Role model with a sash: Miss Latina Racine isn't a beauty pageant

Racine - Tiaras and satin sashes might be part of the process, but Dolores Hernandez insists the Miss Latina Racine competition is not a beauty pageant.

"We're hoping that we can project (the image of) a role model and not just somebody that's hooked on their looks," said Hernandez, an event co-founder.

Members of the Racine County community will honor five young women of Hispanic heritage Friday evening at the scholarship competition's 10th annual dinner.

The competition is open to Latinas from the age of 17 to 24 who demonstrate exceptional educational achievement and a commitment to community service, Hernandez said.

This year's nominees are Maria Becerra, Mariciela Belmares, Rachelle Clemins, Amanda de Leon and Cindy Rios.

One of the five women will be crowned Friday and will receive a $2,000 scholarship. The first runner-up will receive $1,000, and the other participants each will receive $500.

The five members of this year's court have been solidifying their leadership in the community since June, when they were selected as participants, said Sandra Villarreal, secretary of the Miss Latina Racine Scholarship Corp.'s board.

"A lot of times when students go for scholarships it's a matter of filling out some papers and getting a check," Villarreal said.

Not in this competition.

Court members began their tenure by marching in the Fourth Fest parade in celebration of Independence Day.

They partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside chapter of Gamma Alpha Omega, a historically Latina sorority, to host children's activities corner at Racine Mexican Fiesta in August.

They also volunteered their time at the Por La Gente softball tournament in Racine over Labor Day weekend, working on arts and crafts with the children of adults who played ball, Hernandez said.

At Friday's dinner, court members will dine with the panel of seven judges and will present on a topic of interest to them, Villarreal said.

This year's judges includes Racine Unified administrator Jose Martinez.

The first winner of the top prize, Angelica Valdivia, will deliver the keynote speech.

Valdivia is a guidance counselor at Gilmore Middle School.

Kari Villalpando, winner of last year's top prize, remembers banquet night well.

"It was so stressful," said Villalpando, who graduated from St. Catherine's High School. "I was sweating on stage."

Since that night, Villalpando has started her freshman year at Marquette University and later transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she studies nursing.

She said she's looking forward to getting the $2,000 Miss Latina Racine check, which she won't receive until the 2007 winner takes over the crown this week.

In the decade since it formed, the group has distributed from $85,000 to $90,000, event organizers said.

The group's board has started administering three additional scholarships, which are open to men and women and funded by families in Racine.

Hernandez said she, Diana Felix and Sara Montes, who died in 1999 and will be honored Friday, founded the non-profit organization in an effort to lower the Latino dropout rate in Racine Unified.

"We're becoming a positive educational movement within the Latino community," Hernandez said.

The Miss Latina Racine 2007 event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Racine Marriott hotel. Tickets are still available and cost $50. For information, call (262) 498-2690.

Source: JS Online