In Lima last week two ministers, three charges d'affaires, and the ambassadors of Brazil, Spain, France, Ecuador, Colombia and Great Britain had met in solemn conclave. Before the dark backdrop of the tiny Association of Amateur Artists theater, dapper, grey-haired Brazilian Ambassador Luis Pereira Ferreira de Faro announced to a hushed audience the result of their deliberations. The diplomats, aided by local intellectuals and journalists, had selected luscious Peruvian Ana Maria Alvarez Calderon as Beauty Queen of All the Americas.
The international contest at which their excellencies assisted was a sparkling new feature of Peru's annual Feria Nacional, which...