Just a quick link:  the NYT Lens section has an interesting piece, with some interesting photography, on the subject of Colombian beauty pageants:  Colombia’s Picture-Perfect Beauty Queens.

As the piece notes:

Beauty pageants have long been part of the culture in Colombia. As much as they’re a reflection of that culture, Mr. Bower said, they also guide and promote it.

What they aren’t is American in style. In Colombia, there are approximately 400 pageants each year. They have been known to shut down villages for up to a week. Despite the country’s geographical, political and social divides, beauty pageants bring people together.