JHAMILYA ASANGULOVA and EDGAR SAAKYAN

Zhamilya Asangulova: Hello, Edgar, how are you?
Edgar Saakyan: Hello, how long have we not seen you, you look great!
Zhamilya Asangulova: Thank you, I'm very glad to see you, I send my warm regards to everyone from Kyrgyzstan.

Edgar Saakyan: We met at one of the competitions in which you took part. Tell me please, was this your first experience?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Actually, no, I participated in many beauty contests, including republican ones, but, of course, I participated in Miss Kyrgyzstan for the first time, because at the very moment when the decision to participate was made, I was determined to win and the further path along this path (“Miss Universe”, “Miss World”). It just didn't suit me. Before I decided to perform in such a large-scale event, I took part in Super Model of Asia, Miss Bikini Universe and Miss Tourism of the World, but these contests did not bring me any grandiose victories. Of course, before I took the Grand Prix at the "Miss Student", where we met.

Edgar Saakyan: Yes, I remember, in fact, I was immediately sure that you would win, which is what I said earlier. Please tell me why you decided to take part in the Miss Kyrgyzstan organization despite the fact that you yourself were not a member?
Zhamilya Asangulova: In fact, one of the main reasons is that Kyrgyzstan is a very small country where everyone knows each other, so for many years I have been invited to Miss Bishkek and Miss Kyrgyzstan as a jury member, given my past in beauty pageants. Usually I act as a coach or just conduct master classes.

Edgar Saakyan: How are your contests in general? I have never seen in the post-Soviet countries that beauty contests were held in the format of a show, why did you choose this path?
Zhamilya Asangulova: In fact, this is not the first time that competitions of this format have really been held as a reality show, that is, as a separate project taking place on stage. One of the reasons for choosing this approach is that no winner is chosen within one day. We wanted to spend as much time as possible with the members in order to understand whether a certain member can carry such a responsible title as the “Face of the Country”, therefore, in order to fully and accurately understand how correct our choice would be, we tried to get to know each girl as best as possible and show them to the audience as fully as possible. Of course, no beauty contest usually goes without scandal. And ours is no exception. The viewer simply sees such a picture - there are 25 participants in front of him, each of which he sees for the first time and, each of which, according to observers, can win, but, in fact, girls are different. It is for such moments that reality is needed - so that we can all see not only the picture, but also how this or that participant can behave in public, speak and communicate with the press. That is, any person could see the real picture and understand why this particular girl, and not any other girl, became the winner.

Edgar Saakyan: Please tell me, how long did your contest last?
Zhamilya Asangulova: In fact, he walked for a very long time. The process itself lasted 2 months, there were more than a hundred participants. Of course, not everyone could get into the competition itself, so we had to do a lot of qualifying rounds and spend quite a lot of time with the participants, since not only models participated in the competition, but also girls who put on heels for the first time. After training, several final rounds took place, from which those who were not yet ready to accept the title of "The First Girl of the Country" were removed by elimination. Participation, and, moreover, victory in an event of this magnitude is a huge preparation and work that not everyone can withstand. Participation in the Miss Kyrgyzstan contest includes many qualities that the winner should have - punctuality, stress resistance, the ability to speak well, communicate with the press and know how to use the tremendous experience that the girls received in preparation for the competition as part of their speeches.

Edgar Saakyan: Yes, one hundred people is really a very large number of participants. Taking into account the fact that, for example, only 22 girls participated in Miss Armenia. By the way, I wanted to thank you for agreeing to be one of the jury members at this event.
Zhamilya Asangulova: Thank you for inviting me, I was very happy to help.

Edgar Saakyan: Wanted to talk to you about the rumors. Do you know that all members of the Miss Armenia jury received $15,000 each? In this regard, I would like to ask - how do you vote and are everyone satisfied with the results?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Of course not, not a single competition can be held in such a way that absolutely everyone agrees with the results. After all, how many people, so many opinions, and how many participants, so many spectators for each of them. Of course, any opinion is subjective - for some, this or that girl performed just perfectly, and someone saw absolutely nothing unusual in her, therefore, in this matter, you should rely only on the judges, with whose opinion, in view of certain circumstances, you agree far from everyone - therefore rumors are everywhere, and this is normal.

Edgar Saakyan: Based on your experience, please tell me who is the most correct to put on the jury, and how is this best done in modern realities?
Zhamilya Asangulova: First of all, I think that the jury should be competent, that is, they should understand where and why exactly they came. You can't judge a beauty contest and choose the most talented as the winner, just as you can't go to a talent contest and choose the most beautiful. That is, people who came to judge such an event should understand exactly how to do it and by what criteria the winner is selected.

