the most important one being her representing Guyana at the Miss Universe Pageant in The Bahamas on August 23. It will be an uphill battle for her – none of her predecessors has even made it into the finals – but the boldness and confidence she exudes could be a plus in her favour. She has attitude and she will need it when she attempts to really do Guyana proud in The Bahamas.
Cox’s real competition came from first runner-up Rachael Bakker who on Saturday night admitted that she was very disappointed that it wasn’t she who was wearing the crown. “I am disappointed and I know I did not fall down in the intelligence segment,” she told Stabroek News, adding that the judges’ decision was final.
Rounding out the top five was second runner-up Lucria Rambalak, third-runner-up Janella Lewis and fourth runner-up Nandani Seecharan.
None of the top five nailed the final question, a relatively easy one to decide the winner. The question was ‘In your opinion what is the role of a woman in society?’
When the question was posed, Cox, an aspiring criminal lawyer, told host Stan Gouveia, among other things, the role of a woman is to set an example for “everyone around” and according to her women are powerful “they have strength and they represent strength.” It was certainly not the best of answers. The judges – there were eight of them – must have had a difficult task and at the end of the day may have considered the contestant’s overall performance in the contest.
Bakker, must have done very well in the swimsuit and intelligence segment to make it the final five as her evening gown would have set her back. She said she believed that a woman’s role is to stand out and be the best she can be and also to be productive. Women, she said, socially uplift others and assist young women to grow up with confidence and poise. This newspaper was unable to hear a part of Bakker’s answer because of the noise from the audience who felt that the nervous-sounding contestant was talking too much.
Bakker, a final year International Relations student at the University of Guyana who was sponsored by Limacol should have refused to wear the grown designed for her. The outfit consisted of a bustier with gold-coloured looking strings hanging and a flowing white skirt.
Rambalak, sponsored by KRS Construction Company, was the contestant with one of the best gowns of the night. Her strapless, sequined, body-hugging blue number was designed by her sister Chandini Rambalak-Ramnarain. In answering her question Rambalak, who was also a crowd favourite, said that the role of a woman is to be a success at everything she wants in life. Rambalak was also adjudged the GT&T Cellink People’s Choice and also won the Miss Photogenic prize.
Lewis, who could be described as the dark horse as no one really saw her making it into the top five, told the audience that a woman’s role is to give guidance and that a “woman is the mother of the nation.”
The GT&T-sponsored delegate, whose strapless gold dress accentuated her well- toned body that saw her capturing the Miss Body Beautiful/fitness prize, also said a woman’s role is to give guidance so that “everything can go in the right way.”
Seecharran, who was sponsored by R&S Mining, said a woman’s role is to be strong, be positive and know what she is about and “to be an ambassador for all women.”
While the pageant got off to a late start, surprisingly it finished very early and many in the audience would have left wishing for the scheduled second performance by Jamaican artiste Wayne Marshall whose electrifying outing had the crowd going.
Local songstress Jessica Xavier mesmerised the crowd with her two performances- she is certainly one to watch as she has a beautiful voice.
Host Gouveia and hostess Wanita Huburn certainly did not have any chemistry going on between them and their desultory performance made it feel as if you were swallowing dry bread. Their introduction of the contestants as they modelled their evening gowns just entailed them calling the girls’ names – no attempt was even made at informing who designed the dresses. And Gouveia obviously has no idea about dressing for a pageant- his blue pants, black jacket, white shirt and a red tie really did not cut it.
The pageant could be best described as a boring affair, except for Marshall and Xavier who provided some excitement during their performances. The dance by the Apsara troupe certainly was not the “hot” number promised by the host.
And whoever designed the stage should not receive any payment because it lacked any inspiration. It is difficult to say what the four decorations really represented and the cheap vinolay on the flooring just did not cut it.
Toyi, I love the way you described the Paegant. I wasn’t there but picture you painted was very vivid, especially about the judges and the stage design.
Great Job! Keep it up friend.
OJ
I would like to congratulate ms. cox on being ms. guyana, but one thing when they go to the international stage they flop, on the question they need to brush up on their intelligence, because none of them gave a suitable answer concerning a woman’s role in society, and sn why you didn’t show the other contestants it would’ve been nice for us to see what they looked like.
Yeah me too. I wanted to see what they looked like. Sometime one a dem is potential wife material. LOL!!
unfortunately for them you cant ‘brush up on intelligence’. Stabroek news i was there and your article is an acurate account of what took place unlike the Kaiteur article that said the things like ‘ hosts Huburn and Gouveia electrified the audience’ . that event was lacking in talent, imagination and lots more.
I hope she does not give similar answers to questions at the international forum. Her answer to the shooting of fleeing criminals betrays an ignorance and unsophistication only matched by a significant portion of the spectators. Well I guess the fruit does not fall far from the tree. She would be a good ambassador for the tourist industry when potential visitors discover that the wild wild west is alive and well in Georgetown, Guyana.
LOL haaahaa only in GT that is so funny well said.lol
BORAPORK
You made my day with the last part of your comment. It was a very easy question but the answer was not good at all.
As we say in Guyana, you tek the word out from me mouth, Borapoke bhai. Violence breeds violence, pure and simple.
Bora i have to hand to u this time. In a nutshell that was well said.Send Miss Cox to a “Vocabulary School” before she goes on an international stage,we do not need more embarassment than we are having at this present time.S’il vous plait je peux?
