Abstract

FERNANDEZ PONCELA, Anna  and  VENEGAS AGUILERA, Lilia. Fiesta, Identity, and Strategies of an Organized Minority: The Flower Queen in a Texas Latino Community. Migr. Inter [online]. 2010, vol.5, n.3, pp.113-142. ISSN 2594-0279.

The Fiesta de las Flores is celebrated annually in the border town of El Paso, Texas, under the sponsorship of LULAC, a grass-roots organization. LULAC, as the fiesta's organizer, interweaves social networks within the Spanish-speaking community, which helps to build a shared community identity and common memory. A beauty pageant also highlights the attractiveness and the accomplishments of the community's young Latinas. The Fiesta's events are imbued with political issues that are central to the lives of Latinos. This project involves a broad sector of society, of which the pageant's young contestants are key members. Not only will they wear a crown, they will also receive scholarships to help them further their education. Their participation in the contest enhances their pride for their ethnic origins, their native language, and their culture. All of this draws on the social codes and norms that are accepted and in force in the society of which they are now members.

Keywords : popular festivities; beauty contests; LULAC; Latino community; El Paso, Texas.

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