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The World of Miss Universe by Ana Maria Cumba. 1975. Manyland Books, Inc.
CHAPTER 1: HOW IT ALL BEGAN
"How did you get this job?" people everywhere asked me and I
could only say that being a suburban housewife and a part-time operating room nurse I had never set
out to play the role of duenna to Miss Universe. However, one evening in early May, 1963, I left the
hospital much later than usual and as I stopped for gas, a sports car driven by a beautiful woman
pulled in beside me. Now, all my life I have been a sports car bug and so I couldn't help but
stare at her Jaguar convertible. We soon became involved in a prolonged conversation, discovering
that we both seemed to have exactly the same enthusiasm about people, travel, places and
sports cars.
A week later, the same lady, Mrs. Shirley Knox, telephoned me
for tea with a friend of hers in Miami Beach. Naturally, I accepted.
Midway through tea Shirley said, "Ana Maria, I want to talk to you
about our project. It does not have anything to do with the world of medicine, but it is a good cause
in which we would like to ask you to join us. We are recruiting hostesses for the Miss Universe
Pageant in July. You are the kind of person that we are looking for, especially since the languages
you speak will be a great asset to the pageant."
CHAPTER 2: MY FIRST PAGEANT
On July 9, 1963, I entered the Miami Beach Convention Hall to
report as a hostess for the Miss Universe contestants. The lobby looked like an international
bazaar. People of all colors, sizes, and shapes, mostly relatives and friends of the beauty
delegates, as well as members of the press accompanying their countries' representatives to the
competition, were milling around. Some were dressed in their native costumes, flitting like bees
from flower to flower, splashing and buzzing in many different languages and dialects.
---
Later, I returned for further observation of that "pageant."
Amidst the profusion of guests, beauty delegates, and hotel personnel, was Christine Welker,
a very gracious hostess from Fort Lauderdale.
"Oh, Ana Maria, how good to see you!" she exclaimed. "I've got a
problem I'm sure you can help me with. I've lost Miss Jamaica, and Miss Idaho still hasn't shown up.
Have you seen her? She's about five feet six inches and blonde."
---
After dinner I bumped into hostess Elvira Menezes, in charge
of Miss Brazil, the representative of my homeland.
At 1 A.M. I found myself gazing through the glass window at
Miami International Airport at a tall blonde wearing a tailored green suit and a beige hat.
As she walked out, followed by a porter with a cart full of
luggage, I approached and asked if she was Gabriela Pinto, Miss Uruguay
"Yes," she said stiffly. "But my name is Graciela, not Gabriela,
and my English is poor."
"I'll melt if it's going to be so hot all the time," she added
in Spanish, taking a deep breath and removing the jacket and hat.
---
Following registration, each girl had to be measured for her
swimsuit, and the whole pageant seemed to revolve around the swimsuit competition. Joanne Warner of
Catalina Swimwear did the measuring. Padding was verboten ("forbidden") in those days, and
for some the tape measure turned out to be a lie detector of sorts and so, every measurement had to
be verified. Of course Graciela was the first to put up a fuss about the whole thing. She proved
to be extremely modest and flatly refused to be measured by anyone while in the nude. Shouting and
chaos ensued in the fitting room between the two strong-willed women, and I was thrust into the dual
role of mediator and intepreter. When the little scene was over, Graciela was allowed to do her own
measurement.
---
The official curfew was still 11 P.M., but we never got to bed
before 1:00 A.M. Nonetheless the girls had to be at rehearsals at 9:00 A.M. sharp. The Pageant's
Executive Producer, Mr. Arthur Knorr, established a code - "B.O.T.," Be On Time - and it was a
hostess's duty to have her charges everywhere on time.
This was the hardest part of my task. To get up early was
hard enough, but to rush the girls and cope with the struggle of sharing one small bathroom was
frequently a herculean task. We tried to set up a schedule of who was to use the lavatory first.
The girls were first because they needed more time to perform the rituals of makeup and hairdos.
One of the hostesses always complained that her girl took precisely one hour to affix her lashes
on one eyelid and that it was an agony to have to wait so long and then rush them at the last minute.
Some of the hostesses would literally collapse under the stress but, somehow, I always managed.
---
When I finally did get backstage, I was still jittery and the
ceremonies were about to begin. Two of the hostesses told me that Miss Uruguay had fainted from
heat prostration but they didn't know where she was. Again I panicked and started looking frantically
for my charges until I happened to spot them over in a corner together. Graciela was seated and Rhea (Miss Idaho)
was placing ice compresses on her forehead."
---
[...] The girls' gifts were souvenirs of their countries. Most
of the European and Middle Eastern girls brought beautiful dolls dressed in their native costumes,
similar to what the contestants were wearing. The American girls brought more practical gifts.
Miss Virginia brought fifty pounds of ham; Miss Wisconsin, cheese; Miss California brought wine;
Miss Kentucky, bourbon; Miss Georgia, a large basket of peaches. The most unusual gifts were from
Miss Oregon and Miss Montana who brought a pair of live ducks and a live calf, respectively.
CHAPTERS: 1, 2 |
3, 4 | 5, 6 |
7, 8 | 9, 10 |
11, 12 |
13, 14 |
15, 16 |
17, 18 |
19, 20 |
21, 22 |
23, 24
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© 2004 CRITICAL BEAUTY. All rights reserved.
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