Chestermere resident of five years, Alysha Ortiz, is preparing to take her beauty pageant career international as she will compete in the Reina Del Café or the Miss International Coffee competition in Columbia.
Ortiz first began participating in beauty pageants in 2011, where she won Miss Teen Calgary, and 2012 where she won Miss Alberta, before taking a break.
Ortiz was inspired to begin competing again after listening to her palliative care patients talk about regretting things they never tried in their lives.
“With the patients themselves, one common thing was trying whatever it is you have to do because, at the end of the day, when you’re in a position like they are, you’re going to look back and regret it,” Ortiz said.
“One of the things that I’ve always wanted to do was Miss Universe Canada, but I always assumed that I wasn’t good enough to do that, and I didn’t think I could qualify for it,” she said.
Going into the Miss Universe Canada pageant, Ortiz received comments from people saying they were unsure if she would do well in the competition.
However, she decided to not let people tell her what she can do and try to achieve her goal.
After competing in Miss Universe Canada Ortiz became passionate about being a spokesperson about current events, helping others, and inspiring others to at least try to achieve their own goals.
“With social media, there is such a picture-perfect image, and people don’t see the raw in what you go through,” Ortiz said.
“It’s something I want to share with people, where I started from, and where I am now. I’ve been able to do things I never thought I could accomplish,” she said.
Adding, “Even though it’s a beauty pageant, there is so much more, because you have the ability to be a voice and to tell people a story, and hopefully inspire people.”
Ortiz placed in the top 20 in the Miss Universe Canada pageant, and was voted to compete in the Reina Del Café pageant in Columbia.
“It wasn’t the judges at Miss Universe Canada that are allowing me to represent Canada. It’s the peoples’ votes for all across the world,” Ortiz said.
“It was really amazing that the people voted for Canada, and they took their time to vote,” Ortiz said.
By competing in the Reina Del Café pageant, Ortiz is required to create a coffee recipe featuring a Canadian ingredient, that can be found in Columbia.
To prepare for the coffee tasting portion of the competition, Ortiz is currently making different coffee recipes and letting her friends and family taste test.
“Understanding the culture of Columbia, because they are such a huge coffee export, I have to understand a little bit more about coffee than I normally would,” Ortiz said.
She added, “Last year Canada won the coffee tasting of the competition. This year I have to try and come up with a new ingredient that I can mix with coffee and hopefully it will also make us win.”
Although the Reina Del Café pageant does require Ortiz to create a Canadian cup-of-coffee, she also has to do interviews, and present herself on stage in gowns that showcase her personality.
“It’s more so finding something that suits my personality and suit me on stage,” Ortiz said.
“It doesn’t always matter about size. It has a lot to do with your presentation, are you confident on stage, are you able to walk and represent yourself the way you want to,” she said.
To prepare for the traditional portion of the competition, Ortiz practice’s walking in her high heels, practicing turns, and ensuring she is comfortable.
Although Ortiz is preparing for the competition to ensure she will be ready and confident, she does struggle with her body image.
“The common challenge is body image. You’re going on stage in a swimsuit. Prior to going into Miss Universe Canada, I was not into exercising, and it’s turning a new leaf in my life right now,” Ortiz said.
To overcome body image challenges, Ortiz now exercises regularly and eats healthy.
To prepare for the interview portion of the Reina Del Café pageant, Ortiz keeps up to date on current events.
“When I’m representing Canada, I want to represent us well. If they are asking me questions, I want to give a proper answer,” Ortiz said.
Going into the Reina Del Café pageant, Ortiz is excited to share more about Canada while learning and experiencing Columbian culture.
“I want to engross myself in the culture, I’ve heard such great things about the pageant itself, and learn more about coffee,” Ortiz said.
Although Ortiz has faced many challenges while competing in pageants, her passion for the competition continues because it allows her to speak on matters that are important to her, share her experiences, while allowing her to meet and help new people.
“If I can change one person’s outlook on something, then that’s all I need to do it,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz’s mother, Robina Ortiz, was on cloud nine when she found out her daughter was voted to compete in the Reina Del Café pageant.
“I found out she would compete in Columba on my birthday. I was so happy. I cried with happy tears,” Robina said.
“It’s a blessing, and we are so proud of her. It’s not easy to go on stage and do this, and for her doing this is the most amazing and happiest moment,” Robina said.
Adding, “She worked hard, she worked very hard at this, and she achieved her goal. It was the best moment as a parent.”
