All the way from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Viviana Roqueta, has had an interesting journey, which all began in ninth grade when she arrived in America. “Everything was different, the language, the customs, and how people lived their daily lives,” she said. The journey continued when she went to college at Dalton State University in Dalton Georgia, and then soon transferred to University of Georgia in the fall of 2016, where she is now a junior and a double major in Marine Sciences. “It was a hard adjustment, but I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t happen that way, it was a good challenge,” Roqueta said.
Now Roqueta is taking on her newest challenge: The Mr. and Mrs. International Pageant. Roqueta didn’t plan on being a part of the pageant until she had a conversation with her grandmother. “I called my grandma and told her that they [Mr. and Mrs. International Pageant] needed someone to represent Puerto Rico. She got really excited and was already thinking about what I was going to wear, and how she never thought she would see me in traditional culture wear,” Roqueta said.
Although the pageant was well out of Roqueta’s comfort zone, she decided to participate since her grandma is an important person in her life and very inspirational. “She is my favorite person in the whole wide world because she is the strongest woman I know. I grew up with my grandma. She was the one that taught me how to cook, write, speak…everything I’ve done in my life has been thanks to her,” she said.
Making the decision to participate was only the beginning, actually preparing physically and mentally was another challenge Roqueta had to face, but she was already prepared to take on all aspects of this challenge. The contestants attend meetings twice a week, sometimes more, for at least two hours. The meetings consist of practicing their dances, speeches, talents and much more. On her own time, she meets up with other contestants and they all go over their speeches to perfect them, their dances, talent, and walks in order to prepare for the big day. “I have no Pageant experience at all so it has been a big challenge for me to learn so much in a short period of time. From dancing, to public speaking and discovering talents and qualities I didn’t know I had,” she said.
With so much hard work put into preparing for this pageant, it has been a great experience for Roqueta. “Being at UGA has been a difficult transition. Going to a new place, you don’t have as much confidence as you did before, so I knew I needed to ignite my confidence again, and this pageant has helped me do that for myself, and knowing that I have a great group of friends and family that are excited for me to do this, it gives me the motivation to put on a good performance for them,” Roqueta said.
She’s excited to participate, and although she’s not concerned about winning, Roqueta has already won something much more important to her, which is a sense of who she truly is and having the opportunity to represent her home, along with forming new friendships with the other contestants.
“I just hope to take away a feeling of accomplishment. You should always look for ways to improve yourself, even though it’s sometimes hard to do with the hustle and bustle of life, but sometimes we have to enjoy what we have now and take the opportunities that are given to us, and even if it seems like it’s something you can’t do, challenge yourself and do it. You deserve that to yourself,” Roqueta said.
As Roqueta and the other contestants continue prepare for the big day, students can purchase tickets now for $5 or $7 at the door. As for non-students, tickets can be purchased now as well for $7 or $10 at the door. The pageant will be held at the Seney Stovall Chapel in Athens on November 13 at 6 p.m.
Roqueta hopes to share a little bit of her culture with the audience, all while being proud of where she came from and keeping her grandma in mind throughout the show.
“I hope that I can showcase what is home to me.”