Beauty on the Inside
September 27, 2008 · Print This Article
Months of anticipation and days of training have led a select group of women to this shining moment. Crowds are gathering at the stage, the celebrity judges have been shuffled in through the side door and there is a blur of Press Passes and Hairdressers. Preparations have been made and the final touches are put on the next beauty to be crowned. The lights go up, spectators roar and the emcee steps to the microphone, ‘Please welcome to the stage, the beautiful contestants representing your cell blocks.’
Enter La Corona (The Crown). The Academy Award Nominated Documentary by Isabel Vega and Amanda Micheli that takes you inside the National Women’s Penitentiary in Bogotá, Colombia for their annual Beauty Pageant. The contestants are women serving time for crimes that range from armed robbery to a contract killer. Every year, these women, and others like them spend weeks practicing their catwalk, choosing their gown and perfecting their talent in the hope of winning the crown, and making their cell block proud.
I was instantly fascinated and intrigued as the concept of a Prison Beauty Pageant never entered my plane of thought. It took me several viewings of La Corona for my eyes to disregard the steel bars and see through at the women being contained by them. What I felt was both sadness and absurdity. I was as equally moved as I was disturbed by an already exploitative practice being celebrated in such a dark place.
This isn’t an isolated event in Bogotá; it’s happening every year in correctional facilities all over the world from Brazil to Siberia. In some contests, you actually win nothing; some are rewarded with money and others with reduced sentencing (yes, indeed - time shaved off for being judged the prettiest lil prisoner). All operated under the same guise of providing incarcerated women with a greater sense of self-esteem, worth and preserving all that is beautiful.
I myself have never embraced the idea that beauty pageants raise levels of self esteem, even under the most normal conditions. I appreciate that some enjoy indulging in that circle, but I question how the gains outweigh the losses for the majority of its participants. In the case of these women, exactly how much self esteem could possibly be developed inside their caged walls? I understand it’s a distraction to their reality - but it doesn’t change it.
Contestant Angie Jimenez admits, “…you can’t erase all your problems, how you feel inside just because you have to learn how to do the catwalk. You can’t because this place is horrible.” She has a young son on the outside. On visiting day she tells him she is in school, and cannot leave until she finishes all of her homework. She is serving 2 years for Armed Robbery, and she’s been there exactly 18 days.
What replaced some of the initial ridiculousness I felt towards this practice is the Human Factor. Imprisoned in a country wrapped in violence, guerilla warfare, drugs and unemployment, can I condemn them for the desire to celebrate something as being beautiful? Even if it is only comes once in a year. Not every criminal is created equal under such conditions. Take a step back however, and they are still criminals.
Contestant Maira Medina has been described as a tiger in the zoo. Beautiful to look at, but you would never turn your back on her. She is in the midst of her 8 year sentence for homicide. Leaving home at 14, she landed in one wrong crowd after another, eventually taking money as a contract killer. This is her second year entering the pageant.
***Spoiler Alert***
Coronation Day arrives and the women are all on stage facing their panel of celebrity judges; soap opera and reality TV stars who have come to join the festivities. At last the victory goes to cell block #9. Angela Valoyes is declared the winner and then crowned by last year’s fair lady, who is still serving time in Bogotá. Angela robbed grocery stores at gunpoint for food money after losing her husband, a soldier in the country’s brutal civil war. Today she is Queen, and she is hoisted back on the shoulders of her cell mates. Today she is happy.
When we are introduced to Angela Valoyes she shares, “When I get out of here, everything will change. God had to teach me a lesson that material things don’t matter. What matters is to be together, even if you can only eat bread. What matters most is family”.
One month after winning the Annual Pageant, Angela was released from The National Women’s Penitentiary for time served. Soon after, she was murdered on the streets of Bogotá.
With the crown still in her name, the women of Bogotá are left wondering of next year; and who will be Queen.
There you have it. Now, your thoughts? Sympathies? Lack there of? What do you think of Prisons holding Beauty Pageants? How about Beauty pageants in general, do they create gender and class divisions, or build self esteem?
On 09/27/08 at 4:21 am
lisaq said:
Whoa! I don’t even know what to think! That’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard before. I suppose you do what you have to do in that situation to make it through. I am saddened by Angela’s story. In her case, the whole thing seems like a vicious cycle of sad events which eventually led to her death. Perhaps winning the crown was the one little thing that was a bright spot.
