Miss World 2009: Miss Gibraltar???

Did any of you watch the Miss World 2009 pageant last night? The results were so disappointing!

If anyone deserved to win the crown, it was either Miss Canada, Lena Ma, with her brilliant soprano voice or Miss South Africa, Tatum Keshwar, with her exotic heritage (she is part Black, part White and part Indian) and striking looks. Also, the only intelligent answers to the final questions posed to the semi finalists came from these two. Miss Gibraltar didn’t even seem to fully understand her question! I don’t know how they picked her. She doesn’t have the beauty or the brains to be a Miss World.

I’m still glad to have watched the contest on TV last night or I’d never have come across Tatum, who I’m completely smitten by. Everything about her is unconventional: her name, her heritage, her exotic looks, even her superb height (she’s 5′11″!). Just the way I like it.

The first time I saw her, I couldn’t tell whether she was Black or White (RIP, Michael Jackson) till the camera zoomed in on her. I was convinced that she had a bit of both races in her. Then, when she answered her final round question, I knew she had Indian roots too. It was something about the way she spoke. If I was unsure of what I wanted in a woman before discovering her, now I’m doubtless that a mixed lineage is a pre-requisite and not a bonus.

I’m going to have to plan a trip to South Africa soon. Anyone know where Tatum’s parents live in Durban? I’m curious to learn more about her racial heritage.