Diana Schoutsen: Miss Latina Canada 2009

Congratulations goes out to Diana Schoutsen from Binbrook ON, who won the national title of Miss Latina Canada 2009, 2 weeks ago. I have finally had an opportunity to meet with her family, and it really is so nice to meet a family that has found ways to unite their cultures in such a caring and supportive envoirnment.

Diana is the second of 5 children, and was raised a dairy farmer. Her father is from Holland and her mother is from Honduras. Diana is not the first title holder that we have had that happens to be bi-racial, but she is the first that has not had that strong of a background in speaking Spanish. This is only a small factor in her reign.

I would like to speak on some social commentary regarding language. Language is important all over the world, and understandably within any ethnic or cultural setting. Defining the requirements of entrance to the national event has and will always be based on equal and non-discriminatory practices.

Our event rulings require that participants be at least 25% Hispanic. The reason for this is simple...as the Hispanic community continues to grow and immigrate from South America it is important to acknowledge that people will meet others from different cultures fall in love and have children. Many people, especially those with Latin American heritage have very strong family ties, including grandparents. It is our grandparents that have instilled the values in our parents, including the passing ons of culture. For this reason we will continue to honour their influence in the continued devleopment of cultural practices within the family sphere.

We allow single, married, or divorced women to participate, including those who may or may not have children. We strongly believe that a persons ability to function as Miss Latina Canada is not preset or determined by their marital or family status. Latin American culture is extremely family focused and centred, and for this reason it must be acknowledged that love for family is an inherent part of cultural practice and pride, therefore having no bearing on our decisions for participants.

It is not a requirement to have to speak Spanish, but participants must be able to speak at least one of Canada's official languages, or an official Latin American language. Therefore you need to be able to speak only one of the following: English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. If you are able to speak more than one, than that is always a bonus - but it has no bearing on the judging. This one is always is a hard one for cultural communities to wrap their heads around, but here are the reasons why.

Firstly and obviously, this is Miss Latina CANADA. Note the stress on Canada. This is a pageant that celebrates the Latin-Canadian expereince of our cultural community. We have people who have just arrived to Canada that do not speak a word of English, we have 1st and 2nd generation Latinos who have been born here and may have lost their strength to speak it perferctly if even at all, we have people in Quebec that were raised in a francophone environment and may not know English or Spanish. For these multiple reasons, we must look at, and consider all of the variables. We are not in the business of having anyone justify just how much more Latina than someone else they are... what we are looking for, is someone who will fairly, justly, and appropriately represent the Hispanic community here in the country.

It is unfair and one sided to assume that all Latino's in Canada only have one type of experience, background or upbringing. We have to recognize that despite changes and differences that occur within the communities, that these shape and develop each individual Latin-Canadian experiences. If you live in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Hamilton, or London you may be blessed to always have the language, ethnic markets, and large communities to keep you in close range to the culture - but what happens if you are Latino and do not live in these places?

Canada is a big country with Latin people spead out all over it, and many who live in communities where they may be the only Hispanics residing there. They may be forced to converse in English, and may raise their children to speak English to help with adjustments of fitting in, in their school environments. Language is only one part of what determines culture. Culture is such a deeply engrained practice that sometimes we forget that culture also determines food, religion, music, dance, and family values.

We are an inclusive pageant, we do not practice discrimination, and we recognize the celebration of cultural pride in those who are willing to put their name, face, and family on the line to rise to the occasion to represent all of that in a national and public capacity.

I acknowledge and recognize the discomfort that those who may not be strong with their grasp of the English language feel - but I ask that you also acknowledge this. We do not discriminate against entrants who are not able to speak English, and living in Canada this is by far the most important language that we need to be able to communicate in. If we are willing to look past this, and believe that not being able to speak English does not determine one's ability to represent Canada fairly as Miss Latina Canada, than it must only be fair that we accept those Latin Canadians who may not be as fluent in Spanish. We do not fail to understand just how important knowing the language is, and see that as a benefit in so many different ways. We know those because we have had winners that were fluent in English and Spanish, English and Portuguese, even those who knew other languages like Italian, German and French!

Here in Canada, we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms - and we must all learn to understand, that we cannot discriminate on abilities, ethnicities, races, or languages. This is everyone's right as a Canadian citizen, and the Miss Latina Canada Organization believes in practicing what is inherent to this country's foundation and legitimation of freedom for all our citizens.

You Say I'm a Bitch Like it's a Bad Thing....

And so the nightmare has begun - here is the thing about event planners. We love and hate what we do all at the same time. We love the execution of the events, we love knowing that everyone had a great time, but all the things that we hate:

1. Running after people who miss their deadlines. When you miss your deadlines, we miss ours!

2. People who give a little and expect the universe in return. There is always someone who gave more than you - so the important thing is to be a humble and respectful donor.

3. When we tell you an event is sold out - it really is. On the night of an event we do not secretly have tickets hiding in a storage closet. We are limited by the amount of seating that the law allows in a room.

4. People who can't remember what they said and love to pin you on what you said. For those people, video recorded conversations are the only way to go!

There is more to come... so stay tuned!

