Beauty Pageants

Aimee: Hey, Gilda. I heard that beauty pageants are really popular in Venezuela.

Gilda: Yes, they are. They are a huge thing in Venezuela. Everybody loves beauty pageants. It's like the Super Bowl in America, for Venezuelans it's beauty pageants.

Aimee: Really?

Gilda: The Miss Venezuela, that's how they call it.

Aimee: Oh my goodness.

Gilda: Yeah.

Aimee: Okay. So from what age are children…?

Gilda: It's like almost 90 percent of Venezuelan girls dream of being once in the, in this beauty pageants because once they got in, they get all some sort of surgery and, you know, they make them really, really look beautiful. And then after that they get jobs like models or actress. You know, Venezuela is also into soap operas.

Aimee: Right.

Gilda: So most of them want to be an actress one day.

Aimee: That's so specific though, isn't it? A model or an actress. Ninety percent of the population—of the girls?

Gilda: Yeah. Well, it's because of the economic situation. So it's easy money, in a way.

Aimee: Right.

Gilda: Yeah.

Aimee: How about boys? Are boys interested in it?

Gilda: No, not really. There are more into probably sports; baseball, becoming a police officer or…

Aimee: Okay.

Gilda: Yeah.

Aimee: So what happens if, you know, if 90 percent of the population, as you said, are so keen on beauty pageants, and then they want to become a model or an actress, what happens to those who cannot make it?

Gilda: Well, some of them will have probably a sort of frustrated life, some of them. Yeah. Some of them might change their mind once they, you know, grow up. Think of something different. But like, I work in a high school and most of the first year junior high school students, girls, they wear a lot of make-up. And they want to become one day, Miss Venezuela. Yeah.

Aimee: Wow. Wow. Do you find – or what's your opinion about that? What do you think?

Gilda: Well, I'm not supporting that. But since the country has so many crowns, there are many different pageants like Miss International, Universe, Miss World, Miss South America. There are so many. And Miss Venezuela has won a lot of crowns. So every time they get a new crown, it's a huge thing for the country. So they got the attention of everybody.

So as a teacher, I don't support it. But it's kind of like something nice, you know, for the country. You're getting something.

Aimee: So it sounds like it's a big source of national pride, would you say so?

Gilda: Exactly. Yes, yes. That's the way it is. Yeah.

Aimee: Interesting.

Gilda: So many people stay at home when they're broadcasting the Miss Venezuela.

Aimee: Hmm.

Gilda: Yeah.