Colombia Promotes Talent Contest Over Beauty Pageant To Focus On Achievements

Latin America loves beauty pageants and Colombia is no different. But in the state of Antioquia, things are about to change as the wife of Governor Sergio Fajardo has created the Young Talented Women contest ("Concurso Mujeres Jóvenes Talento" in Spanish) by cutting funding for the Miss Antioquia beauty pageant.

"It’s a shame to go abroad and hear that my country is the country of beauty queens and drugs," said Lucrecia Ramírez, Fajardo’s wife, to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, reports Fox News Latino.

The Young Talented Women contest will focus less on appearance and more on the achievements of the women. This year's contest has 2,700 contestants from 118 municipalities that boast talents in athletics, music and even science. The judges will crown the woman with the most talent in front of the Metropolitan theater, where Miss Antioquia is crowned as well.

The contest focusing on women's talent has been ten years in the making after Fajardo — then-mayor of Medellín, a city in Antioquia — cut funding for the local Miss Colombia pageant. After becoming governor, he further took steps to create a pageant that aims to "deconstruct what has been culturally imposed" on Colombian women.

But not everyone is on board with the changes. "To claim that a ban on aesthetic and beauty-related activities will lead to a new ethical commitment or promotion of talents is to be unaware that from beauty, fashion, and its manifestations it is possible to promote leadership and discipline," said Medellín-based fashion reporter Beatriz Arango.