Wearing glittering red dresses, the women of Gamma Phi Omega stood on the stage at the Holmes Student Center’s Carl Sandburg Auditorium on Friday night awaiting a pageant.

The pageant wasn’t for them, though. This pageant’s purpose was to crown NIU’s first-ever Mr. Papi Chulo.

The male pageant, sponsored by Gamma Phi Omega, was a multi-cultural event that accepted any male involved on campus with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, wishing to compete for the title. The six male contestants competed by displaying their talents, pajama wear and formal wear, and by answering a few questions while the audience screamed its approval.

“I’ve never seen guys compete in a pageant before,” said Leeta Conner, an adult and higher education graduate student. “So I really wanted to see it.”

After the two-hour competition, Jose Iniguez, a junior elementary education major, took the title of Mr. Papi Chulo. Although Iniguez answered questions in a calm voice, he still felt the pressure of being in front of an audience yelling his name.

“It was hard. You’re so nervous,” Iniguez said. “You don’t even have the right answer, you just keep talking and talking. Your mind goes blank and you just talk and do your best.”

For his talent, Iniguez performed several types of dances with three partners. The dancing included salsa, bachata, merengue and reggae.

“He really worked hard for this, he really deserves it,” said Janet Rodriguez, a sophomore special education major and one of Iniguez’s dancing partners. “Although we didn’t practice the routine very long, it came naturally to him and he really deserves the best.”

The pageant began with the six contestants being led on stage by the women of G-Phi-O and introducing themselves to the audience. The contestants were Iniguez, Eddy Akel, a junior finance major; Guillermo Estrada, a sophomore mechanical engineer major; Oliver Vasquez, a senior sports management major; Fernando Nieto, a senior Spanish language and literature major; and Abid Jaffri, a senior OMIS major.

After the introductions, the contestants displayed their talents, which included singing and dancing.

Jaffri sang about a loved one for his talent, but he also enjoyed watching the other talents.

“I get to learn about different cultures by watching the other talents,” he said. “I’ve studied so much the whole semester, I wanted to do something else outside the classroom.”

Following the talents, contestants displayed their pajama wear and were asked to explain their ideal date. The audience cheered loudly as each contestant answered the question.

“I would bring her a little gift, like a small music box,” Nieto said. “So every time she opened that little box, she would remember this date.”

Finally, the contestants modeled formal wear and were asked why they should be the first Mr. Papi Chulo.

“I am a good role model here at NIU and involved in community service,” Vasquez said. “Mr. Papi Chulo should not be looked up to just for looks, he should be someone who is dedicated to what they really want to do.”

The three judges had a hard time deciding which of the six men would take the crown.

“There are no losers here,” said judge Sylvia Fuentes, who’s also the director of University Resources for Latinos. “Everyone is a winner.”

The pageant ended with the audience and contestants cheering on Iniguez as he sported the crown and a bouquet of roses.

Iniguez thinks students should try to take part in as many events as possible.

“In college, don’t just go and study, participate in whatever you can,” he said.

The women of G-Phi-O were happy with the turnout of their first Mr. Papi Chulo pageant.

“We were excited that the guys were excited,” said Yahaira Diaz, a junior Spanish major and G-Phi-O secretary. “It took us a while to plan.”

G-Phi-O decided to hold the Mr. Papi Chulo competition after finding out about it from an Indiana Delta chapter.

“We hoped to just have a good crowd and entertain people,” said Anna Ramirez, a junior elementary education major and G-Phi-O president.

G-Phi-O plans on making the Mr. Papi Chulo pageant an annual event.