Miss Hispanidad pageant moves to Lake in the Hills

Miss Hispanidad, the Elgin-centric pageant that rewards its Latina contestants for brains over beauty has moved to Lake in the Hills.

The pageant, celebrating its 10th anniversary Saturday, is usually held at the Elgin Holiday Inn in a ballroom that seats 250.

But organizers wanted to go all out this year and needed a bigger venue to keep the party going.

So, they decided on the Boulder Ridge County Club in Lake in the Hills and invited Fox News Chicago traffic reporter Sondra Solarte to give the festivities that extra punch as an emcee, said pageant Director Rosey Valencia.

The room reserved for the pageant seats 400.

From the beginning, the pageant has put more emphasis on smarts and less on sex appeal.

The 12 contestants randomly selected a Latin American country to research and will present what they learned to a panel of judges - their performance in this area comprises 70 percent of the total score.

During the pageant, contestants also will dress in the country's traditional costume and answer questions in hopes of securing their piece of a $11,000 purse - this year, candidates hail from Elgin, Chicago, Carpentersville and Chicago.

"The main purpose of the scholarship is we see a lot of girls after high school don't continue (their education) after high school so we want the girls to use the money for college."

The young lady eventually crowned Miss Hispanidad wins a $5,000 scholarship and will make her first public appearance next Saturday in Elgin at Boricua Fest.

The festivities begin with drinks at 5:30 p.m., followed by a four-course dinner at 6 p.m.

The pageant begins at 7 p.m. Dancing and live entertainment round out the night.

Tickets cost $45 in advance and $60 at the door.

For tickets, call (847) 710-4250.

The Reflejos bilingual journal, owned by the Daily Herald, is one of the pageant's sponsors.