Pageant News Bureau - Miss All-American Latina 2001

Americans found out a lot about themselves in 2001. That's when the statistics from the 2000 Census were released.

The facts were fascinating: Americans were still moving from the Northeast to the Sunbelt. More unmarried couples were living together. And most remarkably of all, Hispanics had become the biggest ethnic minority in the United States.

Hispanics are people of Spanish or Latin American descent.

Sometimes they are known as Latinos, or Latinas if they are women. Some are black, some are blond, some have Asian or American Indian features. Millions of them are newcomers to the United States, while others have roots in the country that go back 500 years.

For all the things that can be said about this diverse group of people, the most important is that they are Americans.

That's why Julitsa Lagarreta's title is so timely. On Aug. 29, 2001, in Los Angeles, this 19-year-old Illinois beauty was crowned Estylo's Miss All-American Latina 2001.

Actor-dancer Patrick Swayze drops by during rehearsals.

The evening was a celebration and a demonstration of Latin culture in the United States. Actor Matt Cedeño of "Days of our Lives" and actress Sandra Vidal of "The Bold and the Beautiful" were the hosts. The names and home regions of the runners-up prove that Latina beauty is not confined to any region: Scarlet Garcia of Texas, Amanda Gonzales of Southern California, Marilyn Ricker of Missouri, Jennifer Rodriguez of New England.

Change is coming fast, the Census tells us, and sometimes change is awkward. Too many of her fellow countrymen still can't pronounce Julitsa Lagarreta's name. But she's the girl of the future, and more and more of America is going to look like her. Honestly, who can complain about that?

The girl from our future