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| 10.29.2007 | Monday
Critics lambasted some of the contestants for being culturally
illiterate. Ecuador's Rebeca Flores thought that Everest is the longest river in the world
and did not know the date when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas for the first time (only seven
of the eighteen delegates knew the answer). Mexico's Melissa Pérez believed that Peru and Paraguay have no access to the sea (Peru touches the Pacific
Ocean), while Sarah Rivera, who represented the Hispanic community of the United States, thought that
Mexico was one of the landlocked countries. Only one delegate, Nicaragua's Slilma Ulloa, was able
to respond correctly to all six questions asked. (El Universo, Guayaquil, 10/27/2007)
• MISS EARTH'S SUPREME CAUSE : Over 90 delegates have already converged in the Philippines for the annual Miss Earth
pageant, and so far, the pageant is getting plenty of media coverage that it deserves. Why? Maybe because of
all this talk about global warming that is causing tremendous alarm to everyone. When you compare Miss Earth
with its rival pageants, you'll realize that its slogan, "Beauties For A Cause," suggests a far more
significant cause because it seeks essentially to save the planet, unlike the Miss Universe cause (HIV/AIDS research)
or the Miss World cause (reaching out to underprivileged children) which are restricted to a specific
segment of the human population.
It has now become a tradition for the Miss Earth delegates to
be introduced to the press wearing bikinis and carrying signs that say, "Save Our Mother Earth," "Do Not
Litter," "Plant Trees," "Stop Carbon Emission," or "Recycle." If the delegates were wearing evening gowns or
casual attire while carrying the signs, would they get much attention? Probably not. The majority of the
press photographers are ogling men, and it would be naive to think that sex doesn't help in promoting
a universal cause.
• FATTEN UP, OR ELSE : A British beauty queen says she was told to pack on pounds for the upcoming Miss World
competition - an unexpected request, considering she's not rail-thin. "I was a little bit shocked," Miss England
Georgia Horsley said Friday in an interview on NBC's "Today" show. "I don't think I'm too thin.
I'm happy with the way I am," said the 20-year-old, who is a size 4. She added: "I probably would
have been more hurt if they told me to lose weight, I think." Horsley said pageant organizers want
"their girls to be more voluptuous and womanly and curvy, you know, rather than the stick-thin,
size-0 models that you see around."
"I've just got quite more of an athletic, boyish-type figure rather
than the hourglass figure that some women have," said the 5-foot-8 Horsley. "And they're just seeing
if, you know, I could maybe put a bit of weight on and it might give me those curves."
Horsley has little more than a month to gain weight: the Miss World pageant will be held in China on Dec. 1.
"They've not given me a total (weight) to get to," she said. "But I'm going to eat, you know,
healthy fats such as nuts and avocado, oily fish, things like that." (CBS News, NY, 10/27/2007)
• VALENE ON MISS UNIVERSE : Six-footer Valene Maharaj is Trinidad & Tobago's representative to Miss
World this year, and pageant fans are already betting that she is a sure top five finalist. Her country
was absent in this year's Miss Universe due to lack of corporate and government support. When asked
if she will compete in Miss Universe next year, she replied that she has no plans. She believes that Miss
World with its emphasis on charity and celebration of diverse aspects of girls' personalities is the best fit.
And she's optimistic about her chances now that the decision-making power has been restored to a
judging panel and is no longer being left to international votes via the internet.
( Trinidad & Tobago Express, 10/27/2007)
• REALIZING HER MISTAKES : It's been an up-and-down year for Pageant Place star Tara Conner,
but the former Miss USA said everything that's occurred has helped her get back on track. Mistakes are life lessons," said Conner in the October 22 issue of In Touch Weekly. "If you ever want to take a bite of humble pie, go to rehab and then explain to the world, 'I was a cokehead. I drank. I went out and raged.'"
Conner - now 21 years old - serves as the "unofficial peer advisor" to current Miss Universe Riyo Mori;
Miss USA Rachel Smith; former Miss Teen USA Katie Blair; and current Miss Teen USA Hilary Cruz
on MTV's Pageant Place docu-reality series, which is produced by Trump's new Trump
Productions television production company. Conner told In Touch she's been sober a "year in December,
God willing" and has been imparting words of wisdom on the other girls as well as trying to set the
best example she can through her actions. "Every now and then, I still go out and shake my tail-feather;
I am 21 years old," Conner told In Touch. "But now, instead of bottle service, I get Red Bull service."
(RealityTV World, 10/26/2007)
I saw one episode of "Pageant Place" a few days ago and it was a horrifying experience.
