I'm from Canada so maybe things are done a little differently here, but I wanted to point out that for minority-specific pageants, you do not have to be 100% of that ethnic group.
I recently attended & watched the "Miss Italia in the World Canada" pageant in Toronto, Ontario. The girl who won is of mixed ethnicity, her mother is from Rome, and her father is Jamaican.......Christina Cretaro, 21, of Toronto won the title of Miss Italia nel Mondo Canada on July 19, 2002 in Toronto. She will represent the Land of the Maple Leaf at the 12th Miss Italia nel Mondo (Miss Italy in the World) Pageant in Salsamaggore, Italy, in September, competing with women from 33 other countries.
This is her here with comedian Joe Avati:
I think to enter pageants for a Miss Italian, Miss Latina, Miss Asian, Miss Polonia (for people of Polish descent), you don't have to be 100% that ethnicity...you have to be maybe just 25% or 50%.
In the case of the Miss Italia nel Mundo pageant, this is to promote Italian culture and to make sure that contestant can understand Italian, since the biggie pageant at the end in Italy is done in Italian.
Similarly, in Miss Chinese International, the 1st RU was Christie Angela Bartram of Toronto, Canada. She has a "not so Chinese name", as she is of mixed ethinicity....caucasian Dad, Chinese Mom. So you don't have to be 100% Chinese to be eligible for the pageant.
I believe that in Toronto, there is also a Miss Nigeria Canada pageant, and also a Miss Guyana Canada pageant. You don't have to be 100% of African descent, but you need to have some sort of tie to either country (maybe 1 of your parents or 1 of your grandparents).
Thanks.
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