"Saint John of Two Rivers Tena" is also known as the
"capital of guayusa and cinnamon".
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| A dance performance in the beginning of the Ñusta Waysa Ishpinku Warmi beauty contest. |
The city had its 454th birthday on November 15th
this year.
Part of the annual festivities for Tena’s anniversary is a beauty
contest for local indigenous nationality, Kichwas.
The winner of the contest has a historical title: Ñusta Waysa Ishpinku
Warmi.
It can be translated as The Queen of Cinnamon and Guayusa.
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| Warriors danced while the candidates first came to the stage. |
But usually the shorter version of, Cinnamon and Guayusa Woman or Waysa Ishpinku Warmi, is used.
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| Former Ñusta Waysa Ishpinku Warmi being interviewed by local TV station. |
This year’s reigning queen, Mabbel Andy, comes from the Kichwa area of Pano.
She won the judges over with her fluent Kichwa and ancestral knowledge.
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| Kuraka purifies the girls and makes them safe from the attacks of sacha supay, forest's evil demons. |
In this beauty queen contest the majority of points come, not from the
way the contestants look, but from their knowledge of Kichwa culture, language
and tradition.
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| Two of the three judges, all of them women and either Kichwas themselves or fluent in Kichwa. |
Another difference from the more familiar beauty pageants is the concept
of the beauty in itself.
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| Tena's mayer (at the right) dancing with the Hispanic Beauty Queen, Reina de Tena, or Queen of Tena. |
A beautiful Kichwa woman has a long straight hair that the contestant
straightened even more with baby oil.
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| Contestants in their fantasy outfits. |
A traditional beautiful Kichwa woman is also shy.
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| At the backstage during the contest. |
She speaks in a quiet
voice.
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| Depictions of traditional Kichwa way of life and dance performances. |
She does not look people straight to the eye and the most important thing of
all…
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| Ñusta Waysa Ishpinku Warmi 2014-2015 Mabbel Andy from Pano in her fantasy outfit. |
A traditional Kichwa beauty is a bit round and has a feminine shape.