As for pageants in general, I think it’s a whatever. If that’s what the women enter want and what is important to them, more power to them. I do have an issue with pageants for little girls ala Jon Bennet Ramsey as they really have no choice. It’s a mom thing. Moms trying to live vicariously through their little girls dressing them up, dolling them up, trying to make them grow up too quickly.
On 09/27/08 at 4:28 am
Meghan said:
Lisa! I know! You beat even me to the punch, but I have yet to understand the range of my emotions from this film.
I think we would all (maybe not) nod a giant nay in the way of Jonbenet like youth pageants. But the practice even creeps me out in the older set.
On 09/27/08 at 4:30 am
Meghan said:
Good Saturday all…
Anyone seen La Corona? I watched it again twice last night, and even after the Debate there was still a level of shock present!
On 09/27/08 at 5:47 am
Jacqueline said:
A must-see, tho I haven’t seen yet!
You can see sorta the same thing by attending a kiddie beauty paegeant. I assure you those kids are NOT there of their own free will…at least after the first few experiences. “Little Miss Sunshine” was great but didn’t go far enough. I have been unfortunate enuf to share ladies’ room in hotel w/kiddie-beauty contestants. Dogs at a dog show fare better.
At least the incarcerated lovelies have free choice of whether to participate.
On 09/27/08 at 8:18 am
Meghan said:
Yes. Child Beauty Pageants scare me. And do the mothers that wrangle their kids in and coach them every year. It’s a bit terrrifying.
They had free will to participate, and did so with great excitement. But the aftermath of losing seemed so depressing to me.
On 09/27/08 at 5:53 am
Matty said:
Haven’t seen it and never heard of it actually. They actually can get reduced sentences if they win? It’s a good thing Aileen Wuornos didn’t participate in one, but then again, she was so fugly she could make a clock stop by looking at it.
On 09/27/08 at 8:19 am
Meghan said:
Well, in some prisons they get some reduced sentencing. I read that a heroin mule in Siberia got time shaved off her sentence for winning her Miss Captivity Pageant.
Creative name, ay?
On 09/27/08 at 6:25 am
~Lori~ said:
This is the most screwed up thing, I think I have ever heard of. It’s bad enough in our society that we have these beauty pageants, that do nothing but teach our daughters that beauty is only skin deep. Instead of the fact it comes in all shapes, sizes, and form… from inside out. You can be drop dead gorgeous by the societies standards, but if you have a heart that is black as nite, it will show. Just too superficial.
Then on top of it, to do this in a prison?! WTF? Some people end up in them due to circumstances/desperate times, but others they really deserve to be there.
So lets reward the ones with a specific beauty, reduced sentence? I don’t think so… I’m offended by this on so many levels it is not even funny.
On 09/27/08 at 8:21 am
Meghan said:
It was a wild documentary. Only about 40 minutes long because both the filmmakers had trouble getting in to shoot there every day; and if it were any longer it might have been unwatchable.
It had every other aspect of pageantry as well. Jealousy among the girls, racial tensions, fighting over getting the right gown, suspecting the judging panel was corrupt. All while they are serving time in Bogota.
On 09/27/08 at 6:44 am
Kiki said:
I remember seeing a trailer for this a while ago, and my first thought was “Holy Crap!”… it reminded me a little of that other Brazilian movie “Maria Full of Grace”. Women in poverty in South America have few options for survival, and it is really disturbing to see them resort to prostitution, drugs, and now violent crime almost on even even par with men. It’s upsetting as women are seen as the more gentle and nurturing sex, and for them to resort to such atrocities is harder to accept than a man doing the same. Double standards? Are we just more “used” to men committing those crimes?
There are soooooo many things wrong with Beauty Pageants, never mind ones that take place in a prison. I don’t buy the whole “It’s a scholarship fund, it’s to help them in life, it’s to make them feel beautiful” crap. No it’s not. It’s hyper-sexualized and superficial, not to mention vicious.
And prisons, I thought, were an institution established to take away liberties as a punishment for committing a crime against society. The best proven method so far to actually help those in prison NOT to commit more crimes on release is to get an education. These women need empowering, so they don’t fall between the cracks when they get out. It’s so sad that their time inside is not used more constructively. Tragic really.
On 09/27/08 at 8:26 am
Meghan said:
I agree. Unfortunately I’m not aware of any other programs at this facility that might be educational or create personal development in the women. I’m sure they must have them, but they werent the focus.
There are prisons in the Ukraine that give awards for writing, and other correctional facilities that supplement their pageants with constructive educational classes.
It is superficial, and what concerned me is that it is happening in so many countries that there is already a great divide between class and gender!
