Culture & Crown
Patrick Henry High School's very own Maleda Xiong was recently crowned Miss Hmong Minnesota. Photo by David Pierini
At just 18 years old, Maleda Xiong is balancing a full life with the Miss Hmong Minnesota crown on top of her head.
By Abdi Mohamed Staff Reporter
A s a senior in high school, Maleda Xiong has had a lot to juggle in her life this past year. She’s the third youngest of 12 kids which means she’s very much involved with family- oriented activities. Xiong takes college classes through the Post- secondary Education Option in her final year of high school.
For a student this busy, it may come as a surprise to hear that Xiong found the time to not only compete in the Miss Hmong Minnesota competition this Hmong New Year, but to win it.
Hmong New Year is held in the fall to honor the ancestors and give thanks for the cultivation of this year’s harvest. Over the course of three days, the global Hmong community welcomes the new year with food and rituals in order to assure good tidings for the new year. Here in the Twin Cities, one of the largest festivities takes place at the RiverCentre in Saint Paul. The Miss Hmong Minnesota Pageant is part of this three-day celebration. This competition serves as a way of celebrating Hmong history and heritage as well as highlighting the diversity of culture between each of the clans in the community.
2019 was Xiong’s first time participating in the pageant, but having come from a “pageant family” she was well prepared. With three out of her six older sisters having competed, Xiong had the best trainers up for the job. She rehearsed each stage of the competition with her sisters, taking criticism and advice into consideration. This feedback helped her move through the ranks to eventually be crowned 2019's Miss Hmong Minnesota.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
What was your upbringing like and how did pageants factor in? I was raised here in Minneapolis. I come from a pageant family meaning that I have older sisters who have competed before and also won a title, so they have a lot of experience. During my training days they were the ones who trained me. This pageant really boosted my confidence and my knowledge on Hmong people and our culture. I was able to gain knowledge of speaking my native language.
Was there any pressure for you to compete growing up? As a child, I did want to do it, but in my teen years, I grew out of that stage. I came back and started thinking about joining because my sisters had experienced it. It’s a great opportunity to be engaged in the Hmong community.
When are these pageants held and have they been in the Hmong culture before people came to the US? I’m not sure about that, but currently there are pageants back in Laos and Thailand once a year during the Hmong New Year.
What’s the process like for competing in the Hmong New Year pageant? How do they determine a winner? Hmong pageants are a bit different than the American ones. They’re both about your stage presence, public speaking and how you wear your wardrobe, but this is more about knowing your background and how you will help better the Hmong community. So you have to have some knowledge and be quick with your thinking about what you would do if you were to take the title and help the community.
What are some of the traditional aspects of the clothing worn during the Miss Hmong Minnesota contest? They’re about different clans of Hmong people but you can wear whatever you wish on stage. There’s this round called self- design where you design an outfit of your own and briefly explain to the judges what each part of the outfit means. My self design was based on the Hmong New Year. Each color and shape represents a significant meaning of the New Year. Turquoise for holy water, white is purity and freedom and gold indicates wealth. I choose to talk about the New Year in my self design because it unites all of us in one place. Wearing this outfit makes me feel alive and rooted in my culture.
How many rounds are there of the competition? There are five rounds. The first one is an introduction round where you talk about yourself. The second round is the talent. The third round is the self-design round which I just explained and then the fourth round is the platform round where you talk about a topic you believe in. The fifth round is a question round. You go on stage and just answer a question [you don’t know ahead of time] about how you feel.
Would you say the fifth round was the toughest one? That was because you don’t know the questions and going on stage gives you a lot of pressure and anxiety.
What was your talent for the talent round? Can you set the scene? My talent was acting and mostly singing. My performance was about the New Year and the Hmong people get ready and dressed up to go have fun.
Maleda Xiong sits on a throne after being crowned Miss Hmong Minnesota. Photo courtesy of Maleda Xiong
What did you say about your platform in that fourth round and what was the response? I talked about domestic violence in the Hmong community. I talked about what domestic violence was and gave statistics. I talked about how I would decrease that issue. One thing I want to do is create a women's empowerment event and invite those who are victims and advocates of domestic violence or abuse to share their stories and speak upon it.
What was your reaction to being crowned Miss Hmong Minnesota? What was that process like? All the contestants go on stage during the crowning ceremony and wave one last time. Before they announce the winner, they give awards like Miss Congeniality and who had the best talent or the most photogenic. So, they give out awards and then after that they announce the top three winners and then announce it from there. I could not believe it was happening. The other two runner ups were great on stage. I felt happy at the same time.
How active has your mom been in the process of this competition? What role did she play? Yes definitely. She helped all of us prepare and getting our clothes ready. We couldn’t have done it without her. She helps a lot with the outfits and putting the clothes together. We did the designs ourselves and had it professionally sown.
What has this experience done for you in your future? Have you grown more confident? I think that through this experience I can give back to my community more. Especially by volunteering and giving my time. I kind of had stage fright but I guess my confidence increased and my skills in public speaking boosted up.
What can people outside of the Hmong community learn more about the culture through the pageants and Hmong New Year events? Our Hmong New Year is not only for Hmong people. Other outside races are welcome to join us. If you guys were to join us, you’d learn a lot about our traditional clothing, the food we eat, and the entertainment we have.