Word: pageants
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...Tibet: First-Ever Beauty Pageant Health: Dengue Fever Returns
...child who recognizes his previous incarnation's possessions. In the northern Indian city of Dharamsala, seat of the Dali Lama's government-in-exile, crowning a Miss Tibet may prove almost as hard. For the past year, Wangyal, a freelance journalist, has been trying to put together a pageant that will feature Tibetan beauty?and also publicize the cause of Tibetan independence. The reception from community leaders, however, has been unenthusiastic. Since 1959, when the Dalai Lama fled Chinese-occupied Tibet, Tibetans in exile have fought to preserve their traditions. Breaches of custom often are met with skepticism and fear...
...last week's beauty pageant wasdecidedly nontraditional. None of the four contestants came from Dharamsala: three hail from refugee settlements in India and the fourth lives in the U.S. Originally there were 10, but several dropped out at the last minute?some, suspects Wangyal, due to social pressure. It didn't help that the Tibetan Prime Minister publicly denounced the pageant as foreign and inappropriate. "Our religion is from a foreign country," fumes Wangyal. "Buddha was Indian. Our food is Chinese, our clothes come from Mongolia. We have always borrowed from other cultures. A beauty pageant is just one more...
...Tenzin Deki Chokteng, the U.S.-based entrant, is more focused on the pageant's political aspects. The 19-year-old, who moved to Colorado from India with her family at 13, acts like a typical American teen, chewing gum and wearing tight jeans. But she's proud of her Tibetan heritage and sees the contest as a great way to get involved: "We were not born in Tibet, we have not suffered like our parents, so we have to find our own way to be a part of the cause." As a junior in an American college, she's often...
...global standards, the pageant would be a catastrophe, but Wangyal has gained the press coverage he sought. Most importantly, he has procured a slot for the winner?19-year-old receptionist Dolma Tsering?at next month's Miss Tourism World contest in Colombia. "Our Miss Tibet will stand alongside a Miss China," he says. "That's when we will really get our message out that Tibet is an independent country." The sponsors have waived the entrance fees, but he still has to find money for airfare and hotel. He shrugs his shoulders with the optimism that has already gotten...