Now that she's a bona fide international beauty queen, Ximena Navarrete -- aka the newly-crowned Miss Universe 2010 -- gets to do her round-the-world publicity tour, wherein she makes appearances everywhere from state fairs to late night talk shows, and touts her new position and the causes she plans to take up as a result. This week, her responsibilities included making a Top Ten List-delivering appearance on CBS's Late Night With David Letterman -- and we think she did a pretty stand-up job.
What do you think? Are you a Navarrete fan?
Recently in Pageant Category
...Speaking of Miss Universe: Ximena Navarrete wasn't the only contestant to don Sherri Hill on the night of the competition; all of the contestants wore versions of her original bandage dress design in the semifinalist lineup -- and Miss Ireland, Miss Albania and Miss Ukraine all wore Sherri Hill in the evening gown portion of the night.
Check out some additional images of the gowns here!
Earlier this week, Mexico's Jimena Navarrete was crowned Miss Universe 2010. The lovely 22-year-old, who was raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, wowed audiences with her poise, grace, and, of course, her beautiful Sherri Hill gown! Congrats, Ximena! Check out her Sherri Hill design, below:
"The expectation in holding the crown was that she maintain the image she had when she won it," a spokeswoman for the pageant said.
O'Neil, on the other hand, maintains that the organizer told her that she wouldn't go far, in life, because of the teen's alleged attitude (as well as, presumably, her hair color). "Well you better decide, miss," O'Neil said she was told. "Hand over your crown with an attitude like that. I'm sure someone will step into your place with manners."
It's one thing to take away a pageant-winner's crown if she's done something particularly scandalous, or, say, Carrie Prejean-esque. But dying her hair brown? That seems oppressive in a particularly offensive way. What do you guys think? Should a teenage girl -- beauty queen or no -- be discriminated against for going brunette?
It was only a few years ago that Carrie Prejean made a name for herself by using her Miss USA platform to oppose gay rights. But this year, Claire Buffie -- the 24-year-old Miss New York -- is doing just the opposite: She's competing on a gay rights platform.
"My platform is 'Straight for Equality: Let's Talk,'" said Buffie, in a recent interview. "I feel that it's really important to promote equality for all people, "all" being the main word. As a straight ally, I think it's so necessary to have that straight allies' support for the LGBT community. My platform is politically driven in that I think we need political reform for gay rights, but I've really taken it down to organizations like PFLAG where I have the opportunity for personal mentorship."
Duffie also emphasized the importance of breaking through stigmas and undoing stereotypes about all groups of people -- including women who compete in pageants. "Even upon entering my first local for the Miss America organization four years go, I had some of those stereotypes that are very common -- the hairspray, the eyelashes, the glue and the tape, and all those things," she said. "What I found was a group of incredibly intelligent, driven, and service-minded women. I have found my absolute best friends through this organization."
We'll keep an eye out for Miss Buffie as she heads to the main Miss USA event!
According to the article, there are approximately 400 pageants in Colombia every year -- and they've been known to shut down entire towns. Local violence -- an unfortunate mainstay in certain regions throughout the nation -- decreases significantly in weeks leading up to a pageant. "There's still bombs going off," according to Carl Bower, who spent the last 15 years photographing the Colombian pageant circuit, and whose photographic book project, "Chica Barbi," was a finalist for the New York Photo Festival Book Award this year. "People are still being kidnapped. But they still pack the plazas and they still line up for 10 miles of a parade route to see these queens go by."
Check out the story over at the New York Times -- and be sure not to miss Bower's amazing photographs.
Prejean, who was de-crowned as Miss USA 2009 due to violation of her contract, inspired a fair amount of controversy when she condemned gay marriage after winning the crown. Since then, she has been embroiled in a number of mini-scandals: There was a sexually explicit video, illicit pictures, a law suit, and pageant-sponsored breast implants.
So we're happy to hear that her reason for being in the news this time around is less troublesome!
