Jaunted

Miss USA :: Rachel Smith

This year's contest was marked by controversy, with a handful of Mexicans booing Smith in the run-up to the finals because of what they saw as U.S. unfriendliness toward illegal immigrants.

Travel Lesson:
The world can't stand Americans. Nothing new to report here.

Miss Sweden :: Isabel Lestapier Winqvist

Miss Sweden, Isabel Lestapier Winqvist, unexpectedly pulled out of the event because of complaints in her country that it degrades women.

Swedish citizen reacts to the news:

What? Oh, no. I didn't know that and I live in Sweden! Then there would be no point in watching it. Oh man. What a drag. That's just stupid. There are beauty contests for men too. They just don't get as much attention from the media as the ones for women.

Travel Lesson:
Best not to mention beauty pageants, or Trump, when traveling in Sweden.

Isabel Lestapier Winqvist has a blog that probably explains her decision, but we can't read Swedish.

Miss Mexico :: Rosa Maria Ojeda Cuen

Miss Mexico was made to change her outfit for the regional dress contest after her original dress, decorated with brutal images of rebels in a 1920s religious uprising being hanged or shot, drew accusations of poor taste.

Travel Lesson:
If you are going to Mexico, pack a sadistic sense of humor.

Miss Kazakhstan :: Gauhkar Rakhmetalieva On Borat:

In the end we have to understand that it was only a joke.

The advantage is that now our country is world famous. As people are looking toward us, we have the opportunity to show how we really are: a modern country with infrastructure and a very developed culture.

Travel Lesson:
Kazakhstan is so over Borat.

Miss Tanzania :: Flaviana Matata

Flaviana Matata, an electrical technician whose country is participating for the first time, challenged beauty stereotypes by competing with a shaved head.

I never let anyone define me neither by hair nor clothing as I believe God made me perfect as a pure, natural African woman.

Travel Lesson:
Tanzania should immediately rise to the top of your "must visit" list.

Related Stories:
· Japanese Dancer, Internationalist Takes Miss Universe Crown [Jaunted]
· Mexico City Travel [Jaunted]
· Hotels in Mexico City [HotelChatter]