Miss Model of the World welcomed home

“Great, great, it’s the best feeling ever to be back home,” Aqiyla Gomez, winner of the Miss Model of the World title, told reporters on her arrival at Piarco International Airport, yesterday. “It’s not easy travelling for 24 hours, and that’s both ways, and now I just want to spend time with my family.” Aqiyla touched down on an American Airlines flight at 1.13 pm and it was not until 2.15 pm that the tall, slim beauty dressed in Caribbean wear cleared customs. She was escorted by model coach Richard Young of Mannequins Model Agency and greeted by parents Elizabeth and Anthony Gomez, sister Raa’iysa and other relatives. Her former model coach, Christopher Nathan of the now defunct Coco Velvet, was also present to congratulate Aqiyla.

Aqiyla is this country’s first representative at the competition, which has been in existence for 16 years. After spending one month in China and travelling abroad for the first time, Aqiyla said it was nice to see familiar faces again. “Everything over there was so different, especially seeing the same faces all the time. The whole time I was thinking of my family.” Aqiyla beat 59 candidates from around the world. When her name was called as winner, Aqiyla was ecstatic. She told Sunday Newsday: “The other girls on stage were telling me that I would win. They were saying ‘there’s something about you’ and I said ‘me, a West Indian girl; I can’t win this.’ I could not believe it, everybody else believed it but me.”

Aqiyla said that she later learned that 14 out of 16 judges had chosen her because of her “confidence and elegance.” “They said that was innate and natural.” Aqiyla, however, said that it must have been her ‘borrowed’ stage presentation dressed in Chinese wear, from a model at a local pageant. “After I dusted my shoulders and arched my arm I was asked why I did that, and look I won.” Aqiyla won US$5,000 and a host of other prizes. While she holds the title, she will work closely with her modelling agency (Mannequins) in furthering her modelling career. “She will be called to do endorsements. This is just a stepping stone to making further linkages and launching her career,” Young said.

Speaking with Sunday Newsday, her parents said they were elated to have their daughter back home. “Actually it was tiresome wondering how she was doing because she was all on her own and now, having her with us, is a relief,” her father said. The Diego Martin resident said she made fast friends with Miss USA because of the common interests they shared. “I first met with Miss Ethiopia in Turkey and later with roommates Miss USA and Miss Hungary in China. I got a host of letters and numbers and I hope to keep in contact.”