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Delano Cinco de Mayo crowns its Queen

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The last award Angelita Martinez won Saturday night, will be a memory for a lifetime, and a job that will last a year: Queen of the Delano Cinco de Mayo festival.

Just minutes before, Martinez won both Miss Congeniality and Miss Scholastic. Then came the names of the three runners-up and she wasn't one of them.

Then came the excited announcer's voice who said her name so quickly, many people didn't seem to hear it. But Martinez did.

This year's event featured 10 contestants, who sang, danced or provided monologues, in their talent efforts. Martinez used her saxophone to get the crowd going, with her rendition of "Sabor a mi."

Contestant Shantelle Andrade won Miss Talent after she sang "Amor Eterno" while walking the stage in her white evening gown. That, and her placing in the other judged categories, was good enough for first runner-up.

Second runner-up was Lizeth Rivera, whose twin sister Griselda Rivera also participated in the 52nd annual event. They were the first set of twins to participate in the same show.

Saturday's show was held at the Delano High School auditorium. The theme for the show was "La vida es un carnaval."

Third runner-up Deissy Ibarra provided a riveting monologue from the movie "Freedom Writers," in which a teacher confronts a student about his stereotypical cartoon drawings.

The other contestants were Lori Morales, Daisy Sanchez, Jennifer Pena, Ruth Luna and Natalie Rivera.

Morales did her own monologue dealing with the serious illness and ultimate death of her abuela.

Griselda Rivera did a hip-hop dance to several current rap songs. Sanchez did a trio of dances, including the Samba, Merengue and Salsa. Lizeth Rivera played her rendition of "Kiss by the Rain" on the piano.

Jennifer Pena sang Selena's hit, "Dreaming of You," one of two songs performed by the girls during the show from the slain Tejano singer. Natalie Rivera, dressed in a mariachi outfit, belted out Selena's song, "Tu Solo Tu."

Ruth Luna provided her own ballet moves to the B-52s' song, "Love Shack."

The 10 contestants then came out in their flowing white evening gowns to begin the second half of the show. They promenaded around the auditorium with their escort and up onto the stage until all the girls stood before the crowd.

Then came the traditional farewell to the former queen, in this case Krystal Cauthron. Cauthron had the final duty of the evening, as she crowned new queen Angelita Martinez.

Martinez will preside over this year's Cinco de Mayo four-day festival, which begin with the grand marshal barbecue at Memorial Park April 30. She will also ride in the annual Cinco de Mayo parade that starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2 along Main Street.

The Memorial Park carnival grounds open at 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday. For the weekend, the grounds open at 3 p.m. on close at midnight.

On Sunday night, a $10 ticket gets you Mexican music that features bands: Los Morros del Norte, K-Paz de la Sierra, Los Nietos, La Ley de Michoccan and Lilina.

For more information, contact Adriana Salinas, 868-4529.