How many of us have watching a Miss America competition on TV? I think I've probably seen it on once or twice, but never have made it more than 30 minutes before finding it pretty unbearable. It just feels so objectifying, and like it's pitting females against one another.
So, how did I find myself being a judge at a beauty pageant last night, in a town I've never been to, until 1am? Long story short, there's this sweet shaman who always runs into me and other interns at the bus terminal. He always wants to chat, and last time he ran into my friend, Kati, he was telling her about this "Queen's ceremony" that he wanted Kati and I to "commemorate"? Kati told me this, and I immediately thought it sounded sketchy. Why would this town want these random Americans who have never visited to come in and judge a culture they are just getting to know? I decided to leave it be, and that it was a passing idea that he must have had that wouldn't come to fruition. Fast forward to yesterday morning, I get a call from an unknown number that I don't answer. A minute later, a text from Kati pops up: someone called her, too, but she answered. It was a woman saying that they were going to pick us both up at 7pm that evening, and take us to the competition. We would be judging the girls, and they'd drop us off when it ends. Kati and I were both feeling a bit confused on why they wanted us to judge. I didn't want to show up and be intruding on their event. But Kati said she was going, so I said, screw it. When will I ever get the chance to do this again? So at 7:45, an unusually nice car picked us up from Santa Rita and zoomed us to the event. It took place in a large gym, but was really done up nice. A good amount of people were in attendance, I would say close to two hundred, and the stage was decorated with plants and colored lights. We sat in the front in these large chairs, placed awkwardly far apart from one another. What did we get ourselves into, I couldn't believe where I was. This thing was way more organized than I thought it would be, with a full sound system, and a crew putting the whole thing together. It was nice to have Kati with me, so every once in a while we could look over at each other and laugh, mouthing, what is happening right now? The event was long, and ended being a competition both for Miss Seed and for Miss Fruit. We were judging Miss Fruit, while the other girls were getting judged on these choreographed traditional dances and clothing. Those girls did not mess around- full yucca trees were brought on stage (and harvested) for the performances, as well as small chickens (who then ran off the stage and had to be chased). Kati and I got to enjoy those performances, but instead, judge the Miss Fruit girls, who had a swimsuit category, traditional dress category, and gown category. The girls ranged from 15-17 years old. They were so young, but poised. I watched them fight nerves the whole time, while trying to strut in big heels half naked in front of their community. It brought me back to the most insecure years of my life, and how I would have crumbled in this setting. I felt so weird judging them, seeing as I would never take part in something like this at home. But trust me, this whole event was absolutely worth it. The girls were all really sweet, as was the rest of the community. And to keep everyone awake and excited, after every couple of performances, an artist would come on and sing or play an instrument. We'd all get up and dance, sometimes with other welcoming judges, or with Kati, or other times with complete strangers. I had one man from Tena speak with me completely in English (he works in the tourism industry), and another very drunk man only laugh with me in Spanish about how tall I was, dancing with me in such awkward positions that I couldn't stop laughing. After about 5 hours of judging, Kati and I were beat. I've only stayed up past 11pm once since getting to Ecuador, so I definitely pushed my limits. But finally, a little after 1am, they crowned their winners. All of the girls were sweet and respectful, some a little teary eyed. We got a taxi ride home, and just then, I felt my mouth hurting from how much I had smiled all night. I don't think I stopped laughing or smiling the whole time, at the absurdity and serendipity and beauty of it all. So, overall, not a huge fan of judging people, but a huge fan of Ecuadorian beauty pageants.
1 Comment
Mariam
3/14/2019 02:24:04 pm
What a hilariously cute experience and can very much imagine you giggling while dancing with strangers :)
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AuthorI'm a 21 year old university student, studying geography and food security, and spending a semester in Ecuador interning with Amazon Learning. ArchivesCategories |