Janet Rodriguez was crowned Latina queen this weekend at the fourth annual Miss Latina NIU cultural pageant.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “I felt a rush when they announced my name.”

NIU students and visiting schools attended the pageant Friday night, which was sponsored by Sigma Lambda Gamma.

Nidia Navar, a junior accounting major and president of Sigma Lambda Gamma, said they planned the event since the fall semester.

The members of Sigma Lambda Gamma coordinated and hosted the event. Many members from other organizations came to support the pageant as well.

“This pageant provides cultural awareness about Latina culture,” said Hagar Allen, a sophomore pre-communication studies major and Miss Latina 2002, “and to let women of Latina descent display their pride.”

As Miss Latina NIU, the winner is required to speak at several events and complete community service duties.

The contestants included Laura Dorado, a freshman undecided business major; Erika Lopez, a freshman undecided liberal arts and sciences major; and Rodriguez, a sophomore special education major.

Each contestant represented a specific city in Mexico. Dorado represented Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Lopez represented Morelos, Curnavaca, Mexico and Rodriguez represented Durango, Mexico. They started the ceremony with a dance where all three contestants danced in unison.

The contestants also displayed attire that is worn by women of the region they represented. The talent portion became emotional when Dorado dedicated an original poem to her father.

In between each portion of the pageant, there were special performances from NIU dance groups. Danca Quente performed several types of Latin dances. Vibe performed a hip-hop and soulful dance routine. Kiarri Andrews, freshman journalism major, sung two songs and also did a dance routine. The break-dancing group, The Groundhogs, seemed to amaze the crowd with their dancing technique.

Rodriguez said she was very surprised that she won because she had never been in a pageant before.

“It was a great experience working together with the other contestants,” she said. “It helped us to get to know each other and build bonds and it helped us express our culture.”