Flora Ancona’s Comparsa Group once again brought much laughter and culture onstage at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium with their fourth annual Miss Carnaval Pageant. Held on Saturday, February 18th, the pageant not only raises funds for the group’s carnaval activities, but it also opens the island’s annual festivities for ‘El Gran Carnaval de San Pedro.’ This year, five lovely ladies took to the stage, vying for the coveted title: Audrey Moya, Vicky Marin, Arabella Hernandez, Anna Young, and Mari Magaña. At the end of a fun night, Mari Magaña walked away with the crown, after charming the judges to take the title of Miss Carnaval 2017-2018.
Shortly after 8:30PM, Master of Ceremonies Angel Nuñez welcomed an excited audience. The pageant started with an opening dance by the five participants, who were dressed in colourful costumes. Each one of them then introduced themselves to the audience who responded with much cheer and applause.
After the opening presentation, the ladies went backstage to prepare for the next segment. During the intermission break, the judges were presented. Responsible for picking the winner were Manuel Ancona, Nellie Gomez, and Andy Nuñez. Immediately after, the crowd was entertained with a dance number by the duo Heidi and Jordan.
The next segment of the pageant was sportswear, and all five ladies displayed boxing, basketball, golf, baseball, and tennis outfits. The crowd cheered loudly as each contestant posed in their sportswear of choice. Another intermission followed while Jaime Bautista and Gianna Thompson serenaded the audience.
The swim wear segment then followed. Each participant strutted the stage in their bathing suits, cover-ups and sun dresses, reflecting a great deal of confidence. The applause was thunderous.
As the ladies prepared for their next role onstage, Yaka’s Dance Group performed a dance. A tribute to the late Felix Ayuso then followed. Organizers shared that Ayuso will be greatly missed at this year’s Carnaval. Fatima Graniel recited a poem entitled ‘Rest in Peace,’ while 20 children were invited to come up front to receive balloons. After the poem was recited, the children made their way out of the auditorium and released the balloons into the air.
In Ayuso’s fun-loving spirit, the show continued with the most entertaining segment: talent! Moya was first, bringing the Carnival flair to the event by dancing to soca beats. Magaña presented a skit which had the entire audience laughing as she acted the song ‘A Esa,’ from popular Argentinian duo Pimpinela.
Young demonstrated her singing talent to the crowd by interpreting a song from popular Tex-Mex Queen, Selena. Meanwhile, Marin treated everyone to an impersonation of Mexico’s comedian ‘Chabelita.’ The last presentation in this segment was by Hernandez, who impersonated Mexican comedian ‘La Chupitos.’
Yaka’s Dance Group once again entertained the audience with a dance number as the ladies prepared for the grand finale. Also adding to the fun was a dance presentation of the ‘Enmascarados.
Then it was time, and the audience cheered wildly as the five contestants sashayed on stage in their elegant evening gowns. They all smiled and posed, demonstrating beauty and poise as the judges submitted their final scores. As the scores were tabulated, the five lovely participants waited for the final verdict onstage.
First runner-up was Vicky Marin, and to the sound of drum rolls, the winner was announced. Taking the crown and title of 2017-2018 Miss Carnaval was Mari Magaña. ‘I am so happy… I was confident that I was going to win. I prepared myself well for the pageant,” she told The San Pedro Sun.
The San Pedro Sun congratulates all participants and wishes the best of luck to Magaña during her reign as Reina del Carnaval!
