By participating at Miss World New Zealand 2014, Avianca Bohm may find herself in a brand new situation. While her participation at Miss Universe NZ in 2012 started with a gentlemen’s agreement (or should I say, ladies’ agreement) that she was not to win, this time around she might find herself winning even before the competition. The Miss World NZ 2014 is awash with mediocre delegates that would leave Avianca as the only sensible and logical candidate to win the crown.
The Miss World NZ in recent years is bereft of any success. Avianca has the capacity to change all that. She is a stunning candidate who was born and raised in South Africa. She immigrated to New Zealand after suffering personal trauma involving family tragedies. In 2012 she participated at Miss Universe NZ but since back then she was not yet a NZ citizen, she was only there for exposure and was not supposed to win. The judges, although briefed of the arrangements, decided to award the crown to Avianca anyway. And then, chaos ensued.
Avianca should be holding a Kiwi passport by now. But she should remember that Miss World is a far different pageant than Miss Universe. While Miss Universe salivates on controversies, Miss World is averse on these. While beauty is equally important at Miss World, attitude matters. And Avianca should take note that the Miss Universe NZ organizer Val Lott already told everyone of this: “Avianca always displayed a difficult personality. This shows what sort of character she is. They kiss you one day, then kick you in the teeth the next.” That’s hardly a Miss Worldy attitude.
But the world of pageantry likes comebacks. If Avianca’s attitude now can match her physical beauty, there is no reason why she should not be NZ’s delegate to Miss World. With such a high calibre beauty so rare in NZ pageantry these days, Avianca is a breathe of brand new fresh air.