• BEAUTY BACKLASH : "In the beginning, every little girl is a princess - beautiful, magical, a picture of bliss.
Then, somewhere along the way, a new and unsettling awareness begins to set in. Not every girl is a princess.
Levels of beauty may vary. And to them, one's happiness is inexorably linked." Read more.
• FASHIONABLE BEAUTIES : Last week, Dominican Republic hosted a megafashion event dubbed "Belleza Por Una Cause" (Beauty For A
Cause) featuring the latest creations of several Latin designers. The models included Dominican queens Larimar Fiallo (Miss DR Universe 2004),
Renata Soñé (Miss DR Universe 2005), as well as foreign queens Jictzad Viña (Miss Venezuela 2006), Uma Blasini (Miss Puerto Rico
Universe 2007) and Regiane Andrade (Miss Brazil World 2007). See pics from the event in this
site.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, November 5, 2007
Photo credit: El Nacional
| 10.22.2007 | Monday
"I'm enjoying it a lot and I still can't believe it," said the 24-year-old Mexican,
who won over 60 other beauties from around the world in the pageant organized by the International Cultural Association
of Japan. In Perales's opinion, many Mexican beauty queens have shown they are among the world's best.
"It's a question of preparation and personal motivation to believe that we can do it, because the fact is we're
pretty and we have the right attitude, personality and charisma to go far," Perales said. The Mexican beauty,
a native of the northern city of Monterrey, knew she was among the favorites but admitted to EFE that in the end
winning the crown came as a surprise. "I came very prepared and gave my all to achieve this and I thought that
I could do it, but in this kind of contest anything can happen - there were so many gorgeous girls but luckily I won,"
Perales said. (Yahoo News Service, 10/16/2007)
It appears that Miss International pageant's popularity is fading, despite
the presence of over sixty contestants this year. The proof? Lack of coverage and news articles about Perales's victory.
Search in Yahoo and Google news under "Miss International" and see how many articles you can find. Also, the crown
and the blue plaques that are given to the special awardees have not changed since the 1960s. Bleccchhh!!!
• THE NEW MISS BELGIUM is Nele Somers, a 23-year-old blonde from Brasschaat, who was crowned at Casino de Knokke in Knokke, Belgium last Saturday. Her court includes
first runner-up Tamara Opdebeeck and second runner-up Tessa Dockers. (Le Vif/L'Express, 10/21/2007)
• QUEER EYE FOR BEAUTY : After five years of transforming the looks and lives of straight men on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,"
their fashion expert Carson Kressley will now be using his well-honed skills on a new reality TV series beginning in the
US early in 2008. Called "Crowned: The Mother of all Pageants," the show will have eight episodes, and
will focus on mother and daughter pairs who want to compete in both the Miss and Mrs USA Pageant. The pairs will all be living together
in a house in Los Angeles, and will undergo weekly “de-sashing” ceremonies. The teams will be judged by Kressley,
along with former Life and Style host Cynthia Garrett, and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler. Carson will be putting
his experience as a stylist for Ralph Lauren, as well as his time on Queer Eye, to use in evaluating
the strengths of the mother-daughter teams.
Despite the ominous-sounding “de-sashing ceremonies", the show is
“played mostly for laughs,” says USA Today. Executive producer Laurie Girion said, "People might have the
idea this is a stage-mom kind of show," "But we have some really bossy daughters. It's a balance of power
between mothers and daughters, and neither is calling all the shots." In addition to the honor of making it
to the very end, the winning mother-daughter team will also win a cash prize - $100,000. The fifth and final
season of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" began in the US earlier this month - with its premiere episode
featuring a pageant of previously 'made-over' men, to see who has kept up, slacked off, or gone beyond the hosts'
wildest expectations. (Gay NZ, New Zealand, 10/20/2007)
• SEXUALLY ABUSED : The government of Zimbabwe has added its voice to the growing condemnation of the Miss Rural
Zimbabwe pageant, under the spotlight following admissions by its organizer, Ms. Sipho Mazibuko that at least two
of the girls were sexually abused and one was impregnated. Minister of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community
Development, Cde Oppah Muchinguri said the organizers of the pageant should be investigated for
abusing innocent rural girls. Cde Muchinguri said she had never been happy with the pageant as she
received reports of rampant sexual abuse of the girls in exchange for food and accommodation.
"A research that was done showed that rural girls are more prone to abuse
especially sexual because they lack urban exposure and it is so sad that people are taking advantage of this," said
Cde Muchinguri. She said the idea of young rural girls parading bare-breasted or in swimwear never made her happy.
Cde George Charamba, Secretary for Information and Publicity concurred describing the pageant as a mess.
