![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/missuniverso.jpg\")
The
\n World War of Beauty has come to Quito, and the Grand Dame of the Andes
\n is dressed for the Gala, with flowers in her hair, and flowers
\n everywhere. On June 1 the live telecast of the Miss Universe contest
\n will, for the space of three hours, place Ecuador squarely in the sights
\n and screens of beauty-contest fans around the world. Of course,
\n the live broadcast of the "finals" is only the climax of two weeks of
\n touring, talent, bathing suit, national dress and high fashion competitions,
\n which are taking place now around Ecuador to the delight and voyeuristic
\n fascination of the public.<\/p>\n
Last night we walked around the historic center of Quito, and the differences
\n from the last time we were here, six years ago, were remarkable. The
\n improvements predate the Miss Universe event, and are largely the work
\n of Quito’s activist mayor, Paco Moncayo. The colonial architecture of
\n the center of the city has been restored and rehabilitated. Public squares
\n which on our last visit were teeming with delinquents, thieves and heaps
\n of trash are now safe, clean and accessible. Places we were previously
\n warned to stay away from are now world-class tourist attractions, populated
\n by families, working-class citizens and hand-holding couples until late
\n at night. Of course, the delinquency and seamy underbelly of the city
\n has not been eliminated, just moved to a more peripheral and less visible
\n part of Quito.<\/p>\n
But this week the beauty of these reclaimed areas has been bolstered
\n by an intense campaign of public cleanliness, best-foot-forward hospitality,
\n and thousands and thousands of flowers. The flower industry is
\n Ecuador’s lone export-oriented success over the past few decades. By
\n uniting hundreds of small producers into a united exportation corporation,
\n Ecuador has become a major player in world flower production. An
\n industry which barely existed 20 years ago has become a major export,
\n and Ecuadorian flowers are now much in demand in major cities and world
\n capitals throughout America and Western Europe.![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/missess.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Mostly as a marketing ploy (but after all, what else is the Miss
\n Universe contest?), the city is festooned in Ecuadorian flowers. They
\n are around the lampposts, draped from balconies, hanging from trees and
\n flagpoles, decorating the plazas and narrow, cobblestone streets. They
\n come in all shapes and sizes, floral flags of the national colors red,
\n yellow and blue, garlands on statues, cascades of blooms pouring from
\n fountains. There are royal red asters, cinderella and amor astermerias,
\n million-stars gypsofilias, belladonna delphiniums, freesias in multicolored
\n displays of gradients and speckled petals, and of course the roses. What
\n roses! Over three hundred varieties, in every color of the rainbow, colors
\n without names, colors unknown until now outside of Ecuadorian nurseries. There
\n is even a "Miss Universe" variety, developed exclusively for the pageant.<\/p>\n
On top of the intoxicating wafts of flower power on the mountain atmosphere,
\n there is a remarkable feeling of celebration and harmony in air. People
\n are being NICE to each other, and the newspapers are astonishingly clear
\n of the usual collection of strikes, protests, gang violence, irate citizens,
\n political strife and petty squabbling. Knowing that a temporary
\n truce has been declared by all political and social sectors for the duration
\n of the international spotlights lingering on the nation, a rare national
\n consensus to leave a good impression, only heightens the sense of dreamlike
\n liberation.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this is the only good side of the whole phenomena of
\n international beauty pageants as far as we can see. In general, we consider
\n them crass commercial reminders of the inherent sexism of our patriarchal
\n society, an objectification of the female form and a case study of the
\n marketing of feminine mystique. But its hard to be a sourpuss when everybody
\n else is smiling, and the streets are awash in flowers. We have decided
\n to allow anthropological adaptation to trump political consciousness
\n for the duration, and go with the flow.<\/p>\n
from El The World War of Beauty has come to Quito, and the Grand Dame of the Andes is dressed for the Gala, with flowers in her hair, and flowers everywhere. On June 1 the live telecast of the Miss Universe contest … Continue reading
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