On 09/27/08 at 9:13 am
Kiki said:
Exactly. The class/gender issue is huge here, as is the socio-economic situation. Poverty = fewer options = poor decisions = crime. Also these prisons are horrible places, but they are a punishment not a vacation. My main issue with prisons is the fact there are so few resources available to help the inmates better themselves so they don’t just go and repeat their criminal behaviour when they leave. I don’t think they should have tv and other entertainment etc. I think they should have access to education and excercise, along with their basic human rights to food and shelter. But if you make prisons too comfortable, too hotel-like, how is that a deterrence to committing crime in the first place? And how do you determine which inmates deserve a second chance or have changed? Sometimes they are just nasty people who deserve incarceration!
Early release and parole should be earned through constructive behaviour not superficial activities or entertainment. That just makes a mockery of the whole system.
On 09/27/08 at 9:31 am
Meghan said:
Well, this place is no hotel, I assure you that!
It was a way to distract the women, this center having so little resources as it was.
I also find it odd that many of the places I found these pageants, women are already second class citizens, valued only for their beauty and fertility. It was interesting to see it extend itself all the way into cell block #9.
And although I only found such events in other countries, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in the US. In our reality TV obsessed culture, anything is possible.
On 09/27/08 at 1:00 pm
Kiki said:
I think you hit the nail on the head with the whole distraction thing. That place must be so insanely depressing, so nasty, that the women there have to find some hope/joy in something. I youtubed some clips and wow. Makes me appreciate my lot in life that’s for sure.
On 09/27/08 at 1:21 pm
Meghan said:
Its after the pageant that throws me.
The whole getting the press and celebrity judges inside the prison threw me for a loop. But stranger things have happened in the American Reality TV.
I saw some of the you tube clips…some moments in the film you really see how delicate some of these women can be. I count myself extremely lucky.
On 09/27/08 at 7:44 am
Karl Rove said:
I think it’s fine that they have the beauty pageants, but I don’t like the idea of them getting reduced sentences if they win. That’s not exactly the same as getting time off for good behavior. If there was a different prize then I would endorse the idea. How about a meal of their choosing? Or extra time to visit with their family?
Personally, I have problems with the prison systems of most countries.
On 09/27/08 at 8:31 am
Meghan said:
I had to ask myself, what’s the big deal if this is the way they choose to spend some of their time? Why is it any different from men in a Male penitentiary pumping iron in the yard?
I think it struck a pageantry nerve with me. I definitely went through a range of emotion.
And yes, in Siberia they appear to have the chance at early parole seeing as their pageant falls under ‘demonstrating good behavior’. You get money in Lithuania - after you are released only.
In Bogota, they just get an adorned crown.
On 09/27/08 at 4:05 pm
Karl Rove said:
Oh, I just assumed that it was Bogota that had the early release program. My bad.
I don’t exactly like pageants (those Little Miss Sunshine girls still freak me out), but I guess if I were in their position, I’d probably want a distraction from looking at my cell wall all day.
On 09/27/08 at 4:10 pm
Meghan said:
Little Miss Sunshine girls are just plain wrong no matter how you cut it. Anyone that suggested to me I gussy my little girl up like an Elliot Spitzer collectors hooker doll would get a slap.
It’s just not right.
On 09/27/08 at 12:12 pm
The Striped Avenger said:
I can understand your interest in writing about a beauty pageant, but why prison? Are there any atrocities planned that I should know about?
On 09/27/08 at 12:26 pm
Meghan said:
No atrocities until the October 2, Biden/Palin debate. I may just go ripshit then.
You have no opinion on the Bogota Beauties? Personally I found the whole thing unnerving.
On 09/27/08 at 4:06 pm
Karl Rove said:
I’m so mad that I’ll be missing the debate on October 2nd. I’ll be in NYC in the audience for Late Night with Conan O’Brien, then catching a bus back to Boston as the debate starts.
On 09/27/08 at 4:12 pm
Meghan said:
Damn! Tivo, Rove? You can probably catch a live feed off your phone somehow if you have that kind of gadget.
Thats one of the things I did on my first trip to NYC, Conan. It was awesome, and I got some cheesy blue screen picture that makes it look like I am sitting at his desk.
Re-tah-did!
On 09/27/08 at 11:21 pm
Karl Rove said:
Oh, so what’s the taping like? I heard something about the audience getting free t-shirts or something like that. Probably not true.
And I am all for getting a blue screen picture of me behind Conan’s desk. Where do you get it?