Mazibuko, who admits to having been an inmate at Engutsheni psychiatric home, however, said squabbling
about the pageant would harm the country's tourism image. She stated: "What image are we giving to
our tourism by fighting? It is time to work together and try to use every opportunity to go ahead. After
all we are all adults." (The Herald, 10/19/2007)
• SEX SCANDAL : Male pageants in general are not as popular as female pageants, and male beauty kings do not
attract much publicity when they are involved in a scandal, compared to their female counterparts who get
worldwide press coverage and even end up getting their own reality shows. Nearly three weeks ago, a scandal rocked
the Mister Handsome Venezuela 2007 when it was reported that its president, Alberto Maneiro Restrepo is
the gay lover of the winner, Will Viloria, 18, representing Distrito Federal. A Spanish-language
news article written by
Diego Kapeky reports that three of the five finalists that included Viloria as well as the representatives of Cojedes,
Carlos Ortíz and Costa Oriental, Maickel Escobar, did not make the finals by their own merits
but by yielding to sexual favors from Maneiro, who is also a well-known journalist and TV commentator. One participant, who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of
reprisals, says: "In this contest, the only ones who place or win are those who sleep around." Other participants
also reported anonymously that they had been sexually bribed or harassed. The pageant took place on September 26th in
Caracas.
To get his reaction on this scandal, I asked Alan Sim, the president
of Mister Singapore Organization which produces Mister International, a pageant labeled by Sim as the
male version of Miss Universe. Sim stated that such scandal "should not have happened and should not have been
encouraged specially by the organizers and the contestants." The Mister International 2007 pageant is scheduled
to take place in Malaysia in December; when I asked Sim if Viloria would be Venezuela's representative, he said no.
"We have a new national director from Venezuela who has already handpicked a representative. This director is
professional and well-respected and we are pleased to be working with her," declared Sim.
Incidentally, Viloria won the Mister Handsome International 2007 pageant
that was held in the Dominican Republic two weeks ago. So far, no reports have been published suggesting that he
"slept his way" to the top.
• RIYO IN CHINA : Miss Universe Riyo Mori and hundreds of other models displayed the latest creations
of Fendi during a fashion show held at the Great wall of China. You can see pics from the event here.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, October 29, 2007
Photo credits: Luisespéctaculo.net, Belleza Venezolana
| 10.15.2007 | Monday
• THE NEW MISS SWITZERLAND is Amanda Amman, who was crowned in Zurich last Saturday night.
She will represent her country in Miss World 2007 and Miss Universe 2008. The first runner-up is
Sabrina Knechtli and the second runner-up is Claudia Wambululu, the only black delegate.
Sixteen participants competed for the title. Info courtesy of Miss Schweiz.
• THE NEW MISS INTERCONTINENTAL is Nancy Afiouny, a 23-year-old student from Lebanon who was crowned in
Mahé, Seychelles last Saturday. Her court includes first runner-up Han-na Yoo of Korea and second runner-up Emily Fernandez of
Margarita Island. (Yalibnan.com, 10/14/2007)
I do not know about you guys, but the quality of Miss Intercontinental seems
to have depreciated in the last few years. First of all, the pageant, which usually attracts over fifty
delegates annually, only attracted forty-one this year. There were only five Asian delegates (Kazahkstan,
Korea, Lebanon, Thailand and Turkey), and a fake country - Margarita Island - was invited to attend. Second, not only
do the winners remind me of first-class call girls, but you never hear from them again until they crown their
successors. If this pageant seeks desperately to match or surpass its bigger rivals, it needs a major rehaul; otherwise, it
will evaporate into thin air in a few years just like its male counterpart, Mr. Intercontinental.
• BEAUTY IN PRISON : You could call her "Miss Death Squad." Jailed for supplying weapons to illegal right-wing
paramilitary assassins, Angie Sanchez is now, in a manner of speaking, a queen of the convicts. The slim
21-year-old took top honors in an annual beauty pageant at the Good Shepherd women's prison in Bogota, Colombia.
A penitentiary may seem an odd place to display glitz and glamour, but the prison's warden puts on the
beauty contest each year in an effort to boost the prisoners' morale and break the monotony of life behind bars.
"This is a time when they don't have to think about being in jail and can focus on being beautiful women," said
warden Jenny Morantes. The prison holds 1,166 women as well as a handful of toddlers, who are allowed to
live with their mothers until age 3.
Most budding beauty queens in Colombia are well-to-do teenagers with
a coterie of advisers who prep for months by exercising, dieting, practicing on runways and contemplating cosmetic surgery.
