Every Rodeo needs a Clown (part 1)

Judges' table.

Today was the 43rd anniversary of the primary school in town (620 students!) and to celebrate, a beauty pageant was held for the schoolgirls. It was the social ebent of the month! One girl from each grade was nominated by the teachers, with three students from kindergarten. The girls first came out in "fantasy clothing", then in "sports clothing", and finally gala dresses to give their speeches about how to prevent natural disasters through environmental care. WOW! Even the four year old girls gave little speeches! I quickly ran out of camera battery - everyone was just so creative! In between the major events, the younger kids performed dances and lip synced.

My favorite part was the "sports" part. One girl came as a bull fighter (and brought her own cow, I might add, who was absolutely terrified the whole time), a parachuter, a hanglider, a traithlete, a scuba diver, a karate expert, and two cowgirls. How adorable! Fatima was one of the cowgirls, and my family rented a coin-slot-bucking-horse from the mall a couple hours away so she could ride a horse onstage...cute! The other cowgirl brought back-up dancers (a clown and a cowboy)!

Fatima's dress for "fantasy clothing" was entirely made out of trash, and she was "the fairy with an environmental conscience", and she her walk-in song was Waka Waka (the world cup song). Another girl dressed up as a quetzal, which is an endangered (and official national) bird here. You can also see a couple of Cleopatras in there, and some fairies and butterflies. Part 2 will have the results of the competition - I had to borrow someone else's camera and am still waiting for the pictures.