The Carl Sandburg Auditorium reverberated with cheers of approval as Mr. Papi Chulo 2005 was crowned at Thursday night’s third annual pageant.

“I’m so grateful that my mom and brother came to see this,” said Patricio Rodriguez Rucoba, a senior finance major and the newly crowned Mr. Papi Chulo. “And I’m so grateful that I met Lizette (his girlfriend and dance partner for the talent portion). She’s my strength. Without her I wouldn’t be here.”

The pageant began with a short introduction segment during which contestants shared their favorite quote with the audience.

“Life is not about the breath you take,” Sam Simmons, a contestant and senior media communication major told the crowd, “but the moments that take your breath away.”

The six NIU male contestants were interviewed in their pajamas and asked about their ideal date.

Contestant Eric Diaz, a senior corporate communication major, said his ideal date was not about location or atmosphere, but “that one moment when you look into your date’s eyes and the world stops and everything becomes surreal.”

When the participants showcased their talents for the audience, a vivid array of abilities graced the stage.

Contestants danced, sang, recited spoken-word poetry, rapped free-style and even presented a short video segment in the style of MTV’s “Made.”

Rodriguez Rucoba presented a dance with his girlfriend, Lizette Gonzales, that had the audience screaming.

“I think he snapped with the dancing,” said Jaime Jaquez, a senior industrial technology major. “I’ve seen him dance, but never like that. He’s practiced so hard I haven’t even seen him in two weeks.”

Rodriguez Rucoba said he wasn’t nervous, because he asked people to punch him in the chest before he went on to replace his nervousness with adrenaline.

“It was a tough decision,” said Jack King, a pageant judge, internship coordinator and career adviser in the sociology department.

“They did a really great job,” King said of Gamma Phi Omega’s organization of the event. “I had no idea what to expect.”

The auditorium was packed for the third annual pageant. Many Greek organizations were present, as well as a large number of non-Greek participants.

During the intermission, a dance group called Animation performed for the audience. Nearly 20 dancers filled the stage, precisely executing their synchronized hip-hop dance moves to a medley of urban songs.

The enthusiastic crowd responded to each performance with rowdy audience callbacks, Greek roll-calls and applause.