00:00 for the first time in Miss
00:04 Filipino international history,
00:06 a queen of African American
00:08 descent was declared this year's
00:10 winner. Let's get to know
00:12 Mateo Mahal Smith, our Miss
00:14 Filipino International 2023
00:16 joining us now live from
00:18 Florida. Mateo, congratulations.
00:20 Thank you so much for joining
00:22 us. Thank you so much. It's
00:24 such an honor to be here and to
00:26 be speaking with you. I heard
00:28 you have marriage with your wife. So I want to say congratulations
00:30 to both of you guys. Oh, thank you
00:32 so much for the wonderful greeting.
00:34 So what has this
00:36 experience being Miss Filipino
00:38 International 2023 meant
00:40 for you?
00:42 It is, I am so grateful
00:44 to be Miss Filipino International
00:46 and to be the first Afro
00:48 Filipina in the franchise's history.
00:50 I want to thank first the new
00:52 owner and CEO, Sir Joffrey
00:54 Jimenez, the Miss Filipino International
00:56 team, Miss Lisa Liu,
00:58 Mr. and Mrs. Janet Napales for
01:00 their support and guidance throughout the process
01:02 and even after.
01:04 And of course, the Filipino communities
01:06 in LA, Florida,
01:08 my family, especially in
01:10 Padiliya Rizal for overwhelming
01:12 support and guidance
01:14 really fueled me on stage
01:16 and helped me perform to the best of my ability.
01:18 You know what? I want to say thank you to all of them.
01:20 You know, Mateo, in the
01:22 Filipino community, it's all about the
01:24 Yanihan spirit. Everyone
01:26 helping each other to
01:28 succeed.
01:30 And yes, I definitely felt that
01:32 through the process.
01:34 And tell us, how inspiring is this?
01:36 That you belong to a new crop
01:38 of international beauty queens
01:40 who are breaking the beauty
01:42 standards mold.
01:44 Well, I feel that my win
01:46 is so significant. It is
01:48 propelling us and forging a path towards
01:50 inclusivity. I watched
01:52 a lot of Miss Universe and other international
01:54 pageants with my mom and I never
01:56 saw an Afro-Filipina represent
01:58 the Philippines. My win
02:00 symbolizes
02:02 that the Philippines is rich in its
02:04 diversity and that there is not one
02:06 distinct look of a Filipina.
02:08 And I think that just because
02:10 we may be different doesn't mean we don't
02:12 belong and that's what my win symbolizes.
02:14 And you have shattered
02:16 the glass ceilings and opened
02:18 doors for future generations
02:20 to follow. Matea, how
02:22 influential are your
02:24 parents in your life? And what has
02:26 been the best piece of
02:28 wisdom that your mom and your dad
02:30 have shared with you?
02:32 My parents are
02:34 very influential in my life. They've shaped
02:36 and defined me into the woman I am
02:38 today. A piece of advice that
02:40 my parents give me is, "No one
02:42 can make you feel inferior without your
02:44 consent." Meaning that people are
02:46 going to judge you, but you can't change the way
02:48 people think. What instead
02:50 you should focus on is how you feel
02:52 about yourself because at the end of the day, it
02:54 is your life to live. Happiness
02:56 in life stems first from being
02:58 happy with who you are.
03:00 You indeed have a bright future,
03:02 Matea. And you're
03:04 a student of behavioral and
03:06 cognitive neuroscience
03:08 at the University of Florida,
03:10 the Gators. What motivates
03:12 you to be an aspiring trauma
03:14 surgeon?
03:16 My aspiration to be
03:18 a trauma surgeon stems
03:20 first from having three hip surgeries
03:22 myself. The
03:24 care and help that I received from the
03:26 surgeons that I had made me want to
03:28 reciprocate those same actions
03:30 and make a positive impact
03:32 on people's lives. I think that
03:34 trauma allows me to, trauma
03:36 surgery, allows me to
03:38 work with all different types of people
03:40 of different ages and races.
03:42 And I'm excited.
03:44 Wow.
03:46 When do you finish
03:48 your medicine
03:50 education?
03:52 I am set to
03:54 graduate with my undergrad in behavior
03:56 and cognitive neuroscience in
03:58 2025. And from then, I will
04:00 head on to med school and
04:02 hopefully become a trauma surgeon.
04:04 And of course,
04:06 you know what, a lot of
04:08 people all over the world during this
04:10 pandemic were impacted
04:12 by
04:14 mental illness.
04:16 How are you trying to advocate mental
04:18 health by giving back
04:20 to our Kababayans?
04:22 I'm passionate
04:24 about dismantling the stigma surrounding
04:26 mental health. It is a crucial
04:28 aspect of our overall well-being.
04:30 In the Philippines specifically, about
04:32 3% of the population
04:34 suffer from mental illness,
04:36 which may seem like a small number, but that's
04:38 over 3 million people
04:40 reported. And
04:42 currently, I'm a Maya's Hope
04:44 Ambassador, which is a nonprofit
04:46 organization that aims to help
04:48 disabled and impoverished children in the Philippines.
04:50 So moving forward, I plan
04:52 to partner with organizations
04:54 that specifically cater to mental illness
04:56 and implement strategies,
04:58 resources, and education
05:00 for the youth of the Philippines and their battle
05:02 with mental health. And, Matea, winning
05:04 this competition means that you will be competing
05:06 next year in the Miss Universe Philippines
05:08 pageant. What are you
05:10 looking forward to?
05:12 Miss Universe
05:14 Philippines is such
05:16 an honor to be even a part of that.
05:18 And I'm looking forward to
05:20 the experience, but really I'm looking forward to
05:22 forward my platform and really
05:24 branch out and show that
05:26 the stigma surrounding mental health needs
05:28 to be removed and that
05:30 everyone should be comfortable with
05:32 being able to reach out
05:34 and receive the support that they may need.
05:36 Matea, we're looking forward to your visit
05:38 to the Philippines next year and
05:40 competing in the Miss Universe Philippines.
05:42 And you will be our
05:44 live guest here in the studio
05:46 on CNN Philippines. Thank you
05:48 so much for joining us and congratulations
05:50 Miss Filipina
05:52 International 2023, Matea
05:54 Mahal-Smith, joining us from
05:56 Florida.
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