The New (AND UGLY) Miss Universe Crown

New Crown

Old Crown

This year the Miss Universe Organization announced that they have a new crown designer and design. The new crown is made of 18k white and yellow gold. According to their website:

"It is comprised of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The colors of the jewels chosen for the crown have great significance. The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink and cognac are the main hues in the crown which represent inspiration and feeling "

The old crown deisgned by Mikimoto in Japan:

The crown is valued at approximately $200,000 and will have 500 diamonds totaling nearly 30 carats. 120 pearls, both white South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3.0 -18 mm will adorn the new crown. Denise Quinones, Miss Universe 2001, recently traveled to Japan where she joined designer Tomohiro Yajima for the first glimpse of the new design. The intricate design depicts the ancient symbol of the phoenix rising, which signifies status, power and the vision of great beauty

So, basically the new Miss Universe got jacked $80,0000 in the crown from the previous year.

I prefer the look of the old crown to the new one - especially because it really is so different, and the uniquness of it, was what really created that symbol for what Miss Universe is supposed to stand for. What are your thoughts?

Miss Universe 2008

So here it is....the Miss Universe title went back to South America. Dayana Mendoza is the 2008 winner and she was a favourite since the beginning. I know... I've been checking the blogs!

So here is the Miss Universe history for this decade:

2000: Laura Dutton - India

2001: Denise Quinones - Puerto Rico

2002: Justine Pasek - Panama

2003: Ameila Vega - Dominican Republic

2004: Jennifer Hawkins - Australia

2005: Natalie Glebova - Canada

2006: Zulyeka Rivera - Puerto Rico

2007: Riyo Mori - Japan

2008: Dayana Mendoza - Venezuela

So, in 8 years South American countries have won 5 times. I'm not saying that Dayana is not a good candidate - what I am saying is that lets call a horse a horse. Let's face it, South America is the cash cow of the Miss Universe Organization - and they make their millions of dolloars off the fact that networks want to air the program. The Miss Universe pageant is so political that its disgusting - like give me a break...how does Miss USA make it into the top 10 EVERY year since the dawn of time.

Anyways - congratulations Dayana. When this is all over you will definitely be a millionaire and have your own telenovela.

Helllllooooo???? Is anyone out there?

I would love to beleive that anyone actually cared about my thoughts and opinions - well I guess sometimes people do...who actually knows. I was checking my stats for this blog, and well...they were pretty hurting. LOL. At least I can laugh to myself.



So tonight we are holding a casting for Miss Latina Mississauga at this restaurant in Mississauga, and there is this lovely woman that I have known over the last couple of years that has been putting it together for my company. She really is quite a character let me tell you! She is puertorican, and while that might be common in the states I can assure that you neighbours to the North don't have many puertoricans here.


Anywho - she is kinda like Charro. I'm not sure whether she would take that as an insult or not - I hope not - because she is really very sexy and very comical all in one. I hope it all goes well!

We also held another regional pageant last weekend. The winner there was stunning needless to say. In fact - I would have to say it was by far the most attractive group of ladies that we saw try out for this, so it was a really tough competition.

I wonder how it will go at the nationals. I so need to update the Miss Latina Canada blog it's ridiculous!

Miss Universe Canada 2008

Congratulations goes out to Samantha Tajik aka Tianna Loxx for her win on Monday night as the 2008 Miss Universe Canada titleholder. In 2 months she will represent Canada, at Miss Universe in Vietnam.

I can't really say that I was surprised at the win, although I would have like to see Alexandra Malkin win, only because she seemed much more genuine - don't get me wrong I understand why Samantha won, she is a beautiful girl and she has a lot of experience...consider that she won International Model of the World last year, and has been modelling for several years in Canada...but there is something that is missing from her, that sincerety that Natalie Glebova had that was so endearing to the country.

Samantha competed last year in Miss Universe Canada and did not win - much like the similar fate of Natalie - who when competed in 2004 did not win only to come back in 2005 win the Canadian title and then go on to win Miss Universe. Perhaps Samantha may follow suit? Really it is very hard to say.

She needs a lot of refining - she's worked very hard at creating that "sex kitten" image that is so well associated with her alter ego "Tianna Loxx". Her portfoilo includes very super sexy images of her pulling at her bikini, and wearing cobra snakes. She often made appearances scantily clad at car shows - the place where models come to give it all up, and where wannabe's come for attention from anyone that will give it. This of course is hardly suiting for a titleholder.

That being said, I give Samantha credit. She took down her Tianna Loxx site, while there are still those racy photos floating around out there (remember people when you put things up on the internet it is FOREVER) for the most part they are gone, and she cleaned up her act and went back for round two of MUC. I hope that the Beauties of Canada organization work on creating that elegant and graceful image that is associated with titleholders - and when you are used to being a sex kitten, this can be somewhat of a challenge. She has to learn how to use her beauty to send different messages.

If she can hone her skills in the right way than I think that we may have a good chance of placing at this year's Miss Universe. I don't know if we will be winning a title this year - only because Mr. Trump already got his Trump tower approved in Toronto shortly after Natalie won... not saying anything.....or am I?

Anyways - congratulations Samantha - you can be a strong candidate, you just need to identify your weaknesses and strengthen them!