The Miss Florida USA & Miss Florida Teen USA

Magazine of August 18th, 2005

Miss Hispanidad USA with the evenings hosts

Dear Miss Florida USA Family:

Welcome to another edition of YOUR Miss Florida USA & Miss Florida Teen USA Magazine YOUR information source for everything pageantry in the Sunshine State. Two weeks and counting for our first look at the delegates for Miss Florida Teen USA as Pretape Weekend will be a fun time of modeling and just having fun! The City of Hollywood is excited and plans are being made for one great weekend of pageantry. Of course all of the pictures and stories starting next Friday only at www.MissFloridaTeenUSA.com!

This week in World Pageant News we feature a very unique event for Native Americans in The Miss Indian World Pageant last week in Washington, DC. Just a few weeks ago our Miss Florida USA Cristin Duren judged the Seminole Pageant at The Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood and that winner represent The Seminoles at Pow Wow. In Miss Florida USA News we have results from Miss Hispanidad USA and information from Weston and Crystal River. Faces & Places takes us to The Miss Florida USA Homecoming Party in Panama City and Miss Hispanidad USA with several of our past Alumni. All the pageant news that fits to print updated on Thursdays and Fridays only at YOUR Miss Florida USA Ezine, the only Ezine in the pageant world!

Grant H. Gravitt, Jr.

Executive Producer

Miss Florida USA & Miss Florida Teen USA

42 Days until Miss FL Teen USA!

3 Days until Miss Weston Teen USA!

PAGEANT NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

» Traditions, youth fuse in powwow

The American Indian event aims to preserve ancient customs for younger generations.

By Vanessa de la Torre | The Washington Post

Dayyokay Lone, 11, of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation,

awaits his turn to enter at the National Powwow in Washington.

WASHINGTON -- The young pageant contestant moves between the dancer- and drummer- registration tables at the National Powwow, trying to figure out where she is supposed to be.
Noreen Johnson, 19, is a pageant princess from the Ute tribe, ready to participate in the opening procession and a native-dress competition. Johnson, of Whiterocks, Utah, and a former Miss Native American at her high school, is one of hundreds of pageant winners, native dancers and color-guard members who gathered Friday at MCI Center for the three-day event. The National Powwow, which drew more than 20,000 to the Mall in its inaugural year, has been one of the largest social gatherings for American Indians across the continent, keeping at its core one lofty goal: preserving centuries-old traditions for tribal youth growing up in modernity. There is the Tiny Tots dance and dress competitions for those 5 and younger, the tribal elders who hold forth about hard-fought battles and the drum-driven victory songs that rush the heartbeat of any spectator.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the National Powwow! We're live and ready," booms the voice from the main stage of the arena. "Once we set up our satellite feed we'll be visible in 150 countries."

Ears perk up in the stands.

"No, just kidding," said Jason Good Striker, a Canadian and master of ceremonies. "It's just us here."

"Us" was expected to include an estimated 800 American Indians participating in the tableau of culture and competition, hosted by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

Among them was Johnson, a rising sophomore at Colorado Mountain College and a veteran of tribal pageants and powwows. ("Just a thing my family does: powwows.") She's wearing jeans, a black blouse over a white tank top, and flip-flops. Her traditional regalia is folded in a duffel bag, and soon she heads to the dressing room to prepare for the processional Grand Entry.

In the official powwow protocol guide, museum officials advise the uninitiated: Don't call the regalia a "costume"; the term is "considered derogatory to many, and implies garishness." Also: "Do not touch a dancer's outfit without his or her permission." And please, please remember that the clothing, eagle feathers and dance shields "hold personal, historic, and religious significance and are cared for in a sacred manner."

She walks past dancers wearing jingle dresses -- used in healing dances, they have rows of small, dangling metal cones that, when swayed, create a shimmery song -- and slips behind a flimsy black curtain. She dumps her duffel bag in the locker room that serves as the green room for performers and reaches down for her moccasins, beaded white with a red-rose pattern. She spends a couple minutes lacing them, and then stands upright and puts on her traditional dress, made of turquoise trade cloth, over black soccer shorts.

