CLAY TURNER – Hoof Prints Staff
Beauty often defines women as individuals. Though both inner and outer beauty is hard to come by in the same place, the world’s countries are always able to find and present at least one gorgeous woman the Miss Universe competition every year.
This year’s competition was set in Las Vegas, what I thought to be the perfect location for such an esteemed event. It’s one of the most glamorous and awe-inspiring cities in the United States today.
I believe that the competition ran effortlessly for being live. The music embodied all that Miss Universe brings out in women, hidden fierceness and determination. I was, however, disappointed with one of the choices in hosts. Natalie Morales impressed me hands-down. She was professional, confident and charming. Her partner, Bret Michaels, on the other hand, needs to keep his day job. During the duration of the competition, it was painfully obvious he was reading lines from a screen. He was too focused noticing when his next cue was that he failed to project anything he said with anything charming or interesting. I have no doubt the reason anyone listened to him all night long was because he was surrounded by beautiful women.
I was impressed with opening ceremony where each woman had the opportunity to catch the audience’s attention with their most outrageous outfits. I was particularly impressed with Ms. USA and Ms. US Virgin Islands. Their outfits were the only ones plated in gold and sported wings. Their ensemble’s conveyed a message as opposed to the others which only showed their country’s interests in specific colors and threads.
After surveying each woman’s outer beauty, I was particularly impressed with Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Australia. Each woman was flawless, but these three stood out the most to me. Mexico and Puerto Rico were automatically compelling. Australia’s girl came across as genuinely innocent because of her baby-face. I find pure innocence one of the most beautiful qualities a woman can have.
After the swimsuit competition, my opinion changed. All impressed me except for the Philippines and South Africa. Both were, in my opinion, too bony. If not for the pounds of make-up and hairspray masking them, they would have appeared starved, verging on anorexic. It wasn’t very tasteful at all.
During the gown ceremony, all of the women appeared elegant and had polished stage presence when presenting themselves. Ireland’s, Albania’s and the Philippines’s representatives had dresses that contrasted well with their skin color. Mexico caught my attention the most. She, unlike the others, walked out wearing an ostentatious, but simple, red gown that "worked for her." It not only displayed her confidence but also visually represented her country’s non-stop hype. The only other woman to draw my attention was Guatemala’s contestant who seemed so at ease.
By the last round, only five contestants remained: Australia, Ukraine, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Philippines. By the way things were looking, the crown would lie upon the scalp of either Mexico’s or the Philippines’s representative. Mexico’s contestant’s charm never stopped until she was asked the final question: "What effect does unsupervised Internet have on youth?" Her response lacked a legit answer and she, herself, seemed to only "dance" around the question. Australia, Jamaica, and Ukraine, though, pleased me when they gave what I hoped to be honest, genuine answers. I only have one word for the Philippines’s representative: Dingy! Who’s to say she even knew she was at a beauty pageant? After the response she gave, I wouldn’t be surprised to find her head was filled with hairspray instead of hot air.
Then, at last, Mexico’s representative, Jimena Navarrete, was finally crowned Miss Universe, a decision I believe the judges had no problem in making after Miss Philippines’s answer. So, overall, I give the 2010 Miss Universe competition a yay. Except next year, I vote we don’t invite Bret Michaels or the Philippines’s contestant until we at least see a promising I.Q. result at the least.
