The Braidy Bunch

Seeking An Extension For A Beauty Queen

A newly crowned Bolivian beauty queen has been stripped of her title after judges discovered she had worn fake braids during a pageant celebrating Aymara Indian fashions. Mariela Mollinedo was crowned Cholita Pacena 2007, an annual event featuring the elaborate style favoured by La Paz's Aymara women, known as "cholitas." But judges discovered too late that Mollinedo's long black braids - an essential part of the cholita look - were extensions.