Miss Arauca was crowned “International Joropo Queen” Tuesday at an event in eastern Colombia celebrating the local Llanera culture, reported newspaper El Pais.
Yulitsa Tatiana Siniva was praised for her artistic antics, the execution of the Joropo dance steps and also for her extensive knowledge of the Llanos region, or “the plains,” which stretches from the Colombian Meta department to south-central Venezuela.
Joropo is both a traditional musical style and a dance from the Llanos region.
The judges said that Siniva was “the most beautiful aficionado of Llanera culture” and that she was a worthy representative of the Arauca department.
“I would first of all like to give thanks to God, because he has given me all the virtues and all I know about my Llanera culture, to all of the organization because they treated me very well, to this audience that supported me all the way with their applause … they gave me more strength to continue, it was very hard,” said Siniva at the event.
“The other girls were also worthy of the title […] the Arauca department should be very proud because we succeeded in bringing the title to our region,” she continued.
Women from Venezuela and Colombia participated in the contest, make the competition an “international” spectacle.
The new Joropo queen received $4,000 in prize money.
