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 News from Around the Americas | December 2006 
Beauty Pageant Features Prostitutes in Mexico City Neighborhood
 Ioan Grillo - Associated Press
Mexico City — They may not be as tall and slim as the models in Miss Universe. But the prostitutes participating in Mexico City's Miss Meche had just as big smiles.
On Friday, 10 sex workers paraded around a makeshift stage in the poor market Merced neighborhood, showing off homemade dresses and bulging bodies.
The contestants of Miss Meche, an alternative beauty pageant organized by independent prostitute support group Street Brigades, were greeted by applause from a crowd of residents and prizes of around $50 to $100.
But participants said the biggest reward was a lift in their self esteem.
"This is a dream come true," said Miss Meche participant Maria del Valle Cardenas. "I never thought I'd be in a pageant at 35 and with my voluminous body. Physical beauty goes away but the interior remains beautiful."
The contestants designed and made the dresses themselves, many with help their children.
Several of the dresses were made in the traditional style of Mexico's Indian groups, using bright orange and gold colors on loose cotton garments.
Others had more contemporary designs, with one participant attaching hundreds of condoms onto a loose red dress.
The working class Merced neighborhood has a history of prostitution going back to the 16th century. It attracts poor women from all corners of Mexico, many who are illiterate and suffer from exploitation at the hands of pimps and corrupt police.
Street Brigades provides the sex workers with free medical clinic, supports them in getting primary and secondary school diplomas and has started organizing the Miss Meche pageant to give them a boost in confidence.
"It's a question of working with their self esteem. They always given the image that women should be tall, white and with a great body," said Brigade organizer Elvira Madrid. "Here we are all women who love themselves as they are." |
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