Bora, what about all them killing in canada, where the police are killing unarmed people wid taser?
Oh plz ppl yall just keep talking wha would u guys have said is the role of a woman here you Commando know it is easy I would like to read your response
E,
The role of a woman is to take care of us.
Eulily
My answer would be criminals should they be a danger to people around they should be neutralised. But the first option should be to capture and let the court deal with the criminal.
On the other hands, women were seen as house making and to take care of the children. But with the passage of time the role of a woman has evolved into something today where women are playing a key role alongside the male in the development of our society. They are no longer view as homemakers, but as doctors, lawyers, etc.
My wife and I watched the intelligent segment of the pageant on Television here in Guyana and in our opinion and the opinions of all of our friends Miss Cox was nowhere close to answering her question(s) post to her by Enrico Woolford. Her answers were long winded and even Enrico was stunned. Her choice of words were inappropiate eg. “If the criminals want a WAR” This was her response to how she was going to tackle crime. Also Miss Cox is the only person capable of, in her own words, eliminating Crime. On the other hand she was indeed bursting with confidence but this i think came from being in two pageants before. One which she won and the other where she place second. In the latter, i was told that she was rude and very unprofessional when the results were declared and she realised she had place second. I hope this is not the attitude she plans to display in the event she doesn’t win the Miss Universe Contest.
In The intelligent segment i’ll give the girl from Bartica First, even thou i think she sounded like pro and was way above her peers in responding to the questions posted to her. She was extremely knowledgeable about her platform and when asked what she would say to viewers to encourage them to visit Bartica she turn and face the cameras, just like politicians do, and talk to them much much more confidently than the President does. The second place in this segment goes to the girl from Soesdyke, in my opinion. She was a bit neverous as expected but her response was short and to the point and at no time did she deviate from the questions asked. I think she was on the money until Miss Bartica grace the carmeras.
The others were somewhat okay apart from the one girl that choked up and went blank. Another sore point of this segment for me was the three girls who all had Jagdeo’s Low Carbon Development Strategy as their platform. It seems to be more like a campaign for the President’s Initiative. With Guyana plague with High levels of crime, Child Abuse, Domestic Voilence and other deafening social issues, one would think that their platforms would be centered around more short term issues than long term initiatives.
Well, pepie, you almost rivalled the reporter’s account. Thanks for the heads-up anyway.
What I have noticed is that Guyana in fact possess a few, natural-born, stunning beauties. And for me a beautiful face is one that when is devoid of make-up and other war paint, is still captivating; it’s all about symmetry, angles, angles angles. Cheek bones, shape of eyes, skin tone (as DISTINCT FROM SKIN COLOUR) and other stuff like that. One person that comes to mind is that Moore girl, I believe retired Justice Winston Moore’s daughter.
Nonetheless, I believe where Guyanese beauties fail in relation to their overseas counterparts is their inability to be articulate and think on their feet (not that our girls are not bright); preparation, mind and BODY; go to the gym, gym, gym, everyday if you know you wanna be a serious contender and please, girls have some DIGNITY and CLASS, since beauty is not only skin deep. Those two traits are acquired/cultivated over time and cannot be bought in two months leading up to a major pageant.
I wish Ms Cox well and hopes she does Guyana proud in the Bahamas
GPF, please make Ms Cox a member of your “black clothes” unit. And CRIMINALS beware; this woman believe in using DEADLY force to prevent you from escaping. If you give this woman a gun…she will DEFINITELY take a BITE out of crime.
SN,
I need to see a picture of Ms Lewis, she captured the Miss Body Beautiful/fitness prize, and I want to see that “well – toned” body of hers.
HOW COME SHE WON? Oh my gosh, I was looking at it on TV, this young lady was asked a question and she was saying to shoot the criminal if they try to run and that she wants to become a lawyer to prosecute not even considering about the wrong person getting shoot and defending the innocent. People not only run because they are guilty but they run because they are also scared because of the lack of intellegence in the Guyana Defence Force. Whew, Typical Guyanese, somebody get a share of the 2.5M I hope she is not asked a similar question in Bahamas because she might not only failed but get disqualified and may be deport,lol!
GREETINGS TO Miss Guyana Universe 2009 Contestants , EVEN TO THOSE WHO DIDN’T DO SO WELL DON’T GAVE UP KEEP GOING YOU’RE ALL WINNERS IN YOUR OWN WAY, IT’S NOT AN EASY TASKS WHEN IT COMES TO A PAGENT, FACING THE JUDGES DOING YOUR WALK ETC…
TO THE COX’S FAMILY I KNOW HOW ELETED YOU WOULD BE.. I SHARE THAT SAID JOY WITH YOU GUYS.
Jenel Cox – Miss Guyana Universe 2009.. THIS PATH YOU HAVE TAKEN ALL STARTED WHEN YOU ATTENDED STELLA MARIS NURSERY AND GOT THE TOUCH FROM YOUR NURSERY TEACHER SMILE
DO YOU REMEMBER THOSE DAYS SMILE – WITH HOPE AND FAITH I KNOW YOU WILL CONTINUE TO EXCEL KEEP FOCUS MY DEAR YOUR NURSERY TR.
I’M SO PROUD OF YOU – MY BLESSINGS GO WITH YOU !
Good luck Jenel!!!