Flawless and sculpted – that’s what comes to mind when you think of young women who take part in beauty pageants. But every now and then someone comes along to break the mould and make people rethink their perceptions of beauty.
Enter Evita Delmundo, the 20-year-old who is hoping to become her home country of Malaysia’s entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. Evita has long glossy hair, huge chocolate- brown eyes and lashes long enough to put a giraffe’s to shame – but she also has an affliction that has made her the brunt of bullies for most of her life.
Growing up she was called “monster” and “chocolate chip cookie” because of the hairy moles on her face and body and a large birthmark on her neck and shoulders. But she has overcome the abuse, the stares and the name calling and is making headlines after announcing she’d be entering the beauty pageant – silencing the bullies once and for all.
Evita recalls how in primary school none of the other kids would play with her. “Basically, I was a lonely girl,” she says. Mercifully the bullying let up a bit when she got to high school, where her mother was a teacher. She wanted to have her moles removed when she turned 16 but doctors said there were simply too many of them and it could be dangerous to remove them all. However, the marks aren’t harmful to her health – they’re caused “faulty genes” and certain enzymes which have become overactive, doctors said.
At high school she had support from her mother and the other teachers. “But it was when I attended a church camp at the age of 16 that I really learnt how to love myself and communicate with others. This was the first time I truly started accepting who I was, how I look.
“I accepted that this is the body I’ve been given and I’m grateful I didn’t change anything.” Evita is the second of five children and works in a cat café – a coffee shop that’s also a pet shelter. But she’s long dreamed of being a beauty queen in order “to showcase my uniqueness and newfound confidence,” she says.
“Hopefully I can also inspire others.” Despite her confidence, Evita still encounters people who are mean about her appearance but she’s learnt to ignore them. “Haters don’t deserve my attention. I just [try to] be myself and ignore people who stare or make rude comments.
“Beauty isn’t just what’s on the outside; it’s not someone with the perfect face or the perfect body. “Beauty is who you are as a person and how you love yourself. It’s never about perfection.” But not everybody is a hater. Evita has over 65 000 Instagram followers and counting, many of whom have told her she’s their idol and that they see her as an inspiration.
Her audition for Miss Malaysia last year went well, Evita adds. She, however, was eliminated in the top 18.
