HipLatina
Photo: Instagram/madisonandersonberrios
News and Entertainment

Miss Puerto Rico 2019 Shares Her Struggles With Learning Spanish


Less than two weeks ago, Madison Anderson was crowned Miss Puerto Rico 2019. What should have been a thrilling time for the 23-year-old also came with some backlash because some people felt she wasn’t Puerto Rican enough. The beauty queen was born and raised in Arizona and raised in Florida. She has a caucasian dad and a Puerto Rican mom. According to Latino Rebels, her father “is a bondholder who brings investors to the Caribbean.” The issue that concerned viewers was that Anderson’s Spanish isn’t perfect. Soon after she won, #NoMeRepresenta began circulating on Twitter.

Anderson is now addressing her struggles to learn and speak Spanish. In an interview with Pégate al Medio Día for Wapa TV, Anderson said she practices learning Spanish diligently.

View this post on Instagram

Una mujer que admiro siempre me decía que lo más importante en un ser humano es ser agradecido. Las experiencias, buenas y no tan buenas siempre tendrán algo positivo por lo cual agradecer y esa gratitud será clave para continuar atrayendo más bendiciones a nuestra vida. Soy bendecida al poder hoy ver mi sueño realizado, pero esto no fue posible sola, tengo una gran equipo de trabajo a quien nunca me cansaré de agradecer. Esta publicación va dirigida a ellos. @beautybyjaviermoreno & @makeupbylouisernest por mi arreglo personal @tanningbeachhouse & @suncolortan por mi bronceado @dramireily por mi sonrisa @belladonnamed por el cuidado de mi piel @ipcbysantiago por mi entrenamiento físico @fabulousshoesinc por mis accesorios @chefjose_mealprep por mi dieta @alvaro_arana_diaz por mis fotos, branding y estrategia @atmospherafilms por mis videos

A post shared by 🐚 Madis🦋n (@madisonandersonberrios) on

“It was hard, especially when it came to the language, but I’m so happy with the work I’ve done,” Madison said, according to Hola! magazine. She added that she worked on Spanish with just about anyone. “Yes, [I practiced] with everyone,” she said. “With my family, people on the street, even when I needed to order [at a restaurant]. Even things that are so easy, I wanted to practice, and it helped me so much.”

Anderson added that Latinas who don’t speak Spanish shouldn’t be discouraged and should see her achievement as motivation to keep working at learning their native language.

“Yes, but I’m demonstrating that I’m an example that nothing is impossible. You can achieve anything.”

When Anderson was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico, judge Alba Reyes had to address the backlash from Anderson’s crowning when some said the pageant was rigged because of her father’s financial ties to the island.

Reyes said that “such allegations are otherwise alien to the reality prior to the constitution of the jury and otherwise false in terms of the deliberative process of the jury,” according to Latino Rebels.

But Anderson tells skeptics that just because she wasn’t born in Puerto Rico or speaks Spanish perfectly, that shouldn’t make her any less Puerto Rican.

View this post on Instagram

Me senté con el universo y le dije que quería crecer. Le dije que me usara como canvas. Así que el me hizo sentir incómoda. Me quitó todo lo que sabía. Me hizo aprender a guardar silencio. Cómo dejar ir. Cómo defender mi posición, cómo ser más comprensiva. Cómo luchar, cómo sobrevivir. Cómo ser más asertiva, más amorosa, menos ingenua. El me dijo que tomara todo lo que había aprendido y lo compartiera con otros. Hoy puedo decir que estoy más que lista para mi cita con Puerto Rico.✨ [2/3] It’s showtime! 🦋 I sat down with the universe and told she I wanted to grow. I told she to use me as a vessel. So she made me uncomfortable. She stripped me off everything I knew. Made me learn how to be silent. How to let go. How to stand my ground, how to be more understanding. How to fight, how to survive. How to be more assertive, more loving, less naive. She told me to take everything I have learned and share it with others. Now I can say that I’m more than ready to share this night with Puerto Rico. Fotografía y dirección de arte: @alvaro_arana_diaz www.alvaroaranadiaz.com Hair & Makeup: Javier Moreno @beautybyjaviermoreno y Raúl Collazo @beautybyraulcollazo Cuidado Dental: @dramireily Bronceado: @tanningbeachhouse Stylist: Javier Moreno Assistant: Hector Vega @nautilus29 Promotora: @dianamcortes #MadisonAnderson #MissUniversePuertoRico #MissUniverse2019 #MissUniversePuertoRico2019 #MissUniversepr #ToaBaja #LaBellezaRenace #confidentlybeautiful #MUniversePR #missuniverse #roadtomissuniverse @muniversepr @missuniverse

A post shared by 🐚 Madis🦋n (@madisonandersonberrios) on

“To be Puerto Rican, it is carried in your blood and in your heart. I am proud to be the voice of Puerto Ricans from outside of Puerto Rico,” she said in Metro.

Former Miss Universe Denise Quiñones reiterated that point in an Instagram message saying that Anderson win is “reminding us all, what we already know…That PR is in the blood and in the heart, and there is no one who really feels Boricua, that can impose a degree to our Puerto Ricanness.”

View this post on Instagram

Take it easy, we’ll get there🌼

A post shared by 🐚 Madis🦋n (@madisonandersonberrios) on