These Colombian prisoners may have thought that their time for judgment was over the moment that they left the court room, but as it turns out, they were in for a whole different type of judgment in prison, as contestants in the increasingly popular "Reina Madre" prison beauty pageant.

Buen Pastor Prison in Bogota, Colombia holds approximately 2,222 female inmates; and for the last 18 years, each and every inmate, of any age, has been given the opportunity to compete for the title of "Reina Madre" or "Queen Mother," or a separate title that is awarded to an unmarried woman. The pageant is held each year on the feast of the Virgin of Mercedes, who is the patron saint of prisoners.

The inmate/contestants, many of which are awaiting trial or have been convicted of drug trafficking, spend weeks preparing for the pageant. Those who are not elected to participate, cheer on contestants, sending them their support and love with positive energy and applause from the sidelines while TV personalities and musical celebrities judge them on their performances.

Sept. 27th of this year, six women squared off for the title of "Queen Mother", including Maria Cristina Villareal, 56, a mother of three with nine grandchildren who's serving time for drug trafficking. Some of the other women competing were Danllely Quinonez, Tatiana Noguera, and Gloria Gomez.

Women were judged in several categories, one being their runway walk -which they had to demonstrate twice, once in elegant attire and once in folkloric garb. And, when it was all said and done, Gloria Gomez, who's serving six years for drug trafficking, was awarded "Mother Queen," and Tatiana Noguera, serving two years for theft, won "Miss Congeniality."

"Even though they are in prison, they have not lost the essence of being women," said prisons bureau employee Maria Virginia Camacho, who organized this year's pageant.

The pageant is held to boost self-esteem, morale and provide healthy competition. Also, the pageant reminds these women, not only, of their own of  physical attractiveness, but who they are outside of the prison setting.