You might be aware that Venezuela has won more major international beauty competitions than any other country, but do you have any idea about the whole beauty industry behind this. With seven Miss Universe titles, beauty queens rank alongside baseball players and oil as the country's biggest exports.
Venezuelans take beauty seriously and a whole industry of grooming schools, plastic surgeons and beauty salons has emerged to prepare young women for the endless pageants that take place each year all over the country.
Despite having one of the highest inflation rates in the world, salaries corroded by a plunging economy and basic goods like milk and toilet paper in short supply, Venezuelans are proud of the beauty pageants and consider winning the Miss Universe as a triumph for the country.
However, this obsession with beauty is not limited to the catwalks or beauty contests. Instead, the whole society puts a lot of pressure on women to be perfect according to certain impossible beauty canons. And when nature hasn't made a woman's face and body look like those seen on screen, then plastic surgery is the answer.
No wonder plastic surgery is so popular in this financially troubled country. With some of the highest rates of plastic surgery in the world, people in the first world sometimes wonder if it is cheap to get surgery to actually allow so many people - some of them poor - afford it.
The answer is no. Plastic surgery is not cheap in Venezuela. However, in contrast to other countries, beauty is considered a priority.
Most girls grow up watching Miss Venezuela, Miss World, and Miss Universe on television. Besides, society really prides itself on having beautiful women and girls grow up wanting to look like those girls on television. Therefore, instead of saving or getting indebted to build a career, travel or buy a house, they prefer to invest in their future by making themselves more beautiful.
