- Miss Island Queen Pageant
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Miss Island Queen is a fa'afafine pageant held annually in American Samoa since 1979. The pageant was established by the American Samoa Island Queens Association, an alliance of the growing fa'afafine population fostering community service aiding to maintain a positive acceptance of fa'afafine's within the Samoan community.[1] Annual pageant proceeds are donated to local charities which have included in the past Lyndon B. Johnson Medical Center and homes for the elderly in American Samoa and its neighboring sister-country Apia, Samoa.[2] During the late 1990s power struggles between members corrupted the association resulting towards the expansion of pageant systems unaffiliated with Island Queens.[3] Over the years many of these systems became defunct and new ones were developed, however The American Sevens (7s) founded in 1999 and the Island Queens became the two major fa’afafine associations to dominate the island.[4] In 2010 the two associations united retiring both of its names to be appropriately retooled to S.O.F.I.A.S or Society of Fa’afafine in American Samoa. However organizers agreed to continue its history by honoring past titleholders under the newly established society with the title now renamed to simply Miss S.O.F.I.A.S. It also maintained its system of a yearly elected board and continued its principle of charity work.
Contents
Notable Contestants & Winners
- Cindy Filo was 3rd runner up in 1987’s Miss Island Queen;[5] she became “Cindy of Samoa” a major tourist attraction for her drag revues in Apia, she toured her fa’afafine shows across the South Pacific and the United States.[6] Cindy was the main profile of Heather Croall’s 1999 documentary Paradise Bent: Boys Will Be Girls in Samoa.[7] In 2008 Cindy was a finalist on the New Zealand reality show Stars in Their Eyes performing her iconic Tina Turner Proud Mary routine.
- [8]Michelle Eneliko a prolific and respected local educator was 1st runner-up in 1990. Eneliko was a fatality victim of the Samoa tsunami that devastated the Samoan islands on September 29, 2009.
- [9] Miss Island Queen 1993, Shalimar (Atisone Seiuli) became publicized Hollywood media attention in 1997 when she was arrested in the car of Eddie Murphy. She died a year later in a fall from her Los Angeles apartment.[10] In 2003 the scandalous encounter was ranked #61 on E! TV's "The Greatest Shocking Moments in Entertainment History".
- [11] Miss Island Queen 1992 Loata Sipili, an RN (registered nurse) is currently the highest ranking fa’afafine in American Samoa. Sipili who holds a masters in nursing is the only locally Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) with a Board Certification in Advance Management (BCADM) from the American Nurses Association; Sipili administers her own clinic with LBJ Medical Center the territory’s only hospital. Loata’s rank succeeds Island Queens Association co-founder Dr. Vena Sele who was dean of student services and later president of ASCC American Samoa Community College. Dr. Sele retired in 2005 and later published her autobiography Memoirs of a Samoan, Catholic and Fa’afafine in 2007.[12]
Past winners
- List of former titleholders for the Miss Island Queen title
Year Miss Island Queen Hometown Village Age # of tries Host Venue 1979 Nancy Olo Fagatogo 1 Herb & Sia's Motel 1981 Marsha Mageo Pago Pago 17 1 Herb & Sia's Motel 1983 Tanya Laumoli Vailoatai 29 1 Tumua Palace Niteclub 1984 Rexene Yandall Atu'u 2 Tumua Palace Niteclub 1985 Shevon Matai Fagatogo 17 1 Herb & Sia's Motel 1987 Tasha Le Atio'o Fagali'i, Samoa/Fagatogo 19 1 Rainmaker Hotel 1988 Stacie Titiali'i Alofau 2 Rainmaker Hotel 1989 Julie McEntire (Meleise'a) Leloaloa 21 1 Rainmaker Hotel 1990 Danielle Mose Atu'u 2 Rainmaker Hotel 1991 Cherylmoanamarie 'Cherie' Ripley Leone 1 Rainmaker Hotel 1992 Loata Sipili Ili'ili 37 1 Rainmaker Hotel 1993 Shalimar (Atisone Seiuli) Mapusaga 17 1 Rainmaker Hotel 1994 Hazel Wells (Talia) Malaeloa 21 3 Rainmaker Hotel 1995 Rachel Ng Lam Apia, Samoa 1 Rainmaker Hotel 1996 Ericha Thompson Pago Pago 28 5 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 1997 Tiffany Diaz (Potasi) Fagatogo 22 3 Rainmaker Hotel 1998 Isabella L. Valentino Apia, Samoa 3 Rainmaker Hotel 2000 Lei Cameron (Fatuesi) Fagatogo 29 2 Pago Bay Ball Room 2001 Lydia Risati Swains Island/Fagatogo 30 7 Rainmaker Hotel 2003 Pearl Mata'u Afono 40 10 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2004 Sheena T. Willis (Ipi Ieli) Aua 37 8 Maliu Mai Beach Resort 2005 Marion Malena (Mageo) Pago Pago 20 2 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2006 Marlo Fuimaono A'oloau 31 5 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2007 Bianca Yoshimiro (Miscoi) Pago Pago 23 2 Pago Pago Community Center (Tautua Hall) 2008 Princess Amirah (Auva'a) Malaeloa 22 1 Pago Pago Community Center (Tautua Hall) 2009 Didi De'Barge (Afuafi) Malaeloa 28 1 Tradewinds Hotel ~ S.O.F.I.A.S. is established in 2010, Miss Island Queen name is discontinued
Year Miss S.O.F.I.A.S. Hometown Village Age # of tries Host Venue 2010 Pearl Langkilde Apia, Samoa/Leone 1 Tradewinds Hotel 2011 Trina Tui Ili'ili/Manu'a Islands 26 2 Tradewinds Hotel - List of former titleholders for the retired Miss American 7s title honored under history of S.O.F.I.A.S.
Year Miss American 7s Hometown Village Age # of tries Host Venue 1999 Shevon Matai Fagatogo 31 1 Pago Bay Ball Room 2000 Christina Robinson Apia, Samoa 1 Rainmaker Hotel 2001 Tasha Le Atio‘o Fagalii, Samoa/Fagatogo 33 3 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2002 Mavis Connery Apia, Samoa 3 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2003 Athena Mauga Pago Pago 25 1 Maliu Mai Beach Resort 2004 Aysha Tomanogi Nu'uuli 25 1 Maliu Mai Beach Resort 2005 Lydia Risati Fagatogo/Nu'uuli 33 5 Maliu Mai Beach Resort 2006 Shiki Spartanz (Leaupepe) Pago Pago 26 1 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2007 Marion Malena (Mageo) Pago Pago 22 2 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2008 Trisyss Ali Suva, Fiji/Leone 17 1 Governor Rex H. Lee Auditorium 2009 Samayah Jackson (Tualaulelei) Pago Pago 19 1 Tradewinds Hotel References
- ^ http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=8885
- ^ http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6604
- ^ http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=2584
- ^ http://samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=18266&edition=1282903200
- ^ http://zagria.blogspot.com/2008/11/cindy-filo-1969-performer.html
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250643/
- ^ http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_6074.php
- ^ http://www.samoanewsonline.com/viewstory.php?storyid=10008
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9705/02/murphy/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1551831/bio
- ^ http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=12437&edition=1264759200
- ^ http://www.flipkart.com/book/memoirs-samoan-catholic-faafafine-vanessa/1424191025
- ^ http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=256
- ^ http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=8920
External links
Categories:- Transgender
- LGBT beauty pageants
- American Samoan culture
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