The prisoners, by contrast, are often women from poor or working-class families. Many are in their 20s or 30s.
Most are married or divorced. Some have children. Nearly all are tough women doing hard time in the massive,
concrete guardhouse. They eat greasy prison food and get little exercise, making it difficult to obtain or
maintain stereotypical beauty queen figures. Some sport tattoos on their arms, legs and torsos.
But as the prison beauty contest nears, they get professional help from hairstylists and manicurists, who
volunteer their services. "These are people, just like everyone else," hairdresser Alfonso Llano said as he
twisted braids and used a blow-dryer on one of the contestants. "Maybe they made mistakes, but they are here
to pay for their crimes and to move on."
Besides Sanchez, contenders in the recent contest included a mother of
three sentenced to 14 months for stealing CDs, a woman convicted of forging documents, and a Spanish tourist
imprisoned for trying to smuggle 9 pounds of cocaine to her homeland. "I needed the money," said Isabel Cavallos,
a housewife from Valencia, Spain, who packed the white powder in her suitcase. "But they caught me at the airport."
(Houston Chronicle, United States, 10/11/2007)
• NOT A BEAUTY CHEAT : She may have been labelled racist in Celebrity Big Brother, but at least Danielle Lloyd
can say she didn't cheat her way to the Miss Great Britain title. The blonde model dropped a libel action yesterday
after pageant organisers accepted she didn't win the contest because she was dating one of the judges, footballer
Teddy Sheringham. They accepted their relationship had not started until after the contest. Lloyd
said she was 'very relieved' at the outcome, adding: 'It was very hurtful to be called a cheat when I won fair and square.'
The legal battle blew up when the pageant's organizers posted a frontpage tabloid story on their website about
the allegations. (Metro, London, UK, 10/11/2007)
• PLEASE, NO FUR : Animal rights activists launched a campaign to pressurise Miss Universe, Japan's Riyo Mori,
to stop wearing fur, accusing her of promoting cruelty. Mori, 20, a ballerina by training, wore a full-length fur coat
at the pageant in Mexico City where she was crowned this year, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said.
It is encouraging its supporters to e-mail Mori after her office refused to respond to inquiries, the US-based rights
group said. "As Miss Universe, you are expected to be a positive role model who sets a good example," PETA said
in a letter to Mori. "Prove that your beauty is more than skin deep." "By choosing to wear fur, not only are you
directly responsible for the deaths of dozens of animals, you're also sending a clear message to everyone who sees
you that animals' lives are less important than fashion," it said.
PETA also offered Mori weblinks to gruesome footage from dog and cat fur farms in China.
The Miss Universe Japan office referred queries to Mori's office in New York, where she is based. No one immediately
could be reached at the New York office. Mori has said she wants to use her tenure as Miss Universe to fight HIV
and AIDS and that she hopes one day to perform on Broadway. PETA is famous for its publicity stunts in campaigning for
animal rights. It has frequently targeted celebrities and companies that promote fur, most visibly the British fashion
giant Burberry. (Zee News, India; China Daily; France 24; Citizen, South Africa;
The Australian, 10/11/2007)
In her blog entry dated 10/13/2007, Inés Ligron, the director of Miss Universe Japan, wrote the
following:
Ligron invited readers to post their comments about the fur issue. I tried posting
a comment, but it was never published (maybe due to a technical problem). Instead, I fired off an e-mail yesterday to Ligron
expressing my strong views against the use of fur and the fur industry. Let's see if she'll respond.
• WHAT'S UP WITH CYNTHIA : Cynthia Olavarría, 2005 Miss Universe first runner-up, has been hired as
the new presenter of the new season of "Decisiones," a show that features real-life stories and
shown in nineteen countries. The Puerto Rican version of the show will have fifty episodes that will be
recorded in Puerto Rico for Telemundo network. "When I found out that the program was going to be taped here,
I auditioned for it. When they showed me the script, I knew right away that it was for me," stated the ex-beauty
queen turned actress. (Primera Hora, San Juan, 10/10/2007)
• BOUNCING BEAUTY : One of New Jersey's former beauty queens is in hot water with the law. Hedy Di Carlo
has been charged with bouncing more than $70,000 worth of check for antique furniture. Di Carlo, the winner of
the Ms. New Jersey pageant in 2005, allegedly began buying the furniture from a store in upstate New York in June.
Detectives have recovered all of the items from her home in Essex Fells. The 36-year-old Di Carlo is expected to
be arraigned next Thursday. (CBS3.com, 10/12/2007)
• POLL RESULTS : Last week, CB took a poll and asked readers this question, "Do you approve of beauty queens appearing on reality TV shows?"
