Cayman welcomes home both its queens

By Christopher Tobutt

“We’re so proud of you,” was the big message for both of Cayman’s queens, Miss Cayman Islands Universe, Georgina Kerford, and Rashana Hydes, Miss Cayman Islands World, when they deplaned together at Owen Roberts International Airport on Friday 17 December. They were both coming home to their ‘Rock’ on a Cayman Airways flight from Miami, to a welcome fit for a queen, with a reception from all their friends and family and members of the Miss Cayman Committee.

Miss India, Hamaaz Sandu, may have won the Miss Universe crown but it was Georgina who won the hearts of all the Caymanians back home. Ms. Kerford had arrived in Miami from Israel the previous evening, with Mario and Lovenia Ebanks, who had been her chaperones during her nearly month-long stay in Israel. “I’m back home and I feel blessed,” Ms Kerford said, “Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me I am so thankful to be home, and back on my rock I’ve got so much experience it was definitely a culture-shock and I am so blessed and grateful to be from the Caribbean such a “Cayman-kind.” It was also very spiritual and I am so grateful for the experience.

“It’s overwhelming to see the amount of joy and the amount of people that are proud of me. It makes me happy that I put Cayman on the map and did a great job. It was honestly amazing. Some things I was expecting, and other things I never expected to happen, but that is life and you never know how it is going to go. I learned to be grateful for the little things and to come from the Caribbean its so much nicer in my opinion I am not saying that Israel wasn’t nice, (but) to see that women have more rights here, and the food, oh my goodness it makes me grateful to have Caribbean food.”

Miss Universe was held in Eilat, Israel on December 12. Back home in Cayman, of course, everyone was cheering her on as they watched the pageant on television. At only 18 years old, Ms Kerford was one of the youngest contestants in the pageant, competing against 80 of the most beautiful women in the world. In the preliminary evening gown and swimsuit competition Ms Kerford carried herself like a true queen, and made everyone back home on the rock extra-proud when she wore a breathtakingly-beautiful banana-orchid national costume, designed by Cayman’s own Danielle Watler.

Rashana had a huge disappointment, because Miss World finals got cancelled at the last minute. “I went to Puerto Rico for the 70th annual Miss World pageant, and unfortunately due to covid circumstances the final was postponed so the final competition should be taking place within the next 90 days. So I am going to spend my Christmas at home, having al lovely Cayman-style Beef Dinner and I’ll be back again in Puerto Rico soon to finish the competition,” she said.