THE SHOW begins with current titleholder Rina Messinger as she comes down the staircase of the Presidential Palace and then takes a royal coach to the theater where the pageant is held. She gets off the coach and, with the marine band and the president of the Dominican Republic behind her, walks all the way to the stage. Children with maracas enter from the back and march onto the stage. They are followed by folk dancers, by the Dominican army dressed as Roman soldiers, and then finally by the candidates who sashay down the aisles from the back doors.

      Helen O'Connell, wearing a bright red gown, is introduced. Bob Barker appears wearing a white tux. The pageant theme song, "Republica Dominicana", plays in the background. The Parade of Nations begins with Miss Antigua. Miss Bermuda is pretty, but her beauty is spoiled by a large gap in her teeth. Miss Colombia has got to have the most beautiful face in the pageant; her porcelain skin is simply radiant. Another beautiful face belongs to Miss India. Miss Greece looks regal wearing a tiara. Miss Trinidad & Tobago, Janelle Commissiong (earlier voted as Miss Photogenic), enters the stage wearing the most attractive costume - an irridiscent silver piece with gigantic pair of wings. This year, we see the first-time appearance of the delegates from St. Kitts and St. Lucia.

      The parade of nations is followed by the swimsuit segment that takes place in Casa de Campo. The girls are presented in geographical sections, beginning with the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Miss Greece looks stunning with her long black hair down. Misses Nicaragua and Brazil did not smile to the camera. There were no average scores shown on the screen.

      After the swimsuit segment, Bob Barker announces the twelve semi-finalists in this order: SCOTLAND (Sandra Bell), TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (Janelle Commissiong), USA (Kim Tomes), GERMANY(Marie-Luise Gassen), VENEZUELA (Cristal del Mar Montañez Arocha), AUSTRIA (Eva Maria Duringer), SPAIN (Luz Maria Polegre Hernández), ARGENTINA (Maritza Elizabet Jurado), NICARAGUA (Beatriz Obregón Lacayo), COLOMBIA (Aura Maria Mójica), HOLLAND (Ineke Berends) and the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Blanca Aurora Sardinas). From the interviews, we find out some interesting anecdotes. Miss Trinidad & Tobago lived in New York City for ten years and had just returned to live in her country for one year. When Bob asked Miss Germany which English words she knew, she responded by saying, "I need a drink." Miss Austria, who spoke little English, showed Bob how to hitchhike. Miss Holland, aged 25, looks incredibly much younger for her age; her beauty is reminiscent of ex-James Bond girl, Lois Chiles. Two of the interviews would rather seem politically incorrect today.

      When Bob asks Miss Nicaragua which English words she knows, she replies, "I want a kiss." Bob replies back in Spanish, "Más tarde, chica." ("Later, girl.") Bob, fearing that he might get public reprisal, quickly interjects, "You know I didn't mean that!" Miss Colombia, who also doesn't speak English, is coaxed by Bob to say "Yes" and "No", which she does. Then Bob points to his nose and asks her in Spanish: "Cuál es ésto?" Perplexed, Miss Colombia replies, "No sé" ("I don't know."). Nose - when pronounced phonetically - sounds very much like "No sé." Due perhaps to the time constraint, Bob rushed his interviews with the last four semifinalists - Spain, Venezuela, USA and Scotland - the average interview time being forty-five seconds.

      The interviews are followed by the introduction of the judges that included Marisol Malaret, Miss Universe 1970. During the swimsuit competition, each semi-finalist used a big hat as an accessory and none - except Miss Dominican Republic - knew how to carry it with panache. Miss Spain tried to put the hat on twice, but it wouldn't sit on her head. A footage of events around the Dominican Republic follows the swimsuit segment. Then all the candidates perform a medley in different languages - in salsa style. Leo Sayer's "You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'" plays in the background.

      Helen O'Connell introduces former Miss Universes: Corinna Tsopie of Greece (1964), Margaretta Arvidsson of Sweden (1966) and Anne Pohtamo of Finland (1975). During the evening gown competition, the semi-finalists are serenaded by a local balladeer; each of them is presented a flower by a little girl. Bob does not call out the names of the girls - perhaps so as not to interfere with the balladeer's singing. He does, however, reintroduces them as they approach a circle. Helen briefly comments on each candidate's personal background while the camera shows a full-face and profile shots of her on split screen. After the judges have taken their last look at the semi-finalists, Bob makes a terrible gaffe when he says, "Judges, please pick the five finalists for the Miss USA crown!" He realizes his mistake and apologizes afterwards.

      Bob announces the five finalists, each of whom picks a question from Bob's hand. Each finalist responded very well. The question that Miss Trinidad & Tobago picked was as follows: "What country would you like to visit and why?" - to which she responds - "I think the Far East because currently it's becoming a very industrialized country and also because of the culture." A simple and pragmatic answer, though one wonders whether Janelle knew the difference between a country and a region.

      Rina Messinger does her final walk and gives a farewell speech. Bob announces the final placements: The fourth runner-up is Miss Germany, third runner-up is Miss Colombia (personally, I would have chosen her as the winner), second runner-up is Miss Scotland, first runner-up is Miss Austria, and the new Miss Universe is Miss Trinidad & Tobago. Just before Janelle's name is mentioned as winner, Miss Austria tried to kiss Janelle, but Janelle is taken aback. When her name is pronounced as the winner, Janelle does not cry and keeps on smiling.

      The production, at best, is lively and energetic. It is very common, when the pageant takes place in a foreign country, that producers showcase on stage several elements that are representative of the host country's culture. Rina's journey from the Presidential Palace to the theater is unique; such a segment has never been staged before in the pageant's history. We see Rina mounting on a coach, and as the coach approaches the theater, Dominicans in all shapes and sizes honor Rina with cheers and flowers as if she's their Queen. The image of Rina leading the president and the marine band into the theater speaks volumes; how many beauty queens have done the same?

Photo courtesy of Beauty School

Text by Rafael Robert Delfin.

---

2006 CRITICAL BEAUTY. All rights reserved.