Of 630 votes, 233 said "yes," 348 said "no," and 49 said "not sure." Here are just some of the comments posted:
Sadly, I agree with the "no" voters, especially with the third comment. The more you put beauty queens in reality shows that
focus on human flaws and sensationalism, the more you promote the idea that the true purpose of being a beauty queen is
to be the subject of ridicule by the general public. Sad. Sad. Sad.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, October 22, 2007
Photo credits: Miss Tibet, Héctor Joaquín Colón González
| 10.08.2007 | Monday
• THE NEW MISS SWEDEN WORLD is Annie Oliv, a 19-year-old beauty from the city of Göteborg who likes
music and plays the cello. She also lived in Florida one summer when she was 15. She will now represent
Sweden in Miss World 2007. Thanks to Inger Hansson for this info.
• EARTHLY DUTIES : The current Miss Earth Hil Hernandez from Chile visited Vietnam for a few days
along with Miss Earth-Water Catherine Untalan from the Philippines and the recently crowned Miss Earth
Singapore Nicole Chen. The beauties were in Vietnam to attend an international travel show at
Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City and to send a message on environmental protection and sustainable
tourism development to the exhibition. (VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam, 10/5/2007)
• NEW GLOBAL BEAUTIES : The new Miss Globe International is 18-year-old Helen Cristina Alven Da Silva, of
Brazil who was crowned in Tirana, Albania last week. Fifty-one young women competed in this annual pageant in which another
pageant - Miss Bikini of the World - was incorporated and won by Gerta Poldver of Estonia. This is the
second time that Brazil has won the crown; Priscilla Mereilles won in 2003 before she was crowned
Miss Earth the following year. (La Prensa, Honduras, 10/7/2007)
• A HAIRY CHALLENGE : Danielle Lloyd, Miss England 2004 and Miss Great Britain 2006, took to the
challenge of having hair glued to her armpits for the show, "My Body Hell." The challenge required her to
live for twenty-hours with hairy armpits. Lloyd revealed to The Sun that she felt embarrassed.
"It was worse than what I had expected to be. I just wanted to go home and remove them," she exclaimed.
After dancing with her friends in London, Lloyd "shaved." "It was just so embarrassing and I will remember
that day for the rest of my life. I don't want to see any more hair under my arms. I felt like a man," she
said. (Diario de Cuyo, Argentina, 10/5/2007)
• FOR GAY RIGHTS : Ex-Miss Universe and now actress Dayanara Torres appeared in a public service
television ad campaign that defends the gay Latin community in the U.S., in conjunction with Hispanic
Heritage Month. The campaign was organized by GLAAD (Gay and Lebian Alliance Against Defamation). Read more.
• TIBETAN FIVE : Of the many events in the month of October in Dharamsala, probably the most glamorous
one demanding much attention could well be Miss Tibet Beauty pageant. This year, five contestants are vying for
the beauty title after testing them through seven competition rounds. Despite much insisted hype to add more
contending beauties to his show by Lobsang Wanagyal, the man behind the pageant, the number remains at
dwindling low. In fact, for this year, there is one less in number compared to last year’s.
Nevertheless, Lobsang is adamant and is hopeful to add more contestants in coming years, as he promises to
continue with the beauty show.
“The enthusiasm with which more than ten women applied is a clear sign
of hope to have even more contestants in the future” Lobsang said at the beauty pageant’s press conference.
The contestants were shown "Miss Tibet in Exile", a documentary film on Miss Tibet pageant, directed by
Tashi Wangchuk and Tsultrim Dorjee of Tibet Motion Pictures & Arts. Miss Tibet 2006 successfully
participated in the Miss Earth contest. “We hope to produce yet another memorable edition of the Miss Tibet pageant,”
says Lobsang. (Phayul, Tibet, 10/5/2007)
• HOLLYWOOD BEAUTY IMAGES HURT GIRLS' SELF-ESTEEM : In an effort to assist girls develop a sense
of self-worth and confidence, Dove has established the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. This Fund, according
to the Company’s press release is “committed to help build self-esteem in girls”. A recent survey
conducted by the Fund and Seventeen Magazine found that “56 percent of girls and women believe
celebrities have perfect bodies”. This belief, according to Dove is driving girls to destructive
behavior because they have unrealistic ideals of beauty. The image survey found that 93 percent
of girls and women revealed that getting ready in the mornings resulted in them feeling stressed.
Another 70 percent indulged in unhealthy activities in an effort to improve their physical appearance.
