Candidates for Coffee Queen: The cream of crop (photos)

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What better way to make your home-grown product internationally recognized than to create a beauty pageant and invite some of the world’s most beautiful women to compete to promote your merchandise.

And that’s exactly what’s happening this week at the 2012 Manizales Fair (January 2-8), in which representatives from across the world compete to be crowned International Coffee Queen.

Things start off relatively tame — from Wednesday to Friday the candidates will spend time visiting a children’s hospital, Los Nevados Natural Park and the Rio Blanco Natural Reserve, attending coffee business fairs, a gala dinner, an event at the local mall and a fashion show.

The pageant gets interesting on Saturday 7 with a three-hour swimsuit parade, a tour of the historic city center and a fashion show in which each beauty must dress to represent their country. On Sunday the chicas will dress to impress as they are grilled by the judges before the winner is announced.

Here we provide a vital run-down of the foxy femmes.

Miss Argentina

Dancing diva Barbara Soledad Saavedra, hailing from Buenos Aires, teaches Classic and Spanish Dance while studying Nutrition. In five years, the ace Argentine wants to have a family and to be patron of an organization to fight discrimination.

Miss Bahamas

Keriann Brittney Stuart is one of the babies of the beauties. The short but sweet 5”6, 17-year-old likes to travel, read classic novels, meet new people, dance and go shopping in her spare time. She is studying nursing and plans to expand her “Empowering young ladies” program worldwide within five years.

Miss Bolivia

Ximena Vargas Parada is a multi-talented missy, studying Psychology and Fashion Design simultaneously. Within five years she want to set up a foundation for the protection of animals.

Miss Brazil

Colombia’s biggest coffee competitor has put forward Aline Sales Dos Reis as Miss Brazil. Gym bunny Aline does weight training and practises Pilates. Within five years she wants to have set up her own kindergarten.

Miss Canada

25-year-old Emily Ann Kiss is a Communication and Psychology graduate.  Currently working as a PR representative for a non-profit organization, she plays beach volleyball and runs cross country in her spare time. This girl aims high and wants to be a national hot shot in Public Relations in five years’ time.

Miss Colombia

Colombia’s home-grown offering is a cutie from Cucuta. Yoselin Rincon Castillo is studying Social Communication and Journalism and is a modern and folkloric dancer in her spare time. Worryingly, Colombian Castillo is scared of society.

Miss Costa Rica

Miss Costa Rica is 21-year-old Fabiana Granados Herrera, a horse riding hottie. She plays basketball and volleyball and wants to have her own business one day. This smart señorita is scared of nothing and is studying Business Administration and Industrial Engineering.

Miss Dominican Republic

Catherine Mabel Ramirez Rosario might have a relatively easy time in this pageant, seeing as she is already a professional model. She is also a business events organizer, plays tennis and reads, and wants to improve the world and society for a better tomorrow.

Miss Ecuador

24-year-old Maria Lissette Cedeño Gomez likes to dance, travel and sing, and speaks English and Spanish.

Miss Germany

Tri-lingual Miss Germany is 19-year-old Johanna Acs. Along with speaking German, English and Hungarian, she goes to the gym, plays basketball, and is finishing high school. Within five years, Jo-jo wants to be an elementary school teacher.

Miss Honduras

Hottie Miss Honduras, Bessy Beatriz Ochoa Lopez, is another baby of the bunch. At just 17 years old, the babe Bessy is still in high school, but plans to be a diplomat for the Honduran government in the next five years.

Miss Indonesia

Eye-candy Miss Indonesia Laskary Andaly Metal has an degree in Microbiology and is currently pursuing a masters in petroleum engineering. Miss Metal likes to swim and play tennis, wants to be a wife and mother within five years, and each day strives to be better than the day before.

Miss Mexico

Mouth-watering Miss Mexico, Silvia Edith Espinoza Sanchez, is bound to be a hot one as she is from the spicy town of Tabasco. The teenager likes to spend time with her family, play volleyball and go to the theater.

Miss Panama

Pretty Miss Panama, Edith Noemi Diaz Cordoba, is 23 years old, and enjoys the lifestyle in Colombia’s northern neighbor.

Miss Paraguay

Purty Miss Paraguay, Clara Silvana Carrillo Gossen, has big dreams. One is to set up a charitable foundation for disadvantaged kids and the other to create a popular university for people who have not had access to formal education. And the fearless femme, who speaks Spanish and Guarani, wants to do all this in the next five years.

Miss Peru

Perky Miss Peru, Sharley Catheryne Torres, studies hotel management and tourism and is also a children’s events organizer. Sharley likes to skate, read and dance, while one of her greatest fears is not becoming a mother.

Miss Poland

Ping-pong-playing Miss Poland, Justina Katarzyna Karlowska, is majoring in Social Communication and Journalism. She likes illustration and in the next five years wants to have visited at least four European cities and have her own car.

Miss Portugal

Swiss-born stunner Patricia Carvalho da Silva has big plans for her future; to work in medicine and continue to be involved in fashion. The 21-year-old is in her third year of studying sociology, speaks Portuguese and can understand English, French and German. This blue-eyed- babe likes to read, walk and travel.

Miss Puerto Rico

Sulis Marie Matos Reyes is a basket and volley balling babe and is studying to be a molecular cell biologist. The 20-year-old is aiming to be a neurosurgeon and the poor thing is scared of electricity and bugs.

Miss Spain

This striking stunner is the tallest of the leggy lovelies. Standing at 5″10, Miss Spain speaks Spanish and Arabic, and is into sport, fashion and photography. She plays tennis, badminton, volleyball and swims, and rates her family values as paramount. The Spanish sizzler also wouldn’t mind a stint on the silver screen.

Miss United States

Attractive and athletic, 22-year-old Lilia Dorotea Fifield swims, plays tennis and American football, and the Californian cutie enjoys spending time with her mother. Bless.

Miss Uruguay

21-year-old Cinthia Micaela Amorin Pereira is a card-playing-cutie. Poker is one of the past times of this Program Analyst in-training. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese, and in the next five years wants to grow as a model, as a professional, as a person.

Miss Venuzuela

The blond bombshell from Colombia’s eastern neighbor, Gabriella Ferrari Peirano speaks Spanish, English and Italian, and is sporty senorita. The 20-year-old from Valencia practices gymnastics and plays tennis and volleyball. She has a natural fear of the unknown but is excited to see what life has in store for her.