“My values are intact and no one can take that away from me,” she said.

Among them was Oxlaniela Oropeza, a law student, who said the recent Miss Venezuela scandal hadn’t quashed her ambitions. Fernando Llano / AP fileĪs the nation plummets into economic ruin, even more young women are holding fast to dreams of becoming beauty queens.Īt a recent casting for the Nuestra Belleza Venezuela contest, a pack of teens and 20-something women donned towering heels and coated their lips in glossy pink hues before strutting in front of judges. At the casting, a pack of teens and 20-something women donned towering heels and coated their lips in glossy pink hues before strutting in front of judges. Contestants return their identification numbers after a casting for Miss Our Beauty Venezuela Contest, at a hotel in Caracas, Venezuela on June 23, 2018. When the annual Miss Venezuela pageant is aired on television, millions tune in, paralyzed in suspense as contestants parade on stage in neon-colored bikinis while their measurements are read aloud and they answer questions like how they would draw people back to the waning Roman Catholic church. News Marysol Castro, Mets' first female PA announcer and MLB's first Latina, hits it out of the parkĪfter oil, beauty queens may be Venezuela’s biggest export: Women from the South American nation have captured seven Miss Universe titles and crown holders have gone on to notable careers as actresses, journalists and even presidential candidates. Earlier this year the Miss Venezuela pageant was rocked by accusations that some contenders finance their journey to the crown by finding wealthy men to pay for gowns and surgeries in exchange for sex. In Venezuela, competing comes at a high price: Elaborate sequined gowns and pricey cosmetic surgeries are out of reach for most in a country where inflation is running in the five digits and state workers earn about $3 a month. While growing concern about sexism and the rise of the #MeToo movement recently led the Miss America contest to drop swimsuit competitions and emphasize personal accomplishment, in Latin America young women continue to flock to competitions where good looks are unabashedly championed above all else. 'It's something beautiful to see them compete and share their talent with the world.' Fernando Llano / AP 'It's inspiring,' she said, her lips curling into a smile at the memory. Colls still remembers watching the Miss Venezuela pageant with her family at 6-years-old and then stealing her mom's high heels to imitate the beauty queens on screen.

“I accomplished what I set out to achieve.” Johandrys Colls, left, speaks with her sister Camila on the balcony of their home, in a slum on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela on July 1, 2018. “These sashes represent a huge accomplishment for me,” says the skinny teen with dark brown eyes as she pushes her long black hair from one side to another.

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