Coincidentally, after my random in-class rant on nationalism and the Miss Universe contest, I came across this article at the BBC. It’s about Miss Mexico’s gown choice for this year’s Miss Universe pageant, which will be held May 28th in Mexico City. The gown was selected for Rosa Maria Ojeda Cuen from a field of thirty other dresses, and was admired because the selection committee “wanted a dress that made you think of Mexico.” Hector Terrones, who served on the selection committee, apparently also explained to La Jornada that “The design should grab people’s attention and have impact without giving too much information.” But critics, like La Jornada columnist Jorge Camil, vehemently disagree on the dress’ ‘message,’ claiming that:
It would be like Miss USA wearing a dress showing images of the Ku Klux Klan in the Deep South. [...] A beauty contest is very far from being the right
place to vent political and religious ideologies.
Oh my! Let’s have a look at this dress…
According to msnbc, this well-accessoried ensemble features a “billowing, hoop skirt adorned with sketches of Catholic rebels hanging from posts. Rosaries and scapulars hung from the bullet-studded, bandolier belt; a large crucifix necklace, black halter top and wide-brimmed sombrero completed the outfit.”
(I really like it when ladies remember their hats. Bullets, however, are often that one thing too much that bogs down the look.)
The msnbc and BBC articles each do a good job pointing out some of what is at stake in this choice for representing Mexico to the world. There is also an article in La Jornada* that is particularly good at reading the dress as a signifier of contemporary Mexico’s political moment, which Melissa has also pointed out to us to in her response to JL’s post on the new abortion laws in Mexico City.
Further, as all of the articles point out, there is something troubling about this fetishization of the violent Cristero War, which hinged on Catholic rebellion against 
the secularization of the Mexican state. And for some, the images, which include Roman Catholic rebels hanging from posts and a man facing a firing squad (maybe Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ.?) also have an uncomfortable resonance with the pervasive public violence brought on by the escalating drug war in Mexico.
Hey Princess Propaganda and Princess Production, what do you think of this sticky uber-princess situation?
[*By the way, the Jornada article is in Spanish though, since it is a newspaper, you might only need to dredge up your sixth-grade Spanish! I suggest taking a look. If you get stuck, feed the article's URL into Babel Fish.]
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