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09-01-2008, 10:37 AM
Hot Latina Nights pageant comes to a close
Marcel Honoré • The Desert Sun • September 1, 2008
Eleven finalists from across el mundo latino — “the Latin world” — competed for the Hot Latina Nights crown Sunday at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, bringing the five-week pageant to a close.
Sure, the pageant boasted beautiful women, dancing and costumes. However, the Indio event also offered a glimpse at the unique, diverse heritage of Latino immigrants who've made their way to the U.S. seeking a better life.
Each of the 50 Hot Latina Nights contestants either were born in a Latin American country or were raised as first-generation U.S. residents, said Curt Holstein, one of the event's co-organizers. They live in California and Arizona and represented most Central and South America countries in the pageant, he added.
Several of the contestants, such as Jazmin Siguenza, endured poverty and political strife at an early age. Siguenza, 26, fled to California from El Salvador with her mother and brother when she was 4 years old to escape that country's devastating civil war.
“It's a third-world country, for sure. I see how the people are and I have a lot of respect for them,” Siguenza said Sunday before the competition. She added that she visits El Salvador every year. “It puts me in check. I think we take a lot for granted” in the U.S.
Siguenza, who lives in Chico, said her father stayed behind during the civil war — and survived. Her mother visited El Salvador during the 1980s and told her daughter of the gruesome images of the war that she saw first-hand.
Another contestant, Lourdes Zunzunegui, came to the United States from Cuba with her family during the 1980 Mariel Boatlift, an agreement between President Jimmy Carter and Cuban President Fidel Castro to allow thousands of Cubans to emigrate to the U.S.
Zunzunegui, 32, said she wants to raise awareness of the economic struggles Cubans face, and she cited a high illiteracy rate among the population. She expressed pride in the “awesome fusion” of Cuban culture and its mix of Spanish and African influences. “You bring them together, you get me,” she said Sunday.
Jessica Christine, 22, hails from San Diego but said her mother was the first of eight siblings to emigrate from Chile three decades ago. The family was on the run from extreme poverty, and they came to the U.S. “to make a life, to survive,” Christine said Sunday.
“When she came, she didn't have anything,” but her mother helped lay a financial foundation for her siblings to arrive from Chile by making clothes, Christine said.
Christine said she works at a corporate office for the T-Mobile company and lives with her mother, whom she described as “her best friend.”
“We've been through a lot, but the outcome is worth it all,” she added.
http://cmsimg.gdn.mydesert.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=J1&Dato=20080901&Kategori=LIFESTYLES01&Lopenr=809010803&Ref=PH&Item=2&Maxw=600&Maxh=500
Second place winner Lourdes Zunzunegu of Cuba, left, first place winner Barbara Magrini of Argentina and third place winner Jazmin Siguenza of El Salvador pose for photographs after the final night of the Hot Latina Nights pageant on August 31, 2008 held at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio.
Marcel Honoré • The Desert Sun • September 1, 2008
Eleven finalists from across el mundo latino — “the Latin world” — competed for the Hot Latina Nights crown Sunday at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, bringing the five-week pageant to a close.
Sure, the pageant boasted beautiful women, dancing and costumes. However, the Indio event also offered a glimpse at the unique, diverse heritage of Latino immigrants who've made their way to the U.S. seeking a better life.
Each of the 50 Hot Latina Nights contestants either were born in a Latin American country or were raised as first-generation U.S. residents, said Curt Holstein, one of the event's co-organizers. They live in California and Arizona and represented most Central and South America countries in the pageant, he added.
Several of the contestants, such as Jazmin Siguenza, endured poverty and political strife at an early age. Siguenza, 26, fled to California from El Salvador with her mother and brother when she was 4 years old to escape that country's devastating civil war.
“It's a third-world country, for sure. I see how the people are and I have a lot of respect for them,” Siguenza said Sunday before the competition. She added that she visits El Salvador every year. “It puts me in check. I think we take a lot for granted” in the U.S.
Siguenza, who lives in Chico, said her father stayed behind during the civil war — and survived. Her mother visited El Salvador during the 1980s and told her daughter of the gruesome images of the war that she saw first-hand.
Another contestant, Lourdes Zunzunegui, came to the United States from Cuba with her family during the 1980 Mariel Boatlift, an agreement between President Jimmy Carter and Cuban President Fidel Castro to allow thousands of Cubans to emigrate to the U.S.
Zunzunegui, 32, said she wants to raise awareness of the economic struggles Cubans face, and she cited a high illiteracy rate among the population. She expressed pride in the “awesome fusion” of Cuban culture and its mix of Spanish and African influences. “You bring them together, you get me,” she said Sunday.
Jessica Christine, 22, hails from San Diego but said her mother was the first of eight siblings to emigrate from Chile three decades ago. The family was on the run from extreme poverty, and they came to the U.S. “to make a life, to survive,” Christine said Sunday.
“When she came, she didn't have anything,” but her mother helped lay a financial foundation for her siblings to arrive from Chile by making clothes, Christine said.
Christine said she works at a corporate office for the T-Mobile company and lives with her mother, whom she described as “her best friend.”
“We've been through a lot, but the outcome is worth it all,” she added.
http://cmsimg.gdn.mydesert.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=J1&Dato=20080901&Kategori=LIFESTYLES01&Lopenr=809010803&Ref=PH&Item=2&Maxw=600&Maxh=500
Second place winner Lourdes Zunzunegu of Cuba, left, first place winner Barbara Magrini of Argentina and third place winner Jazmin Siguenza of El Salvador pose for photographs after the final night of the Hot Latina Nights pageant on August 31, 2008 held at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio.