This afternoon we had the kids perform a little talent show. It was called, 'Ninas Bonitas,' which translates to Pretty little girls. There were 20 ninas in this talent show and it was something else. We had parents, judges, even a DJ. Because of my incredible math skills I was given the responsibilty of tallying up the scores from the judges and dividing to find the median. It required my full attention.
There were going to be two rounds. The first was going to be the girls walking down the 'stage' to Carolina, the director here, to introduce themselves. The judges would base them on their walk, articulation, and overall confidence. We went through the 20 little girls that range from 5 - 12 years old starting with the youngest who generally don't posses any fear of the situation to the older, slightly more self-conscious children. For the most part, everything went well and we were off to the second part of the show: talent.
Most of the little girls decided that their talent was going to be 'modeling.' So they would strut their stuff, do a little twirl, and make their way back. One girl blew a little kiss to the judges when she finished. Classic. As the ages and the afternoon matured, so did the acts. Some girls sang and some girls danced. One little girl...oh man this broke my heart...her talent was dancing. She was all decked out in her little white dress and white gloves and made her way to the middle of the room. A popular hip hop song came on and she started to dance...then it happened...she froze. She froze and then started weeping. Ssssoooo intense. The director jumped in dancing trying to salvage it, but it was too late. She was carried off the stage, and the show continued. When the girls finished their talent a boy of roughly the same age was announced and he escorted her off the stage. After two rounds were completed, my job kicked up a little bit as I tallied up the scores and picked the 4 finalists. (Needless to say the girl who bawled didn't make it...too soon)?
All the contestants were gathered together and the 4 names were called. That was kind of intense because some girls acted like girls and the water works came on. The final act was answering a question: what do you want to be when you grow up? They all followed the first girl's lead and said that they wanted to be a doctor. However, when asked why some answered quicker than others and had different reasons. Then it was it...the time to announce who would be Miss Nina Bonita. The 4 finalists were gathered together and each name was called. The first girl accepted her 4th place prize of a stuffed animal and walked off in triumph. It wasn't first, but she would take it. The 3rd place girl was called and she was presented with her teddy bear gift. During the presentation she cried and sombered out of the room. The second and first place names were called without the shedding of tears and the act was over. The first place winner hugged everyone and that it was it. The first annual Miss Nina Bonita had completed.
I have some mixed thoughts on this idea, but the most part I feel pretty positive about it. The equivalent of the power of a Father telling his Son that he's proud of him is a girl being told that she's beautiful. Even though there was one winner (she dominated too...it wasn't even close), I thought it was good for these little girls to dress up and perform. They practiced public speaking, they walked in front a crowd as their beauty was praised, they even performed which is a very scary thing; I was even nervous and I was just the guy with the calculator. I thought it was good for the little boys to escort the women from the spot light. Showing respect for a woman and serving her is something that I hope sticks with these equally impoverished young men.
Even though every girl wanted to win; I still feel that it was good to have a little competition. The girl who won did it with class and it was repeated several times that were all incredible, beautiful, and brave.
San Roque, the neighborhood where Casa Victoria is located, is filled with single mothers, drug addictics, alcoholics, and violence. So I think a chance to take a break from that is always beneficial. This was rare moment that these children experienced. I don't know if anyone has ever told them they were beautiful or were asked to perform. These girls were in the spot light, and if even for a few seconds it exposed them to something great. Something from a world that we were meant to live in. I like to say that I think Casa Victoria is a light in an otherwise dark place and today, we shone like the sun.
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