History-laden dress too much for Mexico

MEXICO CITY -- Miss Mexico is toning down her Miss Universe pageant dress, not because it's too slinky or low-cut, but because its bullet-studded belt and images of hangings from a 1920s uprising have outraged Mexicans.

The floor-length dress is accented with crosses, scapulars and a sketch of a man facing a firing squad. Designers who helped select the dress from among 30 entries said it represented the nation's culture and history, especially since Mexico City is hosting the pageant next month.

Cut from a traditional natural cotton called manta, the dress depicts scenes from the 1926-29 Cristero War, an uprising by Roman Catholic rebels against Mexico's secular government, which was imposing anti-clerical laws. Tens of thousands of people died.

"We wanted a dress that made you think of Mexico," Hector Terrones, who served on the selection committee, told La Jornada newspaper. "The design should grab people's attention and have impact without giving too much information."

But many Mexicans weren't happy about the history the dress evoked. Others said it glorified violence in a country where a battle between drug gangs has brought a wave of killings and beheadings.

Miss Mexico, Rosa María Ojeda, presented the dress March 29, showing off the billowing hoop skirt adorned with sketches of Catholic rebels hanging from posts.

Rosaries and scapulars hung from the bullet-studded bandolier belt; a large crucifix necklace, black halter top and wide-brimmed sombrero completed the outfit.

The gown's designer, María del Rayo Macías, told La Jornada, "we are descendants of Cristeros. Whether we like it or not, it's a part of who we are." Macías is from Guadalajara, a city in what was the Cristero heartland.

La Jornada columnist Jorge Camil said a dress was not the place to recount the event.

"It would be like Miss USA wearing a dress showing images of the Ku Klux Klan in the deep South, with their hoods, their burning crosses and beer cans," he wrote. "A beauty contest is very far from being the right place to vent political and religious ideologies."

Ojeda's representatives said in a statement the dress would be "modified" due to "the concerns that have surfaced regarding the design."