Miss Teen Pageant lasted seven hours

The first Miss Teen Belize Pageant, billed as the pageant of distinction should perhaps have been called a pageant marathon, because it lasted over seven hours. On Friday, July 30th, two thousand Belizeans packed the City Centre to see twelve contestants from Orange Walk, San Pedro, Belmopan and Belize City vie for the title. The show was two hours late in getting started, but seemed to go pretty well until the talent competition in which the contestants and disc jockey seemed ill prepared. Around 2 a.m. Saturday, sixteen year old Christina Aspheimer, representing San Pedro, was crowned Miss Teen Belize. Christina attends high school in the United States and has already left the country. The first runner up, sixteen year old Priscilla Mejia of Orange Walk, will take over the responsibilities of the crown. Unfortunately for Mejia, the contest operates under the winner-takes-all rule. It is uncertain whether the winner will return to Belize to use her first prize Government Scholarship. She is, however, expected to return to Belize in December for her Christmas break.