City lights to country life

From bustling city streets and beauty pageants to the serene landscapes of rural Nelson, Claudia Forts Fortaleza’s journey has been one of contrasts, adaptation, and discovery. Of Filipino/Brazilian heritage Claudia traded skyscrapers for starlit skies, and catwalks for countryside paddocks over 30 years ago. Arriving in Nelson brought a sense of calm and a meaningful connection to the community. As told to Justin Eade.

Growing up, I had a loving and supportive family, and I was a daddy’s girl. My parents separated, and I lived with my father, who introduced me to the business world. I enjoyed taking part in competitions like fitness awards, beauty pageants, fashion shows, and print-ad modelling. Before coming here, I worked as a gym and aerobics instructor overseas.

I met my ex-partner, the father of our children, while working overseas. He is originally from Nelson, but because of his job, we lived in different countries for months before coming back to Nelson as our base country. I first arrived in Nelson in 1993.

Arriving was a culture shock… so quiet, far less people, and not many shops. I felt cold coming from Asia. I was a flamboyant city slicker, who was so naïve about living in the countryside. We lived in a rural lifestyle block with no street lights. Words like ‘paddock’ and ‘gumboots’ were new to me, as were farm animals. I couldn’t believe there were no snakes in New Zealand. Neighbours were far away, and there were only limited cars passing by. But I soon fell in love with the beauty and serenity of living in the countryside.

I appreciated how beautiful and bright the moon and stars were at night. The fresh air, being in my own company, hearing my own heartbeat, watching the time pass, not having all the material things and a busy life… I appreciated the richness in quality of life in the countryside. People genuinely care; they acknowledge you exist.

We travelled a lot, so we decided to give our children a stable, normal life in Nelson. We bought commercial land, demolished an old house, developed the land, and constructed a purpose-built preschool. Then we opened a private preschool business. I was the company director and the preschool manager and licensee.

I didn’t know anyone in the community when we first arrived. But I had a very kind and supportive neighbour and friend, Karen, who introduced me to life in Nelson. She is an amazing New Zealander who truly helped me.

I was an experienced pageant contestant and event co-ordinator overseas, so I continued with community event co-ordinating, beauty pageants, and modelling in Nelson. I was Miss Nelson-Marlborough First Runner Up and Miss Friendship 1995. I represented Nelson in the Miss Philippines NZ Beauty Pageant in 1995 (winning Second Runner up and Best in Evening Gown, which I designed and made myself). I was a model for NZ Wearable Arts from 1995 to 2001, and choreographer/show director for the Nelson Wedding Show and ‘A Night of Ethnic Fashion’. I’ve been a pageant coach and mentor, and a judge in Miss Philippine NZ, Miss Nelson Summers 2015-2016, Miss National NZ and Miss Russia NZ 2016-2018. I was a sponsorship co-ordinator for the Top of the South Film Festival 2017-2018, and worked as an associate producer on the feature film Northspur. When you enjoy the things you do, it doesn’t feel like work at all.

My two greatest gifts in life are my two sons. I was blessed to have them in 1998 and 2001, both of them born in Nelson. Haydn, my eldest, is living and working in Christchurch, and my youngest, Brenton, is living and working in Dunedin.

Besides all my work, I try to do a lot in the community. I’m an on-call English/Tagalog interpreter for private and government agencies, and also a volunteer support person, providing support with family and employment issues. I do volunteer fundraising for Nelson Tasman Hospice (Halloween), and I volunteer helping people in general and supporting people with mental health. I try to live by a Helen Keller quote I once read, “The best and the most beautiful things in the world, cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.”

Being kind and helpful to people is a wonderful thing to do. This is my way of giving back the blessings I’ve received in life. Community is the heart of every
city. Caring for people in our community is caring for our city. I love to see Nelson grow personally and professionally. All we need is to be kind, to care and contribute. What’s the purpose of knowledge if it’s not being shared? In the end, everyone benefits from the kindness and support. People are happy, Nelson is the place to be, and I get that joy in my heart that cannot be purchased anywhere. It’s part of my identity, living life to the fullest by doing the things I love.

I’m very happy living in Nelson, I have a lot of wonderful memories here, and I’d like to continue creating more. Some of my favourite places are Nelson Lakes, Kaiteriteri, and the Maitai. I love all restaurants and cafés in Nelson as they’re all unique in their own way. Favourite summertime activities are long drives in the country-side, and appreciating nature’s beauty in the Abel Tasman. Nelson is a great place to live, surrounded with hills, and everything is close by. There are lots of outdoor activities to explore, it’s not too big of a population and not too small – it’s just right. I go overseas and out of town, but I do appreciate how beautiful Nelson is every time I come home. What’s also unique about Nelson is there are lots of talented, artistic people living here.

Nelson will always have a special place in my heart. I’ve lived here longer than in my country of birth. I can go overseas and go to a bigger city, but for me Nelson will always be home.