On 09/28/08 at 5:47 am
Meghan said:
You know what! It was 1999, but I DID get a free T-shirt! LOL! Got the picture at a Rockefeller Plaza gift shop for NBC or something.
On 09/27/08 at 5:09 pm
Vic said:
All of that craziness just sorts out who gets to be the first one to be raped by the guards the following morning.
No offense, but who really gives a shit if these inmates are lacking their chances for self-actualization or are a little short in their senses of self-esteem. Go see the prison shrink. Go read some self-help books from the prison library.
Get. Real.
On 09/27/08 at 5:25 pm
Meghan said:
Got opinions?
I know…I was completely thrown as to why it is so important for these places to play pretty once a year.
Not sure how broad the largest prison in Colombia’s library is…but I do think that just about any other activity could replace a beauty pageant and might actually add to their lives.
I’ve watched it over and over.
On 09/27/08 at 7:12 pm
Missygail said:
Majorly screwed up.
On 09/27/08 at 7:18 pm
Meghan said:
But why…what are your thoughts? Is it the pageantry or the fact that it might just be a futile attempt?
On 09/27/08 at 7:30 pm
Missygail said:
Well, what about the 100 or so murders and robbers, who don’t win or couldn’t even dream of competing.
There needs to be other ways to boost the self esteem, such as a real education like that one woman was telling her children. Let them really go to school rather than prance around in a bathing suit.
I guess that would be too dangerous giving female murders a brain too….
Instead of having a beauty pageant lets give them a quiz bowl.
On 09/27/08 at 7:42 pm
Meghan said:
It’s true. If you watch it, the rest of the prison population has zero chance of gaining anything from a so called pageant. What’s left for them?
It’s hard to remember, then forget they are actual criminals. I like the tiger at the zoo description. So much of it is fan fare.
It might happen in the U.S. but I wasn’t able to find any info on it.
On 09/27/08 at 9:21 pm
Lindsay said:
I would imagine there isn’t much to live for in a prison, male or female, and as such, anything that could be considered a change from the norm would be welcome indeed. I heard once on This American Life, how they put on Hamlet over the course of… I think… 3 years? Because they couldn’t have large gatherings for more than an a half an hour, so they had to do each act a few months apart. How sad and depressing, but at the same time, hwo wonderful to have something to live for and work for in a place that otherwise is made to drain your soul and help you forget that the world outside still operates without your presence…
On 09/27/08 at 9:24 pm
Meghan said:
Its both sad and wonderful!!
On 09/28/08 at 10:44 am
Sarahh said:
Ok, I had to stop reading at Spoiler alert. I watched about the first 40 minutes and I want to see the rest! It seems to me these pageants are a distraction. A week or two of doing something different than they are doing every single day of their lives.
I know it was one interesting watch, and I can’t wait to see the rest!
Very interesting topic…
On 09/28/08 at 12:16 pm
Meghan said:
Then don’t read Carol’s comment! Avert your eyes…as stunning as Carol is!
On 09/28/08 at 12:10 pm
Carol said:
<—dumbfounded! Part of me understands the need to do something different…but the bigger part of me thinks there are FAR better things to do than have beauty pageants. Yay…she wins…early release and the opportunity to be murdered in the streets.
On 09/28/08 at 12:18 pm
Meghan said:
Something about it all messes with my priorities chip. It seems sad to me that in a place where they have nothing they are competing on their beauty. Which clearly hasn’t gotten them far.
On 09/30/08 at 6:40 pm
kallada said:
I think it is tragic to come that far, gain publicity and want to change your life around and be murdered in the streets for your beauty or for just pure jealousy
On 09/30/08 at 7:46 pm
Meghan said:
It seems she was safer on the inside…a harsh reality for many of the women living in this facility, I’m afraid.
On 11/18/08 at 5:43 pm
nina said:
Angela’s story made me so sad. I had watched the pageant on T.V , And I could only imagine what her girlfriend in the prison was going through.
But as for pageants in prisons and such, I think it’s a great way for them girls to get things off there mind. They are all very beautiful.
On 11/28/08 at 2:01 am
Very upset said:
“One month after winning the Annual Pageant, Angela was released from The National Women’s Penitentiary for time served. Soon after, she was murdered on the streets of Bogotá.”
I believe the one pageant (ugly, Maira) had Angela murdered or was involved, because Angela won the title fair and some of those racist prejudice criminals did not want to see a beautiful ‘black’ African Colombian girl win. Those girls that had Angela killed or was involved will reap what they sow. I am so damn mad about the murder and it should have never happened, she could have been the next ‘Tyra Banks.’