By Hadassa Ferreira, Arts & Culture Editor
If there is something special about Saint Leo, it is the diversity within its student body.
Composed of students from a multitude of nations, Saint Leo’s community is perfect for those who want to explore different cultures. The recent Saint Leo Intercultural Pageant is proof of just that!
Recurring annually, this year’s event took place last Sunday, Jan. 26, at 6:00 p.m. in the Boardrooms, hosted by Saint Leo’s Intercultural Students Association (ISA), a student group promoting intercultural connections and representation.
Miss Canada, Wren Chretien, a senior majoring in marketing, said, “Even though we are all different, we are one.”
The Saint Leo Intercultural Pageant is an event that aims to gather Saint Leo students with an international background to present their countries’ cultures through a whole pageant show.
The Saint Leo Intercultural Pageant started in 2009 and has brought a sense of belonging to international students for almost two decades now. Every year, students have the chance to go on stage and present their cultures and talents to the entire Saint Leo community.
This year’s students were representing the nations of Canada [Wren Chretien], Brazil [Hadassa Ferreira], Haiti [Cindy Cadichon], Mexico [Anai Quintero and Yulissa Barrios], the Bahamas [Valincia Cooper], the United States [Zariah Nicholas], and Vietnam [Isabelle Le-Nguyen].
The event is also a contest with a bench of judges who have the goal of, by the end of the night, choosing the next Miss and Mister Intercultural. The student who best accomplishes the task of performing in the six categories of the show wins the pageant.
The show’s categories consist of an introductory speech, Saint Leo lifestyle, cultural wear, talent, evening wear, and Q&A. Beyond the official podium, the contestants can receive awards for each one of the categories based on their performance on each of them and even more awards based on their performance throughout the show.
This year’s pageant winner was Miss Vietnam, Isabelle Le-Nguyen, who, beyond winning the pageant, also won five different awards.
To deliver excellence during the event, the contestants spend many hours preparing, dedicating their energy to information sessions, rehearsals, fundraising, organizing meetings, and more. This year’s preparation started all the way back in October of 2024.
Shania Cartwright, the pageant coordinator and a senior student majoring in Criminal Justice said, “Organizing the Miss Intercultural Pageant has been such an incredible experience. It’s a lot of hard work, from planning every detail to ensuring everything runs smoothly backstage, but it’s all worth it when you see the impact it has.”
There is also a group of mentors that provide additional help to the contestants to prepare for the day of the show.
The mentors have the purpose of putting the entire show together and guiding the contestants through the whole process of the pageant. From brainstorming ideas to helping the contestants execute them, the mentors work hard to make sure everyone is ready for the pageant show.
Contestants have a considerable amount of liberty regarding what and how they want to present in each one of the categories. The idea is to execute their ideas in a way that shows who they are and more about their culture in a fun and creative way.
For example, Miss Mexico, Anai Quinter, who majors in Biology, did a great representation of the “Dia de los Muertos” for her cultural wear, making a complete attire by herself that represented “La Muerte” from the movie “The Book of Life.”
One of the best things about the pageant is the opportunities to learn fun facts about different countries, providing the opportunity for the audience to even learn new international songs to add to your playlist.
For instance, two songs that were in the contestants’ playlist and that are very exciting are “Just The Way You Are” by the Jamaican singer Tarrus Riley, which played during Miss Bahamas evening wear, and “Kanpe Devanm” by the Haitian group 5Lan, which was played during Miss Haiti’s flag intro.
This past Sunday’s Saint Leo Intercultural Pageant had a full house, and all seats were taken, which is great since the purpose of this event is for the members of the Saint Leo community to learn more about international cultures.
Manuela Henao Coca, a junior honors student double majoring in international studies and business management, said, “It was my first time experiencing an intercultural pageant, and despite some setbacks, it was well managed. The effort and love from the organizers were evident in the outcome, and they did a great job keeping the audience engaged.”
It was great to see how all the contestants gave a lot of themselves to showcase their cultures and talents to the audience. Beyond the opportunity to present themselves to the public, contestants had the opportunity to create a friendship bond with each other that will always be in their memories.
Cartwright added, “My expectation for the show was to create a meaningful and unforgettable experience for the contestants, the audience, and our entire community. And honestly, I think we achieved that.”
Saint Leo has multiple nations inside its campus, and they have a lot to offer; the Intercultural Pageant is the materialization of all of that!
