Aristocracy, Racism, and Beauty Pageants.

La Elección de la Reina de Cuenca is essentially Cuenca´s annual Miss Cuenca competion. It was held in late October, but it´s just been dawning on me lately how perfectly it epitomizes the traditions of racism and class discrimination in Ecuador. This year there were eight contestants, and when I looked at their pictures on a pamphlet I couldn´t help but realize that they all had light skin. Not one of them appeared to be of indigenous descent. I couldn´t get into the competition itself, because after standing in line for half an hour, I was told that it had an entrance fee of $30. Now that, in itself, is a sign of class discrimination and racism. Being realistic, middle- and lower-class Cuencanos can simply not afford to pay $30 dollars per person to watch a beauty contest. This outlandish price is apparently new, as in years past the entrance fee was only five or six dollars. In this way, it seems that the organizers of the competition are attempting to ensure that the event remains only accessible to the economic elite. The winner of the competition this year has the last name of Vintimilla, a famous name in Cuenca, where one´s last name is very important, considering the long history of aristocracy and large land owners in Cuenca. To me it´s pretty clear that only a girl like her, white and rich, has a high chance of winning the title of Reina de Cuenca.
The racism and favoritism is to the point where indigenous and working-class Cuencanas have to compete in beauty contests like La Chola Cuencana, the competition for indigenous girls, and La Reina de los Barrios, the Queen of the Neighborhoods. It reminds me a little of the Negro Leagues of the United States. Hopefully Cuenca and Ecuador as a whole can grow out of this ugly phase of racism.