Your new 2005-2006 Miss Indian World from the

Seneca Tribe, Lawton, New York is: Cassie Thomas

Her tribal pageant crown, decorated entirely with an assortment of beads colored white, lavender, turquoise, orange and ruby, stands 6 inches tall on the dry shower floor. At one point, a fellow powwow participant hangs her regalia on a showerhead.

Tribe and family traditions dictate how ceremonial clothing should be handled, Johnson said, as she carried on the transformation from modern to traditional wear. She wraps white cotton bands around her two braids and arranges an eagle feather near the nape of her neck, steadying it while facing the mirror.

Sitting on the floor a few feet away is Charlene Duncan, her grandmother, who endures a five-minute battle with her own moccasins. She wins and moves on with the rest of her southern traditional cloth outfit while chatting with Maria Mendoza of Rockville, Md., who is struggling to buckle a thick, rose-embroidered leather belt. Outside the showers, Wanda Bowers is trying to cover the totally nontraditional piercing on her daughter, Christine McCall, 18, the recently crowned Florida Miss Seminole. "I can't wear it like that, Mom; it looks stupid!" said McCall, deeply unsatisfied with the position of her beaded crown. Bowers suggests she remove the steel barbell in her ear. (Not a chance.) "When you're royalty, you have a tradition to uphold and must respect your tribe," Bowers said. "That's why we're asking her to take it out. But she's a freshman in college and thought it was cool."

"Can we go out there now?" says McCall.

And so they walk out and prepare for the grand procession, joining scores of others for a native tradition.

MISS FL USA NEWS!

» MISS WESTON TEEN USA August 21^st

The final pageant in The Miss Teen USA Special Season is the inaugural Miss Weston Teen USA Pageant at The Western High School Auditorium on Sunday August 21^st beginning at 4:00pm. The school is located at 1200 S.W. 136 Avenue Davie, FL 33325. For more information email director Katy Palido at info@misswestonusa.com or call her directly at 954-217-4949 or visit their website at http://www.kattypulido.com/weston/#.

» NEW PAGEANT! MISS NATURE COAST USA ANNOUNCED:

The newest edition of the Miss Florida USA family is Shalyn Barnes-Baker and The Miss Nature Coast USA Pageant in Crystal River! To be held January 6 & 7 this will be the first pageant of 2006! Look in next weeks Ezine for contact information, site information and other tidbits that will lead to the first title ever from this great region of The Sunshine State!

Look for several new pageants to be announced in the next few weeks with news from Hialeah, Miami Beach, Sunset Place and Hallandale. Also reports from The Miss Hollywood USA Kickoff party next week on Miss Florida USA News.

» THE ROAD TO HOLLYWOOD: Miss Hispanidad USA 2007 Pageant

August 14, 2005

Onstage interviews

The rich tradition of Miami’s Miss Hispanidad USA continued with this year’s 28^th edition of the title. A new twist on the pageant this year sees the winner advance to Hollywood next summer representing the Hispanic Heritage Festival. The winner resides over the festivities that take place throughout Miami-Dade County in October and November. These events are very prominent on the Dade cultural calendar with charity and society events galore. The historic Olympia Theater at Gusman Center for The Performing Arts saw the thirty finalists compete as the loveliest Hispanic young ladies, between the ages of 16 and 25, participate bathing suit, onstage interview and evening gown competition. Contestants are judged on the basis of beauty, poise, and personality. Prior to Sunday’s finals a preliminary pageant at Miami International Mall saw 186 young women compete for today’s spots.

Miss Hispanidad USA 2005 Brigitte

Rodriguez takes her final walk

Master of Ceremonies Ivan Donoso and Pamela Silva (both of Univision fame) lead the afternoons festivities exclusively in Spanish. This was not just a pageant but an afternoon filled with Stilt dancers; flamenco; salsa; meringue; an aerial silk artist; modern dance and a salsa inspired four song set by Sony Discos Artist Jencarlos who rocked the house. Throw in the pageantry that is uniquely South Florida and you had quite and afternoon of fun.