To counter this issue, Dove has partnered with Step Up Women’s Network and they are working towards
‘getting girls to recognize their unique beauty’. (CareFair.com, 10/5/2007)
• A BLESSING AND A CURSE : "Social scientists have made studies about beauty and have found that 'people over
generalize from appearance, assuming that those who are attractive on the outside
are also nicer on the inside and have remarkable good fortune prospects.'" Read more.
• END OF NATURAL BEAUTY? "As millions adopt life-long regimens of cosmetic surgery, is the idea of natural
beauty a thing of the past?" Read more.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, October 15, 2007
Photo credits: A. M. México, La Prensa (Honduras)
| 10.01.2007 | Monday
The pageant was without controversy. Some of the contestants claimed that
Battisti is too thin (she has a body mass index of 16) and they preferred the first or second runner-up.
Several models also protested Battisti's election: Raffaella Modugno, who represents Campania, denounced
the "hypocrisy" of those "who say one thing and do another" in reference to the jury. The newspaper La Stampa
picked up on the discontent by some of the contestants: "but how could you preach to us about anorexia
in the history of Miss Italy and then crown a Miss Italy who is not a size 38 (36 in Spain)." (El Aragueño, Maracay,
28.09.07)
• BEAUTY UNDER THE BURQA : A model strutting the catwalk is hardly revolutionary in most countries,
but Afghan television's answer to "America's Next Top Model" is breaking boundaries and revealing the
beauty under the burqa. Nearly six years after the overthrow of the strict Islamist Taliban government, almost all women in
deeply conservative Afghanistan still only appear in public wafting past in the burqa's pale blue, their
dark eyes only occasionally visible behind the bars of its grille. But in the relatively liberal northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a local television station has
started to show a different image of Afghan women with an extremely low-budget take on the hit
"America's Next Top Model", a reality TV show in which judges choose prospective models from a group
of contestants over several weeks.
"I was really enthusiastic to make this program because I wanted the girls to present the clothes and
themselves," said Sosan Soltani, the 18-year-old director of the program. "Afghanistan is free and these girls are the
future of this country," she said. Four girls in brightly colored traditional costumes with baggy pants
and long loose-fitting shawls and headscarves strode down the impromptu catwalk decked out in traditional
Afghan rugs. Seemingly less confident than their Western counterparts, they avoided the gaze of the all-male film crew and press.
A quick change later, the same four appeared in camouflage combat trousers, sneakers and embroidered smocks.
Then came denim jeans, open-toed sandals and colorful lightweight jackets. None of this would be at all risqué
in the West, but in Afghanistan, such attire can spark outrage, especially when broadcast on television.
"According to Sharia law, Islam is absolutely against this," said Afghan Muslim cleric Abdul Raouf. "Not only is
it banned by Islamic Sharia law, but if we apply Sharia law and to take this issue to justice, these
girls should be punished."
More than 10 other models due to take part in the program failed
to turn up after hearing that members of the international press would be present, fearing the wider
broadcast of the show could lead to trouble for them, their friends said. Those who did brave the possible
backlash were determined. "It is a great idea I think for Afghan girls, to encourage them to go a step forward,"
said 19-year-old model Katayoun Timour. "We know that in Afghan society 90 percent of people think it is not good,
that it's absolutely wrong," she said of the program. "We had objections from people, but I tell them it is
not something bad, they should see it in a positive way." But on the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif, it was hard
to find anyone who objected to the program, especially among the young. Model Timour said she wanted
the outside world to see a different image of Afghan women. "I have seen outside Afghanistan they have a
different kind of idea about women in Afghanistan - they think they are always wearing the burqa
and sitting at home but it is not like that," she said. "Girls in Afghanistan are beautiful." (Reuters, 9/28/2007)
• PAGEANT PLACE : On October 10, the new reality show "Pageant Place" will debut on MTV. "Pageant Place" was
created by Donald Trump, who also serves as executive producer. The Donald, who broke into the reality
world with "The Apprentice," will also make appearances on the show, which will follow the everyday lives of
reigning and former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA champions. Donald is co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization,
which presides over the Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants.
"Pageant Place" will mostly involve Miss Teen USA and Miss USA
attempting to co-exist while living together in a New York apartment owned by Mr. Trump. It is
another in the long line of MTV celeb-reality shows which have no plot other than to capture the
behind the scenes drama of sometimes famous people's lives. We can presume that "Pageant Place" will
involve some lady drama between the two crown holders, as well as man drama with their love lives.
