TIJUANA - "It was a pageant like so many others, featuring women in tiaras, gowns and impossibly high heels. But the rolls of barbed wire, armed
guards and harsh lighting gave it away: The contestants, for the most part, were criminals serving time at Tijuana's La Mesa State Penitentiary.
Dubbed the "Our Inner Beauty Competition," Friday evening's event was a first for what was once among Mexico's most notorious prisons. Applauding the
contestants were prison staff, a few family members and some community guests, but the most heartfelt support came from rows of female inmates allowed
to look on.
"It's four years that I haven't worn a dress and makeup, and it feels amazing," said contestant Paulina Mendoza, 22, a Chula Vista native, waving her
hands in front of her face to prevent tears from ruining her mascara. A 2008 graduate of San Diego High School, she has been at the prison since 2009
while undergoing trial on kidnapping charges.
The event's 25 contestants ranged in age from 19 to 62, many of them serving lengthy sentences for crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, and drug
trafficking. Culled from a group of 120 initial participants, the finalists were granted the rare privilege of shedding their light gray prison garb
and wearing makeup, both normally prohibited for security reasons lest an inmate try to disguise herself as a visitor and escape.
As night fell over the small stage set up in the women's yard, contestants danced merengue, sashayed down the runway in three different outfits and
answered questions such as: What is respect? What is the best thing about being a woman? What is the cause of crime?
The winner was Gloria Vanessa Murrillo, a slender, dark-haired 22-year-old sentenced to seven years for staging her own kidnapping. The best part of
competing, she said, "is being able to show the changes one makes by discovering one's inner beauty, not just what's outside."
The pageant afforded a rare look into the overcrowded prison located in Tijuana's residential La Mesa neighborhood. Built to hold 2,600, the
penitentiary currently holds 6,988 inmates, including 511 women.
With intense security checks and numerous surveillance cameras, La Mesa has moved beyond the days when it housed El Pueblito, a prison village where
inmates could pay for privileges and their family members were allowed to live inside. El Pueblito was dismantled in 2001, but problems lingered and
riots at the prison claimed 23 lives in 2008.
Director Daniel Ramírez said training, added staff, stronger infrastructure and a focus on the inmates' mental health have helped improve conditions.
Inmates are offered therapy and a range of activities, including crafts and painting classes, sports competitions and workshops in carpentry and other
marketable skills.
"We have the obligation of preparing those who are here so that tomorrow, when they're set free, they are better people than when they arrived,"
Ramírez said.
The pageant was proposed by Jorge Razo, the prison's chief psychologist, as a way of motivating the female inmates and improving their self-esteem.
"They're human beings, and we need to recognize that," Razo said. "Just because they're sentenced or facing charges doesn't mean they have to be sad
and depressed."
More than two months in the making, the pageant was inspired by similar events staged at other prisons, in Mexi.co and beyond. Contributing to
Tijuana's effort was a host of volunteers, including makeup artists, hair dressers, photographers, a dance teacher, a theater director, a classical
flutist, master of ceremonies, and an experienced pageant contestant who showed them how to walk in heels - a skill many said they had forgotten.
Shoes and dresses were either donated, on loan or made by fellow prisoners.
"I'm excited, it's something I've always wanted to do," said Alethea Thomas, one of three contestants from California. The 39-year-old mother of four
from Rancho Bernardo is nearing the end of a two-year sentence for robbery.
"I'm a little nervous but I feel good," said Brittany Louise Fisher, serving a 36-year sentence for kidnapping and attempted murder. As she prepared
to present herself on stage in a long red gown, the 25-year-old native of Indio said: "I believe beauty is inside. When you take off the makeup,
you're still beautiful."bajagrouper - 5-20-2013 at 12:35 PM
did they have a kissing booth to raise money?LOLDENNIS - 5-20-2013 at 12:39 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajagrouper
did they have a kissing booth to raise money?LOL
The MCLU
should demand it.
So Spiritually Uplifting
MrBillM - 5-20-2013 at 02:16 PM
To know that Murderers and the like can find a measure of satisfaction and happiness.
Which their Victims can't.
Touches the Heart, doesn't it ?
JUst Asking, MrBillM
Gypsy Jan - 5-20-2013 at 02:53 PM
You do not believe in redemption or rehabilitation?
Should all incarcerated people just be executed to end the burden?
It is so easy to be an anonymous critic on the internet.
It is hard to work with social situations and struggles face-to-face.
Just my dos centavos.
GJ
[Edited on 5-20-2013 by Gypsy Jan]
Justice
MrBillM - 5-20-2013 at 04:05 PM
Is to be believed in.
Fitting the crime.
Execution for Murder ?
Absolutely.
Rehabilitation is the responsibility of the Repentant to demonstrate sincerity.
