[OnyxCougar]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's first male beauty contest has crowned its inaugural "Mr. Africa" -- a white bank employee who sported a bullfighter's costume to celebrate his Spanish heritage.

Theuns Prinsloo, 22, beat some 3,000 other contestants at the pageant, the first to showcase what organizers say is the diversity of the modern African man, officials said Thursday.

Prinsloo's victory was greeted with a surprised headline in the Johannesburg Star: "First Mr. Africa is a white male dressed as a bullfighter!"

Prinsloo has a Spanish great-grandmother. About a tenth of South Africa's 45 million people are white.

"Everyone born in Africa is an African," Prinsloo told Reuters Thursday.

Pageant organizer Carolyn Baldwin said: "Contestants had to demonstrate knowledge of their forefathers' origins and know each others' cultures. The theme of the whole event is about uniting all Africans."

"Theuns showed remarkable potential in his Spanish bullfighter's costume. He epitomizes a young African in Africa today," Baldwin added.

Prinsloo was awarded $7,100 worth of clothes, a voucher for a photographic portfolio and a hamper of beauty products by the mainly white judging panel.

The first runner-up in the contest held earlier this month was black. The second runner-up was of Indian descent.

OK, so why is this news?

Because the first Mr. Africa is white/hispanic?
Because the panel was mainly white?
Because on 90% of Africa is black?

I realized that *I* was reading with my own prejudices. My immediate thought is that Mr. Africa should be black. Now I realize that was entierly too prejudiced of me to think.

Also, a hispanic decent person in the US is called Hispanic or Hispanic-American. In Africa, he's called an African, not Hispanic-African. I think that's important to point out.

But then again, isn't that racist? He's Hispanic, but because his skin is white, he's a "White African".

Ooo...my head hurts now....