1989 THE CARIBBEAN REGION of Mexico's Yucatán peninsula hosted the
seventy-six delegates to the 1989 contest. Cancun (in the Mexican state of
Quintana Roo) was the venue. The Little Sisters of Mexico sat on the steps of a
Mayan pyramid to salute the Top Ten with the You Are My Star
anthem. There is a fade-out to the tender moment the delegates first
meet their Little Sisters prior to the telecast. At the foot of the
pyramid and after receiving a pink rose, each Miss executes an unflattering
mini-catwalk strut at center stage. Up until that point in MU history,
the contestants were required to gracefully stroll around in a small
circle instead. This microscopic deviation from protocol was a telling sign
of things to come in the late 1990's (when the pageant gets "Trumped").
1990 SEMI-FINALISTS AND THEIR LITTLE SISTERS
1990 THE LITTLE SISTERS' getup stole the show this year. Since the venue was
Hollywood, what better costumes than the black-and-white polka-dotted
Shirley Temple dresses (lollipops not included)? Elegance wed pure kitsch
as each of the semi-finalists stepped down from a high pedestal and
descended some very steep-looking stairs to receive a rose from a
Little Sister. Haute couture made an alliance with ethnic pride. Miss India
wore a gold/copper foil gown and she moved as seductively as a king
cobra. Miss
Turkey showcased her Middle Eastern heritage by modeling a coral
harem-style satin pantsuit accessorized by an ivory-colored sheer
gauze
opera coat. I loved how you could still read Miss Turkey's banner
through
the transparent material. Miss USA Carole Gist (the first
African/American
to represent the USA**) had a sparkling red gown especially made to
complement her dark skin. The eventual winner, Miss Norway, was the
epitome of a cake-top bridesmaid in a white strapless with a white
rosette
and bow attached at the waist.
**Halle Berry (aka Catwoman) represented the United States at the 1986
Miss World pageant in London. She acquired this distinction upon
becoming
the 1st runner-up at the 1986 Miss USA pageant.
1991 By 1991 (Las Vegas), it seems like the Little Sisters concept was
never going to grow up and get out, just like Peter Pan. In reference to
Peter Pan, the sisters wore ankle-length "Wendy" night shifts with black
shoes and white stockings. What happened to the white Mary Janes? As much
as we adore the Little Sisters, we the fans are noticing that they are
beginning to become just a wee bit stale. I'm surprised they managed to cling on
for a few more years.
1992
"THE KING AND I" meets Miss Universe in Bangkok,
Thailand. Seventy-eight
little Thai girls in native costume sit around a Buddhist temple from
which the ten semi-finalists emerge.
The only three semi-finalists wearing red gowns became the Top Three:
Misses Namibia, Colombia, and India. Miss Namibia and Miss Colombia
"carried off" their gowns with the most queenly grace, but Miss India
executed her runway walk with a hint of urgency. As the only 'Asian'
semi-finalist however, we did appreciate how adeptly she greeted her
Little Sister in the Thai custom of placing the palms together and
bowing. Modeling a Grecian-style aquamarine strapless with a silver
bust, a raven-haired Miss Venezuela rendered a Thai 'greeting' which
appeared somewhat affected and not as natural or authentic as Miss
India's.
Miss Australia wore a silver strapless accentuating the ends of her
blonde hair cut in a severely straight line. Although her hairline was
indeed stern, Miss Australia's expression was continually wide-eyed and
innocent. The other semi-finalist from Oceania, Miss New Zealand, wore
a gown that resembled something short of a magician's assistant
costume. It was a downright 'déclassé' outfit bathed in an emerald green glitter.
During the semi-final interviews, Miss New Zealand impressed me as
cocky and self-assured without being arrogant. Her confidence alone, though,
would not rescue her from her choice of evening gown. Miss Belgium, a
blonde Betty Boop, followed Miss New Zealand's example with the
exception that Miss Belgium opted to show off much more cleavage.
