It was awkward. Cringe-inducing. Meme-worthy. And a mistake. But above all, for many Colombians, Steve Harvey erroneously crowning and then de-crowning their country’s beauty queen during the 2015 Miss Universe contest quite simply amounted to a declaration of war.1 The TV mishap, whereby Colombia (well, Miss Colombia) lost a beauty title it never really earned to the Philippines (well, Miss Philippines), sent shockwaves through the South American nation, unveiling the dark underbelly of misguided pageant nationalism. For weeks, overtly racist This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 48 Jordan Casteel The acclaimed painter of people—and now plants. Arts & Culture Issue 48 The Sweet Spot How long is the perfect vacation? Arts & Culture Issue 48 Cliff Tan Four questions for a feng shui guru. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Figure Skating with Mirai Nagasu The Olympic athlete has known glory, pain and transcendence on the ice. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Sweet Nothing On the virtues of hanging out. Arts & Culture Issue 48 The Art of Fashion On what artists’ clothes communicate.
Arts & Culture Issue 48 Figure Skating with Mirai Nagasu The Olympic athlete has known glory, pain and transcendence on the ice.