Cheers and congratulations go out to Miss Universe 2010, 22-year old Brown Girl Jimena Navarrete from Guadalajara, Mexico! Her life is forever changed. I certainly hope she makes the most of this experience and wish her the best!
I usually watch the first and last 10 minutes of the Miss Universe pageant and if I time it right, I get to see the display of costumes - which is my favorite part of the show. Even though some of the girls are over-sexualizing their outfits a little bit (some, a lot), many of the costumes capture the essence of global culture, and (nodding my head up and down) I like that alot. =) Last night, I only caught the beginning of the show and then had a quickie Facebook contest where my Facebook friends that were watching the show were tasked with identifying a contestant...only by her photo! Turned out to be Melinda Elvenes - Miss Norway 2010 (Congratulations FB follower, Iris Garcia!), a Brown Girl of both African and Norweigan descent that many might not have expected to see representing a Norweigan country 5 or 10 years ago although her brown skin should barely raise an eyebrow now (particularly if you've tuned in at all to all of the global stats). Anyway, I thought I'd share this video I found on Youtube.com that celebrates and highlights the costume portion of the show. You know me, I'm always looking for an excuse to celebrate...