Peace and Hope pt. 6: Miss Pueblo Libre

It was Friday the 13th, normally an unlucky day, I witnessed a truly inspiring event. On that Friday I went with Clara (our sign language teacher) and Erika (our child psychologist) to the home of one our deaf-mute children. Her name is Lesley. The house was ridiculously busy and I mostly sat in the background, watching the proceedings.

You see, 16 days before Friday Lesley decided, without anyone's provocation, to participate in her high school beauty contest. This was, according to Erika, the first time a deaf-mute child had ever tried something like this. So over the course of fifteen days her parents (being of infinite love and support) rented a costume, helped her practice, and hired a choreographer. Meanwhile, Erika and Clara taught her an extra amount of vocabulary to prepare her for the question and answer section.

Friday night the whole house was abuzz. Her father bounced on his feet saying "Tonight! We will win!" in both Spanish and stuttering sign language. Her mom zipped from the kitchen to the living room to Lesley and back. Lesley, for her part, was the calm in the center of this storm.

Happy Dad with Clara our instructor.

An interview with the parents showed they were very proud of her. They hope she wins, but if she doesn't they love her all the same. Erika and Clara told me they would never participate in such an event. It had never occurred to them. "Don't be scared" they advised. "Just by participating you've won."

They didn't need to tell her. I don't think Lesley was scared at all.

It appeared to me she was the school's darling. Lots of students were rushing in backstage before the contest to say they loved her and wished her good luck (in sign language.) She serenely smiled and signed 'I love you' back. She looked distracted, but the reality was: Lesley had her game face on.

The time came for the show to start. They introduced the contestants one by one and when Lesley came on stage we all went crazy. Half of the entire crowd roared. Another girl, Contestant Number Nine, walked the stage and the other half of the crowd roared, All told, there were eleven contestants in total.

Other girls, you could tell, were nervous or hadn't prepared as much. Many times they were off beat or forgot a prepared answer. Many squeaked with stage fright like this was their first time. Number Nine had all the moves down not necessarily from practice, but from experience. Lesley looked as confident as ever.

Team Lesley. Erika on Far R, Clara middle R.

For us, Lesley participating already sent a strong message. It was enough for her teachers, her friends, even her family. Technically there were no stakes for Lesley. She had already accomplished so much. She could stumble and fall on stage, but that wouldn't diminish the fact that everyone that night saw her as just another girl. Not a deaf-mute person. Sending a message wasn't enough for Lesley though. Lesley wasn't just in it to prove a point though. She was in it to win it.

I wasn't privy to the sixteen days of preparation leading up to that Friday, but I imagine they were intense. I could envision Lesley's face scrunched up in concentration as she felt the downbeat or moved her hands repeatedly to mimic a word she was learning. I think of it as the beauty pageant equivalent of a sports training montage - replete with raised fists atop the massive staircase.

Opening Dance

From the moment Lesley walked on stage she owned the show. Other girls were competing. As far as Lesley cared she had already won. You could tell by her walk. Head level, hands on her hips. She never once rushed to hit her mark. She never fumbled with a piece of her costume. She never broke character. If she was off beat she was off beat so confidently I was convinced for a long moment she was right and everyone was wrong. She strutted like a queen and her smile told everyone: I have zero fear.

Call it what you want: hard work, natural talent, or care-free performing. Maybe she was considering a career in beauty pageants. Maybe she was just having too much fun. She didn't just time her walks perfectly, she made everyone wait for her timing. You could say that she had nothing to lose since her message had gotten through. You could say that she did her best and that was more than enough. You could say she felt such love from her community that she never felt like she could fail. You could say growing up with something we call a disability (it's not) predisposed her to pay more attention, focus on visual cues, be aware of her surroundings, and thus gave her an advantage. Whatever it was it sure paid off.

Now none of this is to say the contest wasn't close from my point of view. Number Nine was giving Lesley a run for her money. Number Eleven walked in her traditional costume so well I thought she'd gained the lead. The judges, from my point of view, weren't going to cut Lesley any slack. It was anybody's game.

