Jul 22 - Interview With Mrs Gibraltar 2016 Rachel Martinez
This year’s Mrs Gibraltar is no stranger to the stage or the world of modelling, having started her modelling career when she was just eight years old.
On Saturday night, Rachel Martinez was selected as the new Mrs Gibraltar 2016, out of a panel of 12 contestants.
The mother-of-two said she was shocked to hear her name called out, and is only coming to terms with her new title and a busy schedule of events, photo shoots and being a mum to Skye, 6, and Amy, 5.
Rachel, 30, is no stranger to the world of dance and modelling, and even singing. She spoke to YGTV about her Mrs Gibraltar experience and the run up to her participation in the Mrs Universe pageant to be held in China at the end of August.
How does it feel to be crowned Mrs Gibraltar?
It has finally sunk in. It took a good 24 hours and about 12 hours of sleep. It’s only after seeing photographs and coming to terms and thinking, yes I was the lucky successor. I am feeling very fortunate with the public’s feedback so I am quite happy.
How did you feel on Sunday morning?
I opened my eyes and saw the sash hanging from the mirror, and I thought to myself – it’s true! To be honest, I went back to sleep straight after.
Has it been very intense in the run up to the show?
It’s been an intense couple of months, especially towards the last two months when I started coming to terms with the fact that we were in a competition and I had to start preparing for this.
I stopped drinking alcohol, I concentrated more on the gym, while my free time was spent with my children and a lot of meditation – I thought about the pageant itself and it took a lot of mental preparation.
Have you been meditating for very long?
I was advised to read a book that has become very close to my heart – The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. It has been very useful, not just in the pageant but on a daily basis and I do recommend it to everyone.
How did you manage being a mum and the rehearsals and events for Mrs Gibraltar and running a home?
I’m very lucky I have a lot of help from my partner Dennis, my parents and my sister. We’re a very close family and having parents who were involved in sports and modelling, we support each other and it’s very important to help each other out if you’re striving for something.
I also belong to a dance group and I also take part in fashion shows, I’ve always had very good time management and organisational skills, so I think I can manage quite well.
How did your family feel about you being crowned Mrs Gibraltar?
They were ecstatic, I could hear them from the stage and I could hear my girls shouting “Mummy”, and that’s when I looked up trying not to cry.
Did you make friends with the other contestants?
It was one of the highlights for me from the pageant. We all come from different backgrounds and it would have been very difficult to meet some of the girls under any other circumstances, so being together and working together for four months, I got to know many of them personally. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve become good friends with a lot of them and I hope to continue to be in touch with many of them.
There were a lot of tears on the night and a lot of upset contestants. Have you managed to speak to them?
I totally understood why they were upset, and sometimes you have to give people some space and let them come to terms with it. I’m very happy we’re overcome the results, and we’re meeting for a coffee later today. The friendship is definitely still there.
What was it like for you all on the night?
There was a great vibe backstage and we were all helping each other. Some of the girls couldn’t fit their shoes on time, and we helped each other out. We were very lucky because this was a great group of girls.
Tell me about the dress. It was quite different from what you usually see.
I designed the dress myself and based it on past experiences. Suzana from Navarro Confections in La Linea helped to make my dream dress into a reality. I’ve already worn my typical pageant dress – long, with a slit, and I always like to bring something new to the table. It was quite conservative but at the same time it showed a little bit of flesh on my torso, and I thought it was pretty elegant. I kept it a secret, even from my family, until the night other than my sister.
Now you’re going to start preparing to go to China for the Mrs Universe pageant. How do you feel about that?
I am very excited, and I can’t wait to go back. I was in China, modelling 10 years ago, and it was very intense. After 10 years, I think I have grown as a person both on stage and off stage, I’ve matured a lot and I think I’m ready to go that little bit further.
How different has it been for you to go into modelling this time around?
Once a competitor, always a competitor, you always have this hunger for competition inside of you. It was quite ironic to go back to feeling that hunger all over again but in a different way, a pageant is very different to a fashion show, and you notice that tension when you’re on stage. Having a background in in modelling helps, the basics are there but you just elaborate on them and learn from other international competitors because everyone has a different way of portraying themselves on stage.
We’re very outgoing and we’re very confident on stage, and what you see on the street is not what you see on stage, we become a completely different person on stage and we receive feedback from the audience quite well.
What parts of Gibraltar will you be taking with you to China?
We have a lot of mixed races, we are diverse in culture and different religious backgrounds. Gibraltar is small but we are very different.
Because of our background and history, and being from such a small community, that support we get from each other gives us the confidence boost to place Gibraltar on the map. We always tend to leave a little mark on every place and every person we come across. We tend to get along with people from the different nationalities and they admire that to.
This is the second time Gibraltar will be taking part in Mrs Universe. Have you spoken to Serika Garcia and asked for any tips or advice?
Yes, definitely. She’s been very helpful, constantly keeping in touch and I’ve been asking her a lot of questions. Her experience last year was completely different to mine. Going to China is a culture shock, it is very different and it is nothing like you would think and expect.
I think that my attitude and my approach to instructions from the organisers and events is very different and that comes with being older and more mature.
You mentioned you’ve done some modelling before. When did you first start?
I started when I was eight years old with the Communion Dress Competition and it grew from there. I entered Miss Gibraltar in 2006, but unfortunately my grandmother passed away just before and it was her dream to see me in Miss Gibraltar, I did it for her. After that I did many different competitions and entered different pageants and I’ve continued to take part in many fashion shows.
You have two young daughters, how do you feel about them taking part in modelling?
I will support them. My eldest has already been on stage in fashion shows, but she wants to enter a pageant. I promised she can join when she’s eight, not just yet. I’m all up for supporting your children and encouraging them to be confident and strive for what they want, I just think that with this hectic year ahead of us, she is still very young.
I don’t think I’ll go pageant crazy, but I’ll be by their side when they need me.
When it comes to pageants, the one thing I want my daughters to learn is to have fun, to take part and take home friends, not a title. It’s important be a good sport but to be humble, and most importantly, it’s very important to be kind because that is what will shine through the most at the end of the day.
Photos By Ideal Productions
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