Friday evening was Sigma Delta’s first annual event, Nuestra Belleza. It was a great celebration of culture and heritage, as the candidates for the Miss Belleza title represented Ecuador (Adriana Rojas ’12), Peru (Marianela Chavez ’11), Mexico (Jesenia Lucero ’11), Columbia (Andrea Polanco ’12), Germany (Michelle Cruz ’12), the Dominican Republic (Chantel Columna ’13), and Puerto Rico (Diane Perdomo ’11). The event was filled with fun and even some Spanish food during intermission. The RPI Ballroom Team also stepped in for a Samba performance.
The judges—Miss RPI 2007 Gladys Montero, Edwin Droz ’03, Frances Rivera, and Jeremy Altschuler—scored the girls on traditional wear, talents, gala wear, and questions. For traditional wear, each candidate wore traditional dresses where elements of the dresses symbolized different components of their countries. Some of the girls even sewed their own dresses for the occasion.
The talent portion was an extreme celebration of culture. Miss Mexico danced a traditional dance with Ricardo Cantu ’10. Miss Columbia performed a colorful dance as the crowd cheered and clapped rhythmically. Miss Germany sang “Good Man” by India Arie. Miss Dominican Republic danced a national folk dance with Modesto de la Cruz ’09 as they worked the stage. Miss Puerto Rico sang to “Como Te Olvido” by Luis Fonsi, to much cheering from the crowd. Finally, Miss Ecuador served ceviche to the judges to critique her cooking skills.
Aside from showcasing their talents, the girls also had to prove that they are knowledgeable about their countries. Miss Ecuador answered questions about the effects of corruption in her country and solutions that she thinks would be instrumental to change. Rojas replied that corruption is detrimental to the job market in Ecuador and hurts the economy, whereby 50 percent of the middle class is at high risk. Rojas supports educational efforts in her country as she sees education as the path towards self-governing.
Miss Peru was asked about the economic struggle in her nation, the third largest nation in South America. Chavez sees inflation as the leading cause of this struggle, impacting over 5.2 billion people in her country. Miss Mexico was asked about human trafficking for the purpose of cheap labor and identified it as a huge problem; 40 percent of the people trafficked are under the age of 18 when they are lured with false hopes for opportunity. Lucero identifies education as the key to helping Mexicans recognize this problem and help provide legal and psychological assistance to these victims.
Miss Columbia was asked about crime organizations in her country where violence over land and money has escalated that statistically one in four children will be kidnapped every hour to serve in militant groups. Miss Germany was asked about the rising tensions between the Turkish and German communities in Germany. Cruz identified that acquiring citizenship in Germany is extremely difficult, as it requires eight years of residency, 500 hours of German community service, and knowledge of the German Constitution. This difficulty has created a cultural divide in Germany and increased intolerance between the Muslim and German communities. Miss Dominican Republic was asked about drug trafficking as the biggest and most common problem in her country. Miss Puerto Rico was asked about the battle with AIDS in her country.
The girls certainly did not fail to impress with their brains, beauty, and talent. The winner of the title Miss Belleza and a $100 gift award was Perdomo, Miss Puerto Rico. Miss Dominican Republic was second, winning $50, and Miss Columbia was third, winning $25. All in all, it was a very successful night of fun and cultural awareness.
