Bajatripper
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3151
Registered: 3-20-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
Queen of the Beer Cans
In conclusion to the earlier Queen of the Beer Cans thread...
I'd like to give a hardy "thanks" to all of the well-wishers (many) and can-contributors (Long Legs). My daughter finished an almost-respectable fifth
(out of eight contestants) in the final tally. Although I expected a low showing, what I didn't expect was that our meager efforts at collecting beer
cans would have earned her a very respectable third place finish had that been the only criteria. Apparently, I'm not the only slacker-parent out
there. The deciding factor, however, came down to the family most willing to pony up cold, hard cash in the end.
The school's accountant (who ran the show and was gracious enough to provide me with a copy of the official results) said she had a bidding war going
on via cell phones in the final minutes of the contest. Three girls were calling home from her office with the latest monetary count and asking for
more donations (we weren't one of them).
The family of the young lady who won the crown of "Reina" plucked down a total of 2,395 pesos on the final day (which included her grandmother's
savings, I'm told) to go with her can-collecting efforts. The second-place finisher was awarded the sash of "Princesa," while the third-place
contestant received the sash of "Dama de Honor." In total, a little over $11,000 pesos was raised through the can collecting, fund-raising kermeses
held at school and family donations of cash to, literally, buy the vote. The funds were used to pay for two dances for the students, which culminated
in the Dia del Estudiante celebration.
My daughter didn't go home empty-handed, however. She was voted "Seņorita Simpatia" by her fellow competitors, which is akin to Miss Congeniality
north of the border. She was real happy with that and mentioned something about Sandra Bullock and packing a gun. Furthermore, to take advantage of
her academic record (my daughter is a "straight ten" student [a ten is the equivalent of an A in the US]), school officials apparently came up with a
special category this year of "Seņorita Talento Academico," which garnered her another sash.
The coronation was held at the Salon de Eventos Damiana, which was rented for the evening to celebrate Dia del Estudiante with a student dance. Since
it was a school night (Monday), the event ended at midnight and the students were allowed to go to school at 9:00 instead of their usual 7:30 start
time the next morning.
As strange as this system of selecting a "Homecoming Queen" (of sorts) is, it is the same system used in schools in the Philippines, where my
daughter's mother is from.
Some photos of the occasion:
The eight contestants, composed of students of all three grade levels (first, second, and third year students of secundaria). My daughter is the
second from the right.
Miss Marcela Vargas, Queen of El Dia del Estudiante
My daughter Nikki (Bajalerita): Miss Simpatia and Miss Talento Academico. Her Filipino-American heritage makes her look right at home in Mexico.
[Edited on 6-3-2011 by Bajatripper]
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65278
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
Congratulations!
|
|
|
jbcoug
Senior Nomad
Posts: 709
Registered: 9-24-2006
Location: Vancouver, WA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Needing Baja!
|
|
Tripper,
I don't know about all the sashes, but you and your daughter are big time winners.
Congratulations to you both!
John
|
|
|
Eli
Super Nomad
Posts: 1471
Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: L.B. Baja Sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: Some times Observing, sometimes Oblivious.
|
|
What a Great little vision of life in La Paz, love the pictures, put a smile on my face, thanks.
|
|
|
longlegsinlapaz
Super Nomad
Posts: 1685
Registered: 11-18-2005
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
|
|
OMG!!!!! They're teaching the kids that mordita has it's own rewards in school here!  
Glad I could help "Seņorita Simpatia/Seņorita Talento Academico" and I sincerely applaud you for not buying into the mordita to buy your daughter a
crown BS!! Hopefully bajalerita is smart enough to know that she accomplished more with the two titles she earned through her own merit than the gal
whose parents bought her the crown! You have every right to be proud!
So I take it that cold hard cash carried the day & the students didn't learn a whole lot about the benefits of recycling?
Tripper, if you don't fess up that my contribution consisted mostly of soda cans, you're gonna do irreparable harm to my almost teetotaler rep!   
|
|
|
Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3812
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
Member Is Offline
|
|
Your daughter is beautiful and should be very proud of her accomplishments.
Congratulations!
P>*)))>{
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
|
|
|
DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Paulina
Your daughter is beautiful and should be very proud of her accomplishments.
Congratulations!
P>*)))>{ |
|
|
|
edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
Member Is Offline
|
|
Congrats to Nikki and to you Steve! I vouch for the " money contest" similarity from the Philippines. My wife during our teenage years was one of
those reinas from such.
One of these days/months I'm hoping to have a chance to take you up on that visit to la Paz.
Now why dit it have to be BEER cans? I drink bottles of beer but I have 100s if not thousands of soda cans i could have thrown into the contest if I
had known about it.
[Edited on 6-3-2011 by edm1]
|
|
|
Marc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2802
Registered: 5-15-2010
Location: San Francisco & Palm Springs
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting
|
|
Very pretty, and they do grow up fast!
|
|
|
Bajatripper
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3151
Registered: 3-20-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
I'd like to say thanks again to all. Although I've never been a fan of beauty contests in the traditional sense, this was a positive experience for my
daughter. As part of the build up to the "presentaciones," they gave all of the young ladies lessons on walking and posture (very appreciated by me as
my daughter has tended to be a "sloucher"). One of the kids' parents works at a local hotel, so they scheduled a photo shoot there around the pool (in
gowns) which provided her with many nice photos for her future memories.
It was also a nice "send-off" for her from her school and classmates. She will be leaving me after this school year to attend school in the US in preparation for college.
| Quote: | Originally posted by edm1
Congrats to Nikki and to you Steve! I vouch for the " money contest" similarity from the Philippines. My wife during our teenage years was one of
those reinas from such.
One of these days/months I'm hoping to have a chance to take you up on that visit to la Paz.
Now why dit it have to be BEER cans? I drink bottles of beer but I have 100s if not thousands of soda cans i could have thrown into the contest if I
had known about it.
[Edited on 6-3-2011 by edm1] |
Hey, Art, good to hear from you again. How's the Motorhome-from-Hell running these days? Been on any more adventures?
To be truthful, it was about aluminum in all of its forms. But since the bulk of what we collected were beer cans (sans Long Leg's contribution), that
was what became burnt in my memory of the occasion.
We look forward to hosting you, whenever that may be. Just try to avoid the summers, unless you want to feel like you're back home in PI.
|
|
|
wessongroup
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21152
Registered: 8-9-2009
Location: Mission Viejo
Member Is Offline
Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
|
|
Thanks for sharing a part of your family ... really great .. looks like she will be having some big changes in her life... and only for the good...
Great job !!
|
|
|
BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13237
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
our neighbor did the reina contest one year for her daughter and she did not realize it was "bought".....she was so dissappointed BUt the whole reason
to do it is to raise money for the various school projects .... so, mas dinero = mas proyectos.
your daughter is so lucky to have 2 sashes for such noble reasons, congrats to you for doing such a great job with her !! Being fluent in 2 languages
will take her far, esp. with the SAT's in the States...they try to get you with all the latin terminolgy, well, to anyone who speaks espanol, they are
a piece of cake.....
had we alll known about the aluminum can collection, we most definitely could have won without the cash !! we coulda made it a BajaNomad challenge.
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
