Miss Prisoner

If it were not for the poor-quality tattoos on the ankles of some contestants, lack of air conditioning and the presence of uniformed female guards, it would seem like a normal beauty pageant. The Miss Prisoner contest in Rio8217;s Talavera Bruce prison is one of a kind, as is the penitentiary itself in a country notorious for inhuman prison conditions.

8216;8216;Rescuing woman8217;s self-esteem8217;8217; was the slogan that hung above the catwalk where 17 women out of 310 Talavera Bruce prisoners paraded on Friday.

8216;8216;It was wonderful for all of us as it fills us with spirit to endure the suffering that we have here,8217;8217; said Maria Aguilera, a Bolivian serving a term for drug trafficking.

Although Brazilians dominated the beauty contest and two slim local girls who could easily be mistaken for professional models took the second and third spots, a buxom 25-year-old from Portugal, Elisabeth Sardinha, won the Miss Prisoner tiara. 8212; Reuters