Land of the giants, the breathtaking Kanuku Mountain range and the annual Rupununi Rodeo, among other things, Region Nine for the first time managed to take the much coveted Miss Indigenous Heritage Queen title two Saturdays ago. This came compliments of homegrown Sherica Ambrose, who defeated nine other contestants to take the crown.
Sherica attired in the traditional clothing of her people during
a photo shoot in Rupununi. (Photo by Yimochi Melville)
In an exclusive interview with The Scene, Sherica shared her passion for Indigenous culture, her experiences in the pageant and her plans for her two-year reign as Heritage Queen.
Growing up
Born in the kitchen of her home in St Ignatius Village, Central Rupununi, 21 years ago, Sherica is the representation of a mixture of 4 of the 9 Indigenous nations in Guyana: Akawaio, Wapishana, Arecuna and Wai- Wai and the third of her parents’ six children.
For Sherica, growing up, “Life was always peaceful. I think my parents did a really good job providing for us, working really hard and making sure that we had our every need.”
Her parents paid extra attention to her education, as her mom even went as far as to replace the traditional doll and other toys with books as presents. “I remember every time my mom got me a present. Instead of a doll or something… she would give me a book. At first I was annoyed. [I thought] why can’t she give me a doll or something, she’s always giving me books. Every time I excelled at school or exams, she would give me a new text book or a novel,” she laughed. However, her appreciation of books eventually grew as she started to like reading, which had really helped in the secondary schools entrance exams, since extra lessons were not a common feature in St Ignatius.
Her performance at the national exam gained her a place at Central High School, in Georgetown. Sherica, a recipient of the Hinterland Scholarship Programme, travelled to the capital to complete her high school education, focusing on the business aspect of the curriculum before heading to the University of Guyana where she has since graduated from with a Diploma in Accountancy.
Sherica has since returned home and is currently working at a local souvenir shop, something that feeds her interest in both local and international culture.
“I like to interact with people. I like learning about different cultures from all across the world,” she explained. Working at the souvenir shop affords her the opportunity to accumulate this knowledge.
“Most of the time when the tourists come in, I would literally just sit and chat [with] them about their country and what it’s like there, what they expect from the Rupununi what they expect to see in the future here and so on,” she said.
Sherica also loves dancing and swimming. However dancing takes precedence over swimming as she described it as being “a big part of me.”
The pageant
Sherica related that representing her region at the biannual pageant was not something she had planned to do. She was given the opportunity a few years ago but handed it to her sister instead.
“It’s a story I don’t think I told anyone – how I got here in the first place. I was in the Rupununi pageant at the Rupununi Expo in 2013 and also the Miss Rupununi Rodeo 2014, both of which I won. But after that I said that’s it, I’m not entering another pageant,” Sherica explained.
“People kept asking ‘why don’t you go for heritage pageant’ … I didn’t go but then my sister joined it and she didn’t get a space, somebody else won it. I let it go and that was the end of it.”
Or so she thought. She subsequently received a phone call one day at work and was asked to represent the region at the national pageant since the region’s intended representative was unable to take up the responsibility due to work. Unsure of what to do, Sherica sought advice from her boss, who encouraged her to ‘give it a shot’ and that was exactly what she did.
Although Sherica had decided against being a participant in the pageant when she was initially asked, the young woman revealed that during her stint as a scholarship student, she had secretly admired the 2005 contestants, hoping that one day she too would be able to represent her region.
“I use to do little dances like the matapee dance and so when I was younger and when we would rehearse, we would see the [contestants] rehearsing too and I would say to myself when I get older I want to be a part of that. Eventually when I got older and I got the chance I didn’t take it on, my sister did. I thought that was the end for me until they called,” she said.
Her first few weeks back in city were calm but as pageant night neared, the training got intense and schedules became hectic.
Television and radio interviews, pampering the residents at the Palm’s Geriatric home, visiting the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology as well as making an appearance at Santa Mission (this year’s designated heritage village), were just some of the experiences Sherica and the other contestants had leading up to the big night.
Sherica related that she has learnt enough to last her a lifetime owing to being in the pageant; the places she has visited and the people she interacted it.
But the most important lesson she took back with her was, “The fact that being here is just not another task. It takes an extraordinary person to do an extraordinary task like this because not everybody can do it.”
According to Sherica, her favourite part of pageant preparation was definitely the training aspect, as they had pageant grooming expert Pamela Dillon as their mentor, someone who she described as “our mother away from our mothers.”
Meanwhile, one of the biggest challenges she faced being part of the pageant was being away from her usual diet of farine and Tasso, common delicacies in the Rupununi region, along with missing her family and supporters, most of whom were unable to make the trip to Georgetown for the pageant, including her own mother.
“The food was nice but I really missed my farine and Tasso and all those things…,” she laughed.
On the big night, Sherica said, she was not that nervous but she felt a bit disappointed that her traditional wear did not reach the city until the day of the pageant, limiting the time she had to make sure every was perfect. Additionally, she had made changes to her talent piece several times in the days leading up to the night, contributing the latter to having fully perfected the skill of playing the pan flute.
Noting that she did not enter with the sole intention of walking away with the crown, Sherica felt it was a possibility that she would could have taken it home.
“I knew that I could do anything. It was possible. There was the possibility in my mind, but I never said, that crown is mine, I just believe in hard work and that’s it,” she said.
After she was announced as a one of the top 5 contestants, she decided that the final question was her last opportunity to give it her absolute all.
She went on to say that even if she had not won, she would have been happy for Candacy Williams of Region 7, the first runner-up, since they all worked hard.
Her hard work, determination and patience eventually paid off as not only did she walk away with the crown, but the titles of Miss Congeniality and Best Traditional Wear.
Sherica said that her first thoughts after hearing the results were, “Region 9 finally won the crown! Finally!”
She was really excited since the region also took home the football trophy after competing with other regions across the country at this year’s heritage sports.
“Everybody was just so happy for me. Most people in my region thought I would have made it… I had doubts… but I am thankful for the people who believed in me and encouraged me,” Sherica said.
Plans for the future
Sherica wants to reward those who worked hard to create her traditional wear, a piece she envisioned to promote her platform, but which only became a reality because of the talent and hard work of her local craftsmen and women.
Academically, she hopes to further her studies in tourism and public management as she has deep interests in both fields as well as learning the indigenous languages of Guyana. The latter was something she and the other contestants took up with Minster of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock.
There is no doubt that her interest in culture, especially her own, runs deep as her eyes lit up when she was asked about her platform: ‘the need for cultural preservation in the Rupununi.’
“I just wish that persons could see it the way I see it. The culture, how rich it is and that it takes a lot of skills and talent; cassava bread, farine, casreep, all these things are so important to us and Guyanese in general should be more educated on indigenous culture,” she enthused.
According to Sherica, her main focus would be promoting the value of the indigenous arts and craft, as well as educating persons about it. She listed social media as being one way she plans to market the craft.
Sherica also revealed her plans to organize and facilitate community groups in learning how to make the unique crafts of her people. This, she said, would facilitate the passing down of the knowledge and skills.
Sherica said she plans to improve her use of both the Makusi and Wapishana languages as she hopes to one day produce and compose her own music in the traditional indigenous languages.
In the near future, she hopes to pull off a local indigenous fashion show; something she hopes will not only be an annual event added to the list of activities in the Rupununi, but also someday would be showcased on a national level.
