On Saturday the Latino Student Association hosted its annual Sabor Latino: Nuestra Belleza Latina.
"Nuestra Belleza Latina," or "Our Latin Beauty," is a reality TV show broadcast on the Spanish network Univision that follows young women competing for a cash price in a contest.
LSA used different aspects of the reality show to host its own beauty pageant in which 20 females, each representing a different Latin American country, competed for the title of Nuestra Belleza Latina. The pageant was hosted by Nuestra Belleze Latina 2010, (freshman Klarissa Garcia) and sophomore Manì Nwaedozie.
A dinner accompanied the pageant and included traditional Latino dishes like white rice, black beans and cheese fajitas. The contestants of the pageant brought entrées to the tables, each flaunting a sash indicating the country she represented.
The pageant began with the introduction of three "celebrity judges" who made a trip all the way to Geneseo: singer Marc Anthony (freshman Kevin Mejia), artist and entertainer Romeo (freshman Anthony Rodriguez) and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi (junior Jessica Vizcarra), who came clad in her signature footwear – slippers.
A video introducing each contestant began the show. Each participant shared something about herself or her country of origin. The night included many small contests, and after each one the judges eliminated more women until the pool dwindled to four.
One competition, titled "Beauty and the Geek," consisted of stereotypical male "nerds" sporting glasses and high-waist pants. Each nerd had to anonymously ask a question to different competitors, and the girls were judged based on their answers. Contestants were then asked to transform their "geeks" into strapping young men. The transformations were successful, and the crowd was begging for more.
In the talent portion of the show, the final four contestants showcased abilities including belly dancing, partner dancing and naming the amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
After the final four showed off their talents, it was up to the audience to choose the winner of Nuestra Belleza. Members of the audience were asked to text message their choice winner to a given phone number.
Miss Dominican Republic (sophomore Lisa Martinez) won the hearts of the audience and was crowned Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011. The celebrity judges jumped in delight as the new Nuestra Belleza Latina reveled in her glory. It was an enchanted night for all in attendance.