A woman with significant indigenous heritage has been crowned Miss Brazil.
Elaine Souza, 20, was crowned Miss Brazil in the beauty contest that took place in the town of Gramado in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on Monday, 29th November.
Souza hails from the town of Pariconha in the hinterland of north-eastern state of Alagoas, one of the country’s economically poorest areas.
The model and psychology student boasts both African and indigenous heritage, specifically from the Katokinn ethnic group.
She told the news portal G1 when she was elected Miss Alagoas in October: “My father is the Katokinn chief’s cousin, many cousins still live there. I’ve always taken part in their festivities and I’ve tried to be active.”
Souza will represent her country at Miss International, one of the Big Four international beauty pageants along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss Earth.
Souza boasts 33,200 followers on Instagram, where she posted a photo of herself in full indigenous garb back in August, which she captioned: “I feel very honoured to represent my municipality and especially the culture, it’s very significant to me.
“‘Between struggles and conquests, the indigenous force intensifies! It forms a single voice, beats its chest with pride and with its feet firmly on the ground, inside the temple to dance the tore [ceremonial dance to seek remedies for illnesses] and outside.'”
President Jair Bolsonaro has long been accused of antagonising Brazil’s indigenous groups, which make up less than half a percent of the country’s population.
President Bolsonaro has spoken about opening up indigenous areas for commercial mining, leading indigenous groups to file a request with The Hague for him to be investigated for genocide and crimes against humanity earlier this year.
