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Maltese Performer Opens Up About Having To Deal With Racism Since Childhood:’They Used To Call Me Mixed Breed’

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A musical theatre actor has opened up about his dealings with racism following racist comments made to a Maltese Miss World contestant yesterday.

“Ever since I was a child in primary school they referred to me as a ‘mixed breed’ as if there was some pure Maltese race that my mother scorned because she chose a Filipino man and had me,” Roger Tirazona said in a Facebook post.

Tirazona is a Maltese-Filipino actor who has featured in several high profile productions in Malta including The Phantom Of The Opera and The Addams Family. His mixed background has resulted in him and his family being targeted by racial abuse ever since he was a child.

“I never opened my heart and talked about the racism endured by my mother and father from the 1970s onwards,” he said.

“The comments made to my mother as she walked down the street with my father; he didn’t understand Maltese and she didn’t tell him.”

“I experienced classism and elitism that at school because I didn’t have the pedigree of a bourgeois family with two or three surnames.”

Yesterday, Junior College student and Miss World contestant Martha Attard became a target of a racist comment on one of her photos saying that she was not fit to represent Malta because she isn’t of “Maltese breed.”

“I have seen Maltese society slowly change for the better. But there are still those who still threaten this progress,” Tirazona continued.

Tirazona also touched on Malta’s underappreciated entertainment industry and the cultural and identity crisis it faces when compared to foreign talent – which is often deemed to be much better.

“I don’t pay attention to beauty pageants and I don’t approve of a woman throwing herself into competition with another woman based on beauty criteria made by patriarchal traditions, I would be very happy if we have a ‘Miss Malta’ that represents diversity in 2020,” he ended.

Following her run with racism, Attard took to the comment section to stomp out any allegations that she wasn’t Maltese and was met with a resounding amount of support from the online community.

In a twist of irony, the racist comment has led to many who otherwise wouldn’t have followed the Miss World contest to vote for her.

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When JP's not too busy working on polyrhythmic beats, you'll probably find him out and about walking his dog.

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