Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean/West Indies) Mixed Afro and Indo-Trinidadian.
Ms. Bhagwandeen is an actress, known for America’s Next Top Model (cycle 20) & Ballers, before joining “America’s Next Top Model”, Renee Bhagwandeen has worked as a model previously.
She moved to the United States when she was six years old.
She is no stranger to the catwalk, having already appeared on the cover of a number of magazines.
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Bhagwandeen described herself as a big fan of Tyra Banks, who hosts the show, and is quoted as saying, “It’s an opportunity I never would have expected.”
In the interview with the newspaper, Bhagwandeen said she wanted to get into acting and dreamt of being on the cover of Vogue magazine, especially if she won. But her plans don’t stop there.
Bhagwandeen, pursuing a degree in business management and is involved in charitable organisations, says she also has hopes of opening her own business and a non-profit organisation to help young girls turn their dreams into reality.
Source: South Florida’s next “Top Model”? – southflorida.com
Miss Trinidad and Tobago International 2011, Only Black Woman Chosen Top 15 in the Miss International Pageant 2011, Number 19 Most Beautiful Woman in the World 2011, Chosen Miss Photogenic at Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe and Miss International Woman.
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is a twin island country situated off the northern edge of South America mainland, lying 11 Kilometers (6 mi) just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and 130 Kilometers (81 mi) south of Grenada. Bordering the Caribbean to the north, it shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.
The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands among Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Trinidad and Tobago (remaining separate until 1889) were ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976.
Official languages English
National language Trinidadian Creole
Ethnic groups (2011)
35.4% East Indian
34.2% Afro-Trinidadian and Tobagonian
15.1% Mixed (non-Dougla)
7.7% Mixed (Dougla)
6.2% Undeclared
1.4% Other
Population
July 2014 estimate 1,223,916
Quote:
When I was in middle school I was the victim of a bullying. I hated my self and wanted to be and most of all look different. Today I’ve learned to look in the mirror and appreciate beauty. It was hard to tell anyone about the things that happened to me but it is crucial and it’s the best way to fight back.
What is Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian (shortened as Indo-Trinidadian)?
They are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago of Indian heritage or descent.
Linguistically they are collectively known as the speakers of the Indo-Aryan Hindustani languages typically Hindi and ethnically, they are more specifically known as the Arya Hindavi people (People of Hind) an ethno/linguistic group coming primarily from the north-central Indian region of Hind which is located in the Gangetic Plain of the Gangaand Yamuna rivers in North India, between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas. They are usually categorized with multiple identities, with a more localized prioritized ethnic orientation, for example, Bihari people, Haryanvi people, Avadhi people, Malvi people, Himachali people, Bhojpuri people, in addition to further tribal, village, or religious identities.
In his book Perspectives on the Caribbean: A Reader In Culture, History, and Representation, Philip W. Scher cites figures by Steven Vertovec, Professor of Anthropology; Of 94,135 Indian immigrants to Trinidad, between 1874–1917, 50.7 percent were from the NW/United Provinces (an area, which today, is largely encompassed by Uttar Pradesh), 24.4 percent hailed from the historic region of Oudh (Awadh), 13.5 percent were from Bihar, and lesser numbers from various other states and regions of the Indian Subcontinent, such as Punjab, West Bengal, and South India [primarily Madras (Chennai)] (as cited in Vertovec, 1992). Out of 134,118 indentured laborers from India, 5,000 distinguished themselves as “Madrasi” from the port of Madras and the immigrants from Calcutta as “Kalkatiyas”.
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians has now become interchangeable with Indians or East Indians. These were people who were escaping poverty in India and seeking employment offered by the British for jobs either as indentured laborers, workers or educated servicemen, primarily, between 1845–1917.
The demand for Indian indentured laborers increased dramatically after the abolition of slavery in 1834. They were sent, sometimes in large numbers, to plantation colonies producing high value crops such as sugar in Africa and the Caribbean.In his book Finding a Place, author, journalist, editor, and academic Kris Rampersad challenges and rejects the notion of East Indians to describe people in Indian heritage in the Caribbean and traces their migration and adaptation from hyphenated isolation inherent in the description Indo-Trinidadian or Indo-Caribbean for the unhyphehnated integration into their societies as Indo-Trinidadian and Indo-Caribbean that embraces both their ancestral and their national identities.
https://vimeo.com/jasonbassett/renee
In Trinidad some Chinese men had sexual relations with dark skinned Indian coolie women of Madrasee origin, siring children with them, and it was reported that “A few children are to be met with born of Madras and Creole parents and some also of Madras and Chinese parents – the Madrasee being the mother”, by the missionary John Morton in 1876, Morton noted that it seemed strange since there were more Indian coolie men than Indian coolie women that Indian coolie women would marry Chinese men, but claimed it was most likely because the Chinese could provide amenities to the women since the Chinese owned shops and they were enticed by these.
Few Chinese women migrated to Trinidad while the majority of Chinese migrants were men. The migration of Chinese to Trinidad resulted in intermarriage between them and others. Chinese in Trinidad became relatively open to having martial relations with other races and Indian women began having families with Chinese in the 1890s. The situation on Trinidad enabled unprecedented autonomy in the sexual activities of Indian women and freedom.
Approval of interracial marriage has slowly increased in Trinidad and Tobago and one Chinese man reported that his Indian wife did not encounter any rejection from his parents when asked in a survey. In Trinidad, Europeans and Chinese are seen as acceptable marriage partners by Indians while marrying black men would lead to rejection of their daughters by Indian families.
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SEVEN TRIBES Magazine celebrates the world of international cultural diversity through the medium of fashion, art, dialog, and literature.
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SHAMAYIM {shaw-mah’-yim) is a professional photographer with a concentration in fashion, editorial, advertising, and beauty.
SHAMAYIM | Fashion Photographer
SHAMAYIM’s work can be seen gracing magazines and advertising campaigns in the United States, South Africa, The Caribbean, London, and Paris.
Another artist sketch of her beauty.
An artist colorful rendition of her beauty.
Barbados
London, England
Her beautiful parents below.