A painfully shy creature in the form of Miss Sweden with classic
Scandinavian looks timidly stepped down from the Buddhist temple in an
austere, medieval-looking snow-white tunic. She instantly reminded me
of the character of Desdemona in my favorite of all Shakespearean plays,
"Othello." The most tender moment of this year's presentation
occurred when the Little Sister accompanying Miss USA (a California blonde)
waved to the audience as if she were Miss Universe and Miss USA was merely
her "Big Sister"!!!
1993 SEMI-FINALISTS AND THEIR LITTLE SISTERS
1993
PRETTY MUCH a repeat of the 1989 presentation in Cancun. Although I am
not very proud of the boisterous manner in which the Mexico City audience
booed and heckled the Top Ten (namely Miss USA) simply because Miss
Mexico did not advance to the semi-finals.
Miss Colombia: I liked her very long hair when it was down for the
interview and swimsuit competitions. For the evening gown segment,
she simply looked too "ghetto" for my taste. Too much make-up and the poor
thing could barely walk in those six-inch heels and heavy, cumbersome
train. Miss Colombia possessed striking, dark ethnic features and the
black evening gown did not bring them out well, I think. Unbecoming
plum-colored lipstick as well.
Miss Australia: The single, curly bang was quite distracting. She
wore it all night.
Miss India: The copper-colored gown reminded me of the one worn by
Miss India in 1990.
Miss Spain: Her large protruding eyes and the slimming gown with the
veil trimmed with feathers made Miss Spain look like a rare, tropical
jungle bird. The sky-blue feathers around her neck did it.
Miss Czech Republic: Her simple and stark black dress matched her dark
hair and eyes to make this Miss resemble the kinder of Cinderella's
step-sisters. Miss Czechoslovakia was the blonde version in
1990.
Miss Puerto Rico: The future Mrs. Marc Anthony made use of her train
trailing her white strapless by making it 'float' during her
ten-second
spot in the limelight. Miss Puerto Rico 1995 was more effective in
executing this "flourish."
Miss USA: Others may vehemently disagree, but I loved the
mango-yellow
gown worn by Miss USA. I appreciate contestants wearing new and
exciting
colors at pageants plagued by the old stand-by colors of black and
white.
Miss Brazil: This contestant was reminiscent of the epoch when beauty
delegates actually resembled debutantes. It takes a special lady to
work
the "butterfly wings" of this ballgown the way Miss Brazil did.
Miss Finland: Another debutante look-alike. The overstated opera
gloves
and the large medallion gracing her throat were the accessories that
made
Miss Finland's gown.
Miss Venezuela: Many critics at the time observed that Venezuela's
Miss
looked "titanic" with the huge bell-shaped skirt. All I noticed was
that
her Little Sister almost tripped trying to escape the ample
mandarin-orange folds of the infamously large skirt.
1994 THIS WAS the Year of the Little Sister (in Manila, Philippines). A
glorious sunset glowing through an elaborate gateway was the setting
from which the Top Ten emerged to be serenaded with the eighth, and final,
version of You Are My Star. The Little Sisters assigned to the ten
semi-finalists also acted as standard-bearers since, for the first
time ever, the Top Ten appeared without banners during an evening gown
competition. At the end of the telecast, the Manila Little Sisters
occupied a prominent place of honor in the front part of the stage
during the crowning of Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen of India. As the final
credits roll, we see the Little Sisters disperse and float across the
stage in their swan-white Filipina mestiza costumes.
1995 BY 1995, THE LITTLE SISTERS were unfortunately regarded as an
afterthought. In that final year, the pageant was held for the first
time in continental Africa. Namibia was the country of choice since MU
1992 hailed from this new nation on the Atlantic coast. The You Are My
Star anthem had been dropped in favor of Deep Forest's Forest Hymn. The
New Age musical selection was a refreshing (and appropriate) change for many. The scene was the
vast Namibian desert under moonlight and the very last Little Sister to accompany a semi-finalist in an evening gown
competition was the one assigned to Miss USA (and by the end of the
night, Miss Universe) Chelsi Smith.
By JUAN PRADO
PHOTO CREDITS: MISS UNIVERSE FINAL WALKS AND CROWNINGS, GETTY IMAGES
OCTOBER 2004