Also, we'll see them carry out their duties across the country and The Donald will pop up occasionally
to give them advice and support.(BuddyTV.com, 9/27/2007)
Former Miss Italy Cristina Chiabotto wears a creation part of the Ab Soul Spring/Summer 2008 collection,
• FIRST-CLASS "HOOKERS" : Members of the Organización Espacio Feminista of Colima condemned the state government
for assigning 22 million pesos to finance Nuestra Belleza México (NBM) - money that could be spent to
create new jobs and to assist underprivileged women in bettering their lives. The organization also
claims that NBM is nothing more than "a kind of elegant prostitution" that, among other things, serves
to make big businesses bigger and wealthier under the pretext of promoting tourism. (El Diario de Colima,
9/28/2007)
• CAN'T CONTINUE : Nadia Karina Ramos Robles, 22, the winner of the Nuestra Belleza Baja California pageant,
a preliminary to Nuestra Belleza México, announced last weekend that she could no longer continue
her involvement in activities related to her title after the kidnapping and murder of her father that took
place last month in northeastern Mexico. Her father, Miguel Ángel Ramos Pintado, was kidnapped on September
14th and was found dead two weeks later. For the first time in the history of NBM, the state of Baja
California will not be represented in the pageant that will be held in Manzanillo on October 6th. In the last
few years, Baja California has been plagued with kidnappings and killings of businessmen, politicians and policemen.
(Notiver, 9/38/2007)
• WHAT'S UP WITH ZULI : Ex-Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera moved to New York to live in an apartment in
Brooklyn Heights and began her acting classes at New York Film Academy. It is reported that Rivera
is overwhelmed by the intensity of the drama classes that it made her cry. Besides her contract with Chrysler,
she is also negotiating a cooking program; no, she will not cook, but will moderate the show that features
a chef. The show will debut this month in New York and New Jersey, and then will be shown later in the rest
of the States. Her other immediate projects include being a presenter in the reality show "Baila conmigo"
(produced by Televisa México and TV Rica i Costa Rica), being a special guest in a Carlos Alberto
fashion show in San Juan, and being a presenter in this year's Miss Puerto Rico Universe. (El Nuevo Dia,
San Juan, 9/30/2007)
• CRITICAL BEAUTY is three years old today! Woohoo!!!!!!
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, October 8, 2007
Photo credits: RAI, Getty Images
SEPTEMBER 2007
• THE NEW REINA HISPANOAMERICANA is Massiel Taveras of the Dominican Republic, left, 22, who was crowned
last Friday night in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Elected her Virreina is Brazil's
Jane Borges, the first runner-up is María José Maldonado of Paraguay and the second runner-up
is María Jesús Ruiz of Spain. Completing the top eight are the delegates from Venezuela,
Colombia, Cuba and Uruguay. The pageant used to be called "Reina Sudamericana" but was changed this
year to "Reina Hispanoamericana" to extend the invitation to Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries
outside of South America. Taveras represented her country last May in Miss Universe in Mexico.
(El Nacional, Santo Domingo, 10/27/2007)
• THE NEW MISS INTERNATIONAL is Priscila Perales of Mexico, left, who was crowned last October 15th in Tokyo,
Japan. Perales was Mexico's representative in Miss Universe 2006. Her court includes first runner-up Despina Vlepaki
of Greece and second runner-up Yulia Sindzeyeva of Belarus. Completing the top fifteen were the delegates from
Chile, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Venezuela.
Perales's victory gives Mexico its first ever Miss International crown and it is the country's best showing since
Leticia Murray made the semi-finals in 2000.
The article also mentions that seven of the judges had been coaxed
by Maneiro to select the candidates that he preferred. Kapeky said that he had received a letter from an individual who had
been invited by Maneiro to judge, but this individual rejected the invitation after Maneiro had ordered him
to vote for Viloria. The pageant portal Belleza Venezolana, whose director Julio Rodriguez is also Maneiro's
vice-president, published the preliminary and final voting results of the pageant and you can view them here.
You will notice that Distrito Capital's (Viloria) preliminary scores reveal multiple 9.99s in "rostro" (face),
"personalidad" (interview) and "cuerpo" (body) categories.
• BEAUTI-BET : Call centre executive and part-time model, 21-year-old Tenzin Dolma was crowned Miss Tibet 2007
at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala last night. Tsering Yangzom, a 20-year-old from Karnataka
was declared the first runner-up and also won the Miss Photogenic award, which was presented to her by Lobsang Wangyal,
the director producer of the pageant. Tenzin after her victory said: "Miss Tibet can use the title for letting others know
about the Tibetan cause at the international level. She can bring it to the notice of the common masses through media
around the world. This way, Tibetans can receive more supporters for their cause for freedom in Tibet.
