She is 20 years old and lives near one of the worst spots in terms of gridlock in Costa Rica. Carolina Vargas is a beautiful woman who was recently crowned Señorita San José, which means that she will reign over traditional holiday festivities such as El Tope (equestrian parades), Toros a la Tica (bull runs inside a bullring), the Zapote Holiday Fair, and others. Carolina Vargas is the first beauty queen to reign over holiday festivities in San Jose since 2011; inexplicably, the Señorita San José beauty pageant has always been mired in controversy and silly polemics, and this returning year was no exception.

 

The first major issue with Señorita San José pageant was that it lacked transparency. News media outlets in Costa Rica were mostly kept in the dark with regard to this pageant until it actually took place; and, during the elimination and crowning ceremony, the contestants were not allowed to answer questions from either the judges or the press. In social media circles, pageant followers claimed that the fix was in –which is an issue that is raised at just about every beauty contest in Costa Rica; however, daily tabloid Diario Extra interviewed Carolina Vargas after her crowning and she had the following to say:

 

Diario Extra: Where are you from and what do you do?

Miss Vargas: I live in La Uruca. I study Public Relations Management at Universidad Latina in Heredia. Even though I don’t look like it, I am a football player.

Diario Extra: What position do you play?

Miss Vargas: Striker

Diario Extra: Do you do any modeling?

Miss Vargas: No. This is my first time entering a pageant.

Diario Extra: Do you have a romantic partner?

Miss Vargas: I don’t. I am single.

Diario Extra: How do you like your man to be?

Miss Vargas: I don’t have specific types; I like nice personalities and attractive looks.

Diario Extra: What about lots of money?

Miss Vargas: Yes, of course! Why not? Everything counts.

Diario Extra: How long does it take you to get yourself ready to go out.

Miss Vargas: An hour; no matter where I have to go, it takes me an hour.

Diario Extra: What do these beauty pageants represent?

Miss Vargas: They represent what women in Costa Rica are about. In my case, I represent women of San Jose.