June 20, 2000 09:58am
Alleged Stripper Gives up Her Crown as Puerto Rican Parade Queen
Source: Latino.com
by: Adolfo Mendez
(CHICAGO, IL) -- On the eve of Saturday's Puerto Rican Parade in Chicago, parade organizers and the parade queen, dethroned for her alleged work as a stripper, decided to resolve their differences.
About 11 p.m. Friday night, Evelyn Navarro, a 25-year-old model and college graduate, agreed to give up her crown and all it's privileges, according to her attorney, James Singer.
Navarro was replaced by Elba Diaz, a 20-year-old political science major at DePaul University.
Surrounded by a swarm of reporters before Saturday's parade, the 20-year-old Diaz smiled as she delivered her message: "I feel so honored and proud. I plan to represent the Puerto Rican community with honor and integrity. I plan to do that the entire year," she said.
The Parade Committee, in a statement released by lawyers, said: "Miss Navarro has realized that the controversy surrounding her will not go away and for the best interests of all concerned she is honorably relinquishing the title.
"The committee commends Miss Navarro for making this difficult decision. The terms of the parties' agreement are still being finalized and therefore we are unable to comment specifically on any other aspects of the settlement."
At Saturday's event, parade committee president Rafael Rios said: "The controversy has been resolved. The young lady has resigned because of the unity of the Puerto Rican community. Therefore we proudly proclaim that everything has come to an end."
Navarro's lawyer, Jim Singer, said his client decided to give up the fight to serve out her one-year term as Miss Puerto Rico, which she was elected to on June 3, because "she felt it was in the best interests of the Puerto Rican community."
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