I will consider myself very lucky if I can contribute for the just cause of the Tibetan people in any." It is not
certain to which international pageant Dolma will be sent. You can view all five candidates in this videoclip.(Hindustan Times, 10/14/2007)
Riyo wore fur in Japan at the Miss Universe Japan Pageant only. (never in Mexico or she might had suffered from overheat....)
Riyo has nothing to do with this. This was not her choice but mine to have all the finalists wear fur on that evening.
My office thought that because it was an issue with Riyo, then AFP should address to the headquarters in NYC.
I am against animal violence, and I want to investigate further regarding this issue. I will avoid having the girls
wearing fur if these allegations are relevant."
• NO NONSENSE BEAUTY QUEEN : Anya Watkins, Miss Bahamas World 2007 (in photo, left, with Miss Puerto Rico World
Jennifer Guevarra) is currently undergoing intense training
in Puerto Rico under the direction of CB's own Héctor Joaquín Colón González. The Miss Bahamas Organization (MBO),
led by Michelle Malcolm, sees a big potential in Anya to win the Miss World crown, or at least reach the
finals. You can see Anya's incredible transformation from a sweet ingénue to a sophisticated vamp in MBO's
website where Anya's training is chronicled. The Bahamas has not
reached the Miss World finals since 1992 with Jody Weech. Will Anya break this fifteen-year drought?
Héctor is confident that she will. Anya seems to have enchanted the Enchanted Isle, at least all of the designers
and stylists who are working with her and the viewers who saw her in the Puerto Rican TV show "No Te Duermas".
This year's Miss World contest will be fiercer than ever, as there are so many equally beautiful and strong
contenders. CB wishes Anya the best and praises MBO for taking Bahamian pageantry to the next level.
- "Beauty queens should not be appearing on reality TV shows. the world is already ugly enough and to see beauty
queens exposing their ugliness on TV is classless and tacky."
- "I think we should refer to beauty queens here as "Trump's Beauty Bitches". They are the only ones who are ditzy enough
to go along with his craptastic ideas."
- "Reality shows only focus on the ugly side of people, and the more viewers (especially the younger ones) watch
beauty queens dissing each other on TV, the more they'll accept the realization that beauty queens are really "ugly"
queens and thus they are no different from common people. The idea behind pageants is to promote the extraordinary
from a sea of ordinariness; reality shows depreciate the extraordinariness of beauty queens - and apart from their crowns
and titles - they are nothing more than regular women!"
- "Beauty queens are human. They can do what ever they want."
• THE NEW NUESTRA BELLEZA MEXICO is Elisa Nájera Gualito,, left, a 21-year-old six-footer representing
the state of Guanajuato, who was crowned last Friday in Manzanillo, beating thirty-two other women for
the coveted title. She will now represent Mexico in Miss Universe 2008 pageant. Ana Gabriela Espinosa Marroquín,,
representing the state of Nuevo León, placed second and will go to Miss World 2008. The stage set-up was similar
to that of Miss Universe 2007 which consisted of three floors of open boxes where the contestants danced. The
show was co-hosted by Alfredo Adame and Jacqueline Bracamontes, Nuestra Belleza México 2001.
(El Diario de Chihuahua, 10/7/2007)
• DETHRONED : Giannina Silva of Uruguay, who was crowned Miss America Latina last June 15 in Mexico,
was dethroned and replaced by her first runner-up Heidi García Guerrero, left, of Guatemala. Pageant president
Acirema Alayeto stated that Silva accepted to compete in another international pageant in Bolivia
during her reign, which is a violation of her contract. Alayeto explained that the contract explicitly states
that the titleholder cannot participate in public events or accept invitations without the consent of
the pageant president. Silva claimed that it was her decision to give up the crown due to discrepancies
with Alayeto's organization. Alayeto is happy with the new queen: "She is a good representative of
Latin America just by being a professional already. She is a lawyer and speaks three languages -
Italian, English and Spanish." Guerrero was crowned last Thursday. (El Nuevo Diário, Nicaragua,
10/6/2007) 
• THE NEW MISS ITALY is Silvia Battisti, an 18-year-old student from Veneto who was crowned
last September 22 in Salsomaggiore Terme. During her first press conference as Miss Italy, she exclaimed,
"Excuse me if I'm nervous, but this year they elected a girl who is very shy." Battisti is the first
woman from Veneto to win the national title in five years (Eleonora Pedron won in 2002). Battisti
lost nearly five pounds during the competition, but promises to regain them back because she said that
she likes to eat. Her favorite dish: lasagna. The winner of Miss Italy does not compete in any international
pageant. Info from the Miss Italia website.
presented in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)