A Texas toddler with Down syndrome is a finalist for the Parents magazine cover shoot. The entry video about Solana Gracia (pictured) can be viewed here.The voting period ended July 14. The child who receives the most votes will receive a trip to New York City to join the nine finalists chosen by Parents editorial team. They will win a photo shoot in August, and he/she may appear on the cover of Parents.
Beverly Beckham, who has a granddaughter with Down syndrome, explains in The Boston Globe why it would be a great statement if Solana won:
I continue to take Lucy — whenever I can steal her away from her parents — to restaurants and zoos and movies and malls and theme parks and real parks. And everywhere we go, people welcome her.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, then, the e-mail that arrived recently from Andy and Sasha Camacho, a couple in Texas asking for my vote for their 2 1/2-year-old daughter Solana to be on the cover of Parents magazine, with last Wednesday the deadline. But I was surprised because Solana, like Lucy, has Down syndrome.
“If she were to win the contest, she would be the first known child with Down syndrome to grace the cover of the magazine,’’ the parents wrote. “However, this is much more than a magazine contest. It is about giving the 5.8 million people in the world that have Down syndrome a voice.’’
A voice, yes, but a mirror, too.
In bold print at the bottom of Solana’s photo is a truth I wish I had shouted out 5 1/2 years ago instead of standing mute and walking away: “Princesses can have Down syndrome, too.’’
Indeed, they can.
It’s a little-known fact that this beautiful child may soon teach the world.
