The Search for Miss BumBum Brazil 2015 Begins [Photos]
Women in Brazil are gearing up to compete in this year's "Miss BumBum" competition.
The annual competition includes the participation of one woman from each of Brazil's states ready to compete for the top prize.
Fans of the competition can now begin voting online to crown the contestant with the best derrière of the year awards.
On Monday this year's contestants, decked out in Brazilian-colored bikinis showing off their assets, all walked the city streets of Sao Paulo and lined up in the Sao Paulo city center to officially launch the competition.
According to Yahoo! News, the current contestants were chosen from more than 500 applicants and out of the those 27, only 15 will be chosen to move on to the televised portion of the competition scheduled to air on Nov. 9.
Last year's winner, Indianara Carvalho posted an image of herself when she was announced the competition's winner and also took the opportunity to wish this year's contestants good luck on Instagram.
According to The Huffington Post, Carvalho not only took home the title but also a prize of $22,000.
The competition has included controversy with several contestants trying to buy votes online. In 2014, Livia Santos was disqualified for attempting to rig the competition. It has also included some records. Contestant Juliana Bittencortt was the first plus-size contestant to make it to the top 27. Patricia Oliveira is the oldest contestant to ever participate at the age of 39 years.
While contestants are judged on their derrière, contestants have shared that it is a lot of hard work to participate, let alone win.
To be declared "Miss BumBum" takes dedication, said Dai Macedo, who was Miss BumBum 2013. "It's a lot of work, a lot of devotion. I denied myself a lot of things. No nightclubs. No sweets. I went to the gym Saturdays and Sundays."
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