Edgar Saakyan: Please tell me why you don't participate in Miss Universe?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Well, you understand that competitions of this level require capital, which is not yet available. In addition, there is such a phenomenon as the responsibility that this or that country bears by sending its girls to such competitions, we are not yet ready for this.

Edgar Saakyan: What is the general attitude towards the beauty pageant industry in your country?
Zhamilya Asangulova: This industry is very closely connected with show business - that is, fame, popularity, blogging and media are integral parts of the life of contestants - this attracts many, but, at the same time, separately as a profession "participants in a beauty contest" nobody takes it seriously. In this regard, our situation is similar to the one that is developing in Armenia.

Edgar Saakyan: And what conclusions did you draw after visiting the beauty contest in Armenia?
Zhamilya Asangulova: In terms of attitudes towards modeling, advertising and blogging, the citizens of Armenia and we are very similar. But I believe that both of our countries have very good chances to change people's attitudes towards these areas of activity.

Edgar Saakyan: Could you draw a parallel between beauty contests and your life that you live now?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Of course, in principle, I try to treat everything that happens to me with gratitude, because I think that any experience is useful. For example, beauty contests serve as a huge springboard to becoming the best version of yourself - more confident, versatile, open and, of course, popular.

Edgar Saakyan: And how do you feel about the fact that lately Russian-speaking countries do not get into the "Top" of participants in beauty contests. What do you think can help change this situation?
Zhamilya Asangulova: You know, I think that everything is cyclical, including fashion for beauty, so you just need to seize the moment. And, of course, despite the fact that this is not customary to discuss, I believe that beauty contests, like many other areas, especially now, have a certain political connotation.

Edgar Saakyan: Yes, I agree, unfortunately it does exist. I talked with many other girls - "Beauty Queens" and they said that, most likely, if they represented Kyrgyzstan, they would hardly have been able to win. How do you feel about this opinion?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Of course, this point of view has the right to exist, but, as I said, there comes a time for any type and mood, so a lot also depends on this factor. And it doesn't matter if this girl is from a developed or developing country.

Edgar Saakyan: Tell me, please, do you have some “ideal” among the modern winners of beauty contests?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Actually, no, because I do not follow specific girls, but judge directly by the competition - I follow the participants and roughly understand who I would give my vote to. But, I will say this - I have a lot of respect for every girl participating in an event of this magnitude, because they are doing a great job.

Edgar Saakyan: Okay, beauty pageants are great, but I would like to know a little more about you. Tell me please, what exactly do you do in life? I know that you sing and speak excellent Spanish, but do you have any other hobbies?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Well, my name is Jamila, Jama for short, although you call me Jama, in Spain I am Khama in general. I think that, in fact, I am the kind of person who combines a little bit of everything. That is, if some field of activity really attracts me, I immerse myself in it completely - be it skiing, boxing, vocals or learning foreign languages. And, I honestly think that knowing a little bit of everything is great, because you can support a lot of topics for conversation. Even at school, I was an excellent student, I went to the gold medal, but I decided to leave the 9th grade, hitting accounting and management. By the way, I also learned Spanish at the university, after which I went to study in Spain for a year, where I practiced the language and worked in the modeling field. Later I decided to return to my country, because I am not yet ready to leave my homeland for a long time, because it is here that I want to share my experience, knowledge and advice with other girls. I would like everyone to be able to say that she achieved everything not so much with her appearance, but with hard work, intelligence and hard work.

Edgar Saakyan: Please tell us a little about your clothing brand, which appeared not so long ago. How was the business organized?
Zhamilya Asangulova: Of course, if I were a coach, now I would say that there is no need to be afraid of anything, you will all succeed, but, in fact, this, of course, is far from being the case. I had problems and most likely will have them, but my experience in teaching business helped me a lot. I run a hotel and run my own clothing brand. Thus, I combine my two passions - creativity and the exact sciences. And so my first collection was born, which was in great demand, which helped me to follow this path in the future.

Edgar Saakyan: Thank you so much for taking the time to meet us, the conversation turned out to be very interesting and productive. For now, I hope to see you soon.
Zhamilya Asangulova: Thank you very much for inviting me for an interview, where we discussed such an interesting and pleasant topic as beauty. Good luck! Bye.