Cover Story
A few words with Lady Tourism
Yinela Yero: at 22, she’s well-traveled and in the running to be Miss Panama
By Jacob Ehrler
Yinela Yero dressed in the typical Panamanian dress, the pollera.Yinela Yero has had a busy year. One year ago, 22 year old model was the 2011 Panama City Carnival Queen. That role led her to global travel as the international tourism ambassador and image of Panama at tourism fairs around the globe. And she participated this week in the final classification process for Miss Panama 2012.
Yinela has the face of a Renaissance dame — but, if you ask her, she is “full Panameña” although her family traces back to Mexico, Greece and Costa Rica. She speaks of the Panama in which she was born — young and bursting with potential — and the Panama of today, a bustling international economic hub setting the example for all of Latin America.
“One of the ways to get to know oneself is to travel” – Panamanian tourism ambassador Yinela Yero
When asked what she did as the ambassador for tourism, attending dozens of tourism fairs around the globe with the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), Yinela’s answer did not disappoint: “As an ambassador what I enjoyed was emphasizing my traditions and my culture internationally.”
Yinela always had a smile and was ready for a photo with visitors to Panama’s stands. Her charm and presence can certainly be credited with contributing to the great efforts that won the ATP awards for best tourism stand at several fairs over the last year.
She has enjoyed her travels. She told me: “One of the ways to get to know oneself is to travel, because that way you can compare models of life and learn.”
Reflecting on her recent tours in Madrid and London, Yinela told me that the international visitors to Panama’s tourism stands were impressed with the growth and development in her country. “The news that the new Panama metro, currently under construction, will bring the country to a level of modernity consistent in other international hubs is exciting!”
Crash course
Before her travels began though, Yinela was given a six-week crash course in popular culture and Panamanian history. The training took her deep into Indian villages where she refined her technique in wearing traditional dress and she also participated in religious celebrations.
Prior to being a Carnival queen, Yilena studied the shipping industry and did a law internship before working with the ATP.
No stopping her now
Yinela’s reign recently ended when she crowned the new queen of the Panama City Carnival last week. But she was hardly ready for a break. In the days leading up to the Carnival, she classified to participate in the 2012 Miss Panama pageant where she hopes to win the crown and represent Panama in the Miss Universe beauty contest.
Her future plans, she says, “may include the development of a model of ecological and historical tourism.” It seems that she’s been bit by the travel bug!