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十六歲的阿根廷拾荒女妲妮拉．寇特（Daniela Cott），去年擊敗一千名競爭對手，
摘下全球最大模特兒經紀公司「伊林」（Elite）所舉辦的「Elite Model Look」阿根廷區模特兒選拔大賽后冠。
從臭氣薰天的垃圾堆，躍至光鮮亮麗的伸展台，妲妮拉寫下現代灰姑娘的傳奇故事。
妲妮拉出生於首都布宜諾斯艾利斯郊區的卡拉薩村貧民區，十三歲時，雙親因阿根廷經濟衰退而失業，
一家人只得靠拾荒維生，撿拾厚紙板、鐵罐、玻璃瓶或報紙，賣給資源回收場，以賺取微薄的生活費
阿根廷人叫拾荒者為「收集牛皮紙的人」（Cartonero）。

妲妮拉說，家裡有九個小孩，她排名老四，每天下課後晚上六點至十點，她都得當Cartonero，
幫忙拾荒，在附近鄰里垃圾堆翻拾可以賣錢的東西。
令她難過的是，儘管全家人辛勤工作，一周賺的錢卻不到台幣三千元。

這種晚上拾荒、白天上課的苦日子約持續了一年半。二○○五年某一天，五官細緻，
身高一百七十七公分、體重五十七公斤的妲妮拉遇上項鍊設計師瑪莉娜．岡薩雷斯，瑪莉娜驚為天人，
告訴她：「妳長這麼漂亮，應該去當模特兒！」

這一刻，改變了妲妮拉的人生。瑪莉娜說服妲妮拉的家人，並找人替她拍了幾組照片，
然後拿給模特兒經紀人皮奈洛看。之後，皮奈洛開始琢磨這塊璞玉，除了讓她上六個月的模特兒訓練課程，
學習走台步、化妝外，還為她的雙手進行整形手術。因過去的拾荒歲月，妲妮拉的雙手布滿了傷疤。

去年，妲妮拉一路過關斬將，打敗所有貌美如花的阿根廷青少女，奪下「伊林」阿根廷區模特兒選拔大賽冠軍，
並獲得一紙張經紀約。歷來超級名模如辛蒂．克勞馥、姬賽邦倩等人，皆是從此一選拔賽躍登國際伸展台。

妲妮拉笑說，她從未夢想有一天能當上模特兒，她原以為當模特兒很容易，
只要擺出美美的Pose給攝影師拍照，或是走走伸展台即可，
「現在，我知道當模特兒很不容易，不過，再怎麼困難，也比撿拾垃圾輕鬆多了。」

成名之後，妲妮拉多次獲邀前往米蘭、巴黎、馬德里等地走秀，家裡經濟也大為改善，
如今她仍與家人同住。這位阿根廷「灰姑娘」說，她希望藉由自己的知名度，為改善拾荒者的困境多作努力。

   

[ 原文新聞 ]   Daniela Cott: From rubbish to riches

Daniela Cott has gone from scavenging through rubbish on the streets of Argentina's capital, 
Buenos Aires, to being hailed as one of the countries most promising fashion model.

Daniela told the BBC's Daniel Schweimler that she was brought up in a simple 
and modest neighbourhood with her family; she has nine brothers and sisters (3 girls and 6 boys).
When she was growing up, Daniela was not surrounded by the luxuries of a top model:
"There used to be just enough money to make ends meet at the end of the month"
Daniela's work has changed dramatically since she started modelling
Working as a cartonera involves going through bags of rubbish and separating out the material into different bags. 
Daniela says it wasn't a nice way to make a living and she didn't like doing it but had to do it to help her family.
Daniela never imagined being a model but she was encouraged by a women who saw her working. 
Together they took photographs, practiced walking and then Daniela entered the Elite model competition.



Winning the competition was "the greatest moment of my life, I'll always remember it!"
Danielle loves the life of a model: giving interviews, posing for pictures and being on the catwalk.
In the future Danielle hopes to be an international model.