The evening gown competition had a lovely night scape setting.

After the opening festivities it was time for the thirty finalists to compete in the two onstage areas of competition. First up was the swimwear competition as the delegates competed in one or two-piece suits of the own choosing. Each group saw the stage fill to fifteen and then they did a group review for the nine judges. After an intermission it was time for the evening gowns with four delegates onstage awaiting the spotlight. After all the delegates had the spotlight and stage to themselves it was time for one final gown review before the first tabulations of the night were completed.

A judge's eye view of the swimwear competition.

The top ten finalist were then announced in no particular order:

Greta Aguilera

Liannet Borrego

Ligia Campusano

Priscilla Ferrufino

Cindy Kohn-Cybulkiewcz

Kiria Mendez

Melissa Pinero

Laura Prada

Jessica Rodriguez

Natalie Plinter

Crystal Van Orsdel

One last round of interviews awaited our delegates onstage for the judges and audience. Once again exclusively in Spanish, each delegate was presented a question by both Mr. Donso and Ms. Silva. This was to test the delegates grace under fire and ability to think on their feet. Then the judges made one last tabulation and selected the final placements. Before the final tabulations were announced it was time to award the tradition awards of Miss Photogenic and Miss Amity, both of which qualify the winner to state:

Miss Amity is Suzette Mur

Miss Photogenic is Jennifer Herrera

Before the results were read it was time for the time honored last walk by Brigitte Rodriguez; Miss Hispanidad 2004. Then the ten finalist were brought center stage for the reading of the judges selections:

4^th runner up is Kiria Mendez

3^rd runner up is Liannet Borrego

2^nd runner up is Greta Aguilera

1^st runner up is Laura Prada

Miss Hispanidad USA 2006 is Cindy Kohn-Cybulkiewicz!

Cindy Kohn-Cybulkiewicz takes her first official walk!

These women have qualified for state as the court of Miss Hispanidad USA.

Congratulations to The Hispanic Heritage Festival and Director Eduardo Mendez and chairpersons Alicia Velencia and Lisset Abraham-Ortiz on a great pageant! Also a big congratulation’s goes to Ms. Kohn-Cybulkiewicz on her victory and best wishes on an exciting year! It’s great to have such a large part of Miami Dade pageantry as part of The Miss Florida USA family, welcome to our new friends at The Hispanic Heritage Festival!

» PRELIMINARY PAGEANT NEWS:

2007 Miss Florida USA Preliminary Season Schedule

Oct. 16

Miss West Coast USA & Miss West

Coast Teen USA Pageants

Dec 3

North Florida Super Pageant

(Tallahassee/Emerald Coast/Panhandle)

Dec 3

Miss Sunset Place USA &

Miss Sunset Place Teen USA Pageants

Jan 29

Miss Hollywood USA & Miss Hollywood Teen USA Pageants

April 8

Miss Palm Beach County/

Miss Gold Coast USA Pageants

» STATE PAGEANT CORNER

NEW MISS FLORIDA USA IMPORTANT DATES CALENDAR:

Finally we have put together a calendar with all of the important dates for this year’s Miss Florida USA Pageant. Look for it’s permanent home every week at YOUR Miss Florida USA Ezine.

August 20

Pageant University 9:30am

August 25 – 28

Miss Florida Teen USA Pretape Weekend

August 27

Miss Florida Teen USA Seminar Day

September 30

Miss Florida Teen USA Registration and Interview Competition

October 1

Miss Florida Teen USA Preliminary Competition

October 2

Miss Florida Teen USA Finals

» ELEGIBILITY STATUS

Miss Florida Teen USA

Delegates Entered: 44

Delegates Eligible: 64

Eligibility for Miss Florida Teen USA Pageant:

The season started with qualifiers from the past year. All of each pageants top15 qualify along with Miss Amity & Miss Photogenic. Each preliminary pageant qualifies delegates as “at large” status with their finalist, amity, photogenic and peoples choice awards.

MISS FLORIDA USA AIRINGS THIS WEEKEND

PENSACOLA/MOBILE

WFGX-WB Channel35

TBD