The contest happened in five sections: 

1. Opening dance 

2. Gala wear

3. Traditional costume

4. Question and Answer

5. Runway Showcase. 

Traditional Costume

For her traditional costume Lesley's mother chose the theme of coffee. It's what the people of Pueblo Libre live off of, thrive off of, and dedicate their lives to. Other girls chose snakes, butterflys, or jaguars as their themes. For gala wear Lesley wore a sparkly teal dress the exact same color that a few others wore except hers flared out at the bottom fringe like a mermaid's tail. The dress was inspired by the rain. Number Nine wore a smoky scarlet and purple dress. No other contestant wore such dark colors. 

The question and answer section was the deciding factor I think. This part weeded out the prepared from the lazy, the confident from the nervous. Each girl had a prepared question and only two minutes to answer. Some managed to answer the question while other's couldn't get past thanking the judges. Number Nine transitioned so smoothly from thanking everyone to answering I didn't even realize she'd gone over time.

Gala Wear

Erika mounted the stage when Lesley's turn came. Erika was permitted to translate.

"What do you think about the effects of having a deaf-mute girl in the contest?" A softball question.

Anyone in Team Lesley (her loyal core group of supporters/mentors) could answer that question with a mild sense of grace.

"By participating I hope to show that deaf-mute people are just as capable as everyone else. We are exactly the same. We don't have a disability and if I can sho that to others then I have succeeded. I also want to show my fellow deaf-mute friends that we can do anything. They don't have to be afraid."

 It was at that moment, as Lesley walked away, everyone in the audience erupted into loud cheering. We were all proud to be on Lesley's side. I genuinely felt sorry for the girl who had to come after Lesley.

When all was said and done I wasn't honestly sure Lesley would win. Number Nine stuck out in all of the events. Number Eleven nailed the traditional costume, but whiffed the question and answer. A few girls had shined in one event or another. All that was left was for the judges to deliberate. It was 12:30 at night. The air was cold and dew had formed on untended surfaces. I had to rub my arms to warm up and rest a bit from filming. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

We were all pretty tense.

3rd place, Miss Amistad, went to Number Eleven. Cheer! My fingers stayed crossed.

2nd place, Miss Simpatica, went to . . . Number Four! More cheering! I clenched my camera so much it hurt. First place was still open and there were two very clear candidates.

The first two girls tallied points around the two hundred mark.

In 1st place, Miss Pueblo Libre, with a clear lead and a score of over three hundred points was. . .




LESLEY!

 Team Lesley rushed the stage. Her classmates rushed the stage. The contestants all folded in on each other weeping with happiness and wishing each other all the best. Erika teared up. We were all laughing and cheering as they crowned Lesley Miss Pueblo Libre.

Lesley tears up after they crown her.

Lesley smiled and cried, hugging her fellow contestants. She signed 'I love you' back to her friends. There she was, our Lesley, the winner. How could she not be? Even without the added narrative of her overcoming her 'disability' she had worked so hard. She trained so intensely to win a contest no one asked her to do that not even her instructors would have done. Even if she weren't deaf-mute, with that much preparation, she would have won anyways.

R to L: Erika, Lesley, Clara

Lesley with Parents

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I've been to the deaf-mute classes. You spend one day with those sweethearts and you realize they're all pretty great kids. Not all of them are directly deaf or directly mute. Many have brain disorders where they can't process words. They can hear but how would they know to speak if they don't understand words. That's how Lesley could dance and strut to music on stage. Other children have learning disabilities. Some have mental retardation and that prevents them from being proficient in speaking-hearing. Others are just deaf, not mute. The kids will tell you they all respect each other, they don't fight. They're full of bright energy and they're always happy to see each other. It's not a particularly inspiring classroom, but to those kids: It's a second home.

In that classroom they are all equals. In that place Lesley is just another kid. Nobody is elevated above the rest. Nobody is put down. Now, I could be wrong. Lesley is a seventeen year old girl who just won a beauty pageant contest. For most girls her age that would concede some small amount of ego. I think Lesley knows better though. She didn't win for being beautiful. She won for hard work and dedication. The kind of dedication that's sustained by the strength of her message. The message is simply: "We are equals." She knew it before she ever stepped foot on that stage, and that gave her all the advantage.




*All photos shared with permission from Lesley, her family, and Paz y Esperanza.
** Keep your eyes peeled for a video sometime soon!