Beauty Queens & Little Miss Piggies.

The next day there was another parade, this time of the beauty queen contestants at both the regional and Latin American level. I felt it my journalistic duty to document that one. On my second-last day in Xela I headed to the San Francisco Alto market, as I had missed out on the spectacle that is Chichicastenango during my first stint in the country, and this is a supposed close second. The following are some of my favorite photos from the two outings. Enjoy.

The life of a mascot. It's a hard one.

Even Moses made an appearance. Is that Sean Connery?

These two may be the cutest kids in Guatemala. No joke.

Classy.

Puerto Rico had the beauty-queen wave down pat.

Paper bag princess? Very haute couture.

Some were tired...

... and others were wide-eyed.

This place was a PETA nightmare.

Rocking a suit and cowboy hat, selling piglets. What a champ.