Annie Vazquez guest blogs on fashion for Cultist. Visit her blog at TheFashionPoet.com.
I've heard of Miss Universe and Miss America, but Miss Cuba? Que? I'm sorry, but "es- q-me," this Cuban Americanita has never heard of that pageant title until I recently met this year's reigning queen Cutler Bay resident Kelly Saks. The title sounded like something super "Cubanazo" that maybe Rapper Pitbull was behind, but oye was I wrong.
Saks, 24, is a petite, classy beauty who annunciates all her words in the most proper English imaginable. She's doesn't say "dale" or "meng," but instead is dressed to the nines with salon like hair and make up almost 24-7. By day, she works as a marketing consultant at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce while juggling her fashion blog Kelly's Kloset. Since she was 20-years-old, she's been doing the pageant thing and honing her skills along the way (you should see her pageant wave which learned by watching Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality). Read on for more on Miss Cuba including some helpful beauty tips in our Q&A:
Her first competition was Miss.South Miami USA, which she won. Since then Saks
has taken home titles like Miss South Miami 2008, Miss Hollywood 2009
and Miss Earth Florida 2010. According to Saks, there's a lot of pros to
competing. "The truth is that pageants gave me the confidence to be
comfortable in my own skin. That self-assurance, on-stage or off,
empowers me to no end," she says.
Having heard her say that, this chica wanted to know what are some
ways Miami gals can be more "Miss Cuba like." So I asked her a few
questions from how to speak to what's the proper etiquette to how to
dress and what to diet on.
FashionPoet: Do you have to know Spanish or in this case Spanglish? Are we allowed to
say "oye" and "dale." What are some good words to adopt into our
vocabulary that are pageant like?
Kelly Saks: A queen should always be gracious and proper. "Please" and "gracias," always. Leave the "dale" for Pitbull.
Being a pageant girl means lots of chicos might try to grab our booty or
holler at us which would probably make us bitch slap them. Are we
allowed? How should a pageant girl behave?
A lady would politely ignore those chicos. We have no time for silly
boys. Always remember what Mami taught you: take the high road and walk
away.
A lot of us Cubanitas are all about the rice and beans, guava and cream
cheese and barbecues caja china style. Do we have to give up these foods
and eat salad all day long for a pageant figure?
I don't like the word "diet" and anyone who has attempted one probably
knows they don't work. Unfortunately for us Cubanitas, we have to work
extra hard to tone those hips and thighs. Eating healthy and a regular
fitness routine needs be part of your lifestyle, not just something you
do occasionally. I personally hate exercising, but really enjoy yoga and
pilates; both are great for achieving a long and lean body. As far as
food goes, I recently started following Kimberly Snyder's "The Beauty
Detox" and highly recommend it.
So tell us how should we style our hair, do our make up, what types of accessories to adopt and what types of clothes to wear?
The higher the hair the closer to God. I swear by Phyto Hair Volumizer.
It's like magic. Blowdry with a round brush then sleep in velcro
rollers. Yes, it hurts. You'll thank me.
One of the most valuable things any woman can do is learning how to
apply their makeup properly. Book an appointment with a makeup artist at
Sephora or Ulta and take notes. You should have two looks - a simple
day face, and a glam date night look.
You don't have to spend a fortune on clothing to achieve a stylish look.
I personally love shopping at Forever21 and H&M. The key is finding
classic pieces to work into your wardrobe and using accessories to
polish the outfit. Invest in two great pairs of pumps: nude and black.
Pageant girls know that a nude pump will make your legs look a mile
long. Muy sexy.
Those questions they ask you pageant girls seem kinda of tough. How can
we refrain from being nervous and what happens if we don't know the
answer can we like fake it?
Nerves are natural, you only get one shot and you have no idea what
you will be asked. My best advice is to listen, listen, listen. Don't
try to start answering the question in your head because you may miss an
important part of the question. Breathe and speak from your heart.
Confidence is key.
Check out Miss Cuba 2011 at www.kellysaks.com, follow her on Twitter or take a look at her blog www.kellysklosetblog.com.
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