"Africans, Asians and Europeans Pushed Aside in Moscow’s Miss Universe Contest"

"Hello, Miss Universe Jury! Beauty and charm come in all colors and accents! 

Here is Miss Ethiopia, Mhadere Tigabe, a 21-year-old student from Addis Abba."

James Brooke/VOA, 12-Nov-2013: OK, I did not interview Miss Venezuela. I did not think the Miss Universe jury in Moscow would really fall for the latest plastic product of Venezuela’s beauty queen assembly lines.

Last week, at a press availability for the Misses, I could not fail to miss Miss Venezuela, Maria Gabriela Isler. Her blinding white teeth made me want to put on dark glasses. Her princess gait made the other Misses look like peasants. Earlier, at a night club “night out with the contestants,” I noticed she had a skillful way of elbowing her way to the front of the cameras.

But, early on Moscow’s Sunday morning, the Miss Universe diamond tiara landed once again on the head of a Miss Venezuela — for the third time in six years.

The fact that it kept sliding off Maria Gabriela’s leonine locks might have been a signal that the jury made the wrong call.

Out of 86 contestants from around the globe, the jury winnowed the race down to a ‘diverse’ group of five Latinas: Miss Spain, Miss Ecuador, Miss Venezuela, Miss Brazil, and Miss Philippines. (The Philippines are sometimes called Spain’s gift to Asia).

Read the entire review @ the VOA website.