CUIDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- It seems like the start to another dreary day at a female prison in the violent border city of Ciudad Juarez but inside young, long-haired, sultry brunettes are preparing to take part in an unusual beauty pageant intended to lift their spirits on International Women's Day.
The "Captive Beauty" prisoner contest at the only female prison in Juarez is one of a kind in a city accustomed to deadly violence from rival drug gangs.
"Rescuing women's self-esteem" is the slogan for this beauty contest where 15 women out of 600 prisoners paraded on Monday.
The contest is the result of efforts by social worker Velia Alicia Legaspi and the prison's administration that started creating jobs for prisoners and bringing a sort of cultural life behind bars.
Legaspi said they intended to fight boredom and help increase the inmates' self-esteem.
"We call it 'Captive Beauty' because these women are held captive in a prison. We came up with the idea after seeing that women here were very limited. They don't have this kind of opportunity and I think we feel the need to give them a motivation, taking advantage of International Women's Day," she said.
And at the very least, it helped to boost self-esteem momentarily.
The contest also helps to make the girls feel attractive and beautiful again.
Twenty-two-year-old Janet Machado, is serving a 10 year term for drug trafficking. She was stopped by police while traveling with her boyfriend who was trafficking 53 kilos of marijuana in a vehicle on the outskirts of Juarez.
She has appealed and is waiting to get a new hearing.
"People came and explained there would be a catwalk today on International Women's Day. They asked whether we wanted to participate, we said 'yes,' really to boost our routine here. We're very happy we were invited to take part in these events because we need to find a distraction," Machado said after winning $2,500 pesos ($197 dollars) for second place.
Nearly all inmates are convicted for drug trafficking. More than a half of all prisoners are serving time for the same offense.
Some contestants have managed to recover the trust of their relatives with this contest after being rejected socially.
Ciudad Juarez has become a battleground for rival cartels fighting over smuggling routes into the United States. Mexico's drug war has killed more than 17,000 people since late 2006.
President Felipe Calderon's military-backed assault on drug gangs has helped round up more than 80,000 suspects over the past three years. But that has left the country's aging prisons overwhelmed with jailbreaks and struggling to contain riots.
The chaos poses another security risk for Calderon as he tries to reassure Washington and investors he can defeat cocaine and marijuana smugglers.
