An Angolan won Brazil's marquee prison beauty pageant, beating a troupe of contestants born in a country where people are deadly serious about looking good, even in its notorious jails.

　　Angelica Mazua, 23, was the choice of the judging panel that featured plastic surgeons, entertainers and athletes regarded as heartthrobs.

　　Inmates from 10 prisons competed in the Thursday night event in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous and cosmopolitan state.

　　Prisoners in the audience swarmed stars like the soccer striker Grafite and danced with celebrities as bands played samba and pagode. Near the stage, guards armed with shotguns and dogs patrolled along a walkway between a chain-link fence and a concrete wall topped with razor wire.

　　Finalists in the categories of beauty, poetry, prose and congeniality had their nails, hair and makeup done by a nonprofit group that provides make-overs to underprivileged women. Female prison guards also helped out.

　　Many contestants wore donated evening gowns and talked about how the experience gave them a renewed sense of self-respect.

　　Locked up four months ago after police found cocaine in her bags as she boarded a plane to Africa, 5-foot-10-inch (1.79-metres) tall Mazua is awaiting trial and says an acquaintance tricked her into carrying the drug.