THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

When the annual Miss Venezuela pageant is aired on television, millions tune in, paralyzed in suspense as contestants parade on stage in neon-colored bikinis while their measurements are read aloud and they answer questions like how they would draw people back to the waning Roman Catholic church. As the nation plummets into economic ruin, even more young women are holding fast to dreams of becoming beauty queens.  At a recent casting for the Nuestra Belleza Venezuela contest, a pack of teens and 20-something women donned towering heels and coated their lips in glossy pink hues before strutting in front of judges. Among them was Oxlaniela Oropeza, a law student. “My values are intact and no one can take that away from me,” she said. “From the time I was 6 years old, my goal has been to become Miss Venezuela.”

AP