El Cerrito's Gouw won it with drama

Jon Bashor

EL CERRITO - Cynthia Gouw's childhood dream came true last night as she rode through the streets of San Francisco as Miss Chinatown, waving to 400,000 admirers and heralding in Year 4682 of the Chinese calendar — the Year of the Rat.

And now she hopes to pursue an adult dream of helping the Chinese-American community.

Gouw, a political science student at UCLA, was born 20 years ago at Brookside Hospital and was raised in El Cerrito. A family trip to San Francisco for the annual new year's parade became a tradition.

"We went to the parades every year. I sat in the same tree near Portsmouth Square to watch Miss Chinatown wave to us," Gouw recalled. "You always think she's waving right at you."

Gouw's road to Chinatown began last year in Southern California. There, she entered and won the Miss Chinatown Los Angeles title during her second year of college. By tradition, she became the L.A. Chamber of Commerce entry in this year's San Francisco pageant. After lengthy re-hearsais and competition in talent, poise and personality and swimsuit appearance, Gouw emerged as the winner among 15 contestants a week ago Saturday night.

"I was petrified. All the other women were in glamorous Chinese costumes," admitted Gouw, who studied dance for 10 years. "I had a choreographed dance all ready, but then I realized it didn't have substance.”

"I wanted to communicate with the audience, so I wrote a six-minute dramatic soliloquy," she said. "I was very surprised when I won, but I was happy and confident because I won it my way."

While her competitors wore long gowns and danced traditional dragon dances, Gouw walked onstage wearing shabby clothes, carrying an old suitcase and a small stool. Before she finished, she assumed three different characters and spanned a century of Chinese history in America.

"I started out as a young immigrant woman from China," Gouw said. "I symbolized the hopes and dreams of the Chinese generations of the 1860s. It was a happy time - there were mountains and streets of gold in California."

Then, Gouw took on the persona of a middle-aged Chinese woman of the 1940s, working as a seamstress to support her parents.

“It's hard work, it's depressing and she has no friends," Gouw said of her character, “but she's still carrying the dreams of her ancestors."

The final scene is of a modern Asian woman professional, self-assured, successful.

"What this person realizes is that her ancestors gave her her dreams," she said. "Then she expands on that gift and passes it on to her own child."

Her performance drew mixed reactions from her competitors, many of whom dismissed her as a serious contender because her act was ungla-mourous, she said. They were all very nice and very talented, but their performances did not show their inner selves, Gouw said.

"I know it sounds corny, but I wrote from within," said Gouw, who writes for a student Asian-American newspaper in the Southland. "It was easy to write, but hard to edit. I wanted to inspire, and perhaps educate the audience."

The panel of judges, including business leaders and entertainers from San Francisco and Hong Kong were inspired enough to name the 5-foot, 8-inch, 120-pound El Cerritan winner of the contest.

During the past week, Gouw and the runners-up have been attending family association meetings and dining with dignitaries in Chinatown. Friday, she was crowned at the coronation ball, and last night the festive week culminated in the parade. Through it all, the queen and her court have been staying at a hotel in the Financial District.

"I'm a litte worn out, but I like it," she said. "It's fun. “I'm scared of firecrackers, "but I'm getting used to them."

Once it's all over, Gouw will return to her life as a "confused college stu-dent" majoring in political science and communications at UCLA. Soon, she will begin internship with state Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. In between, she says she will continue her work at a law firm specializing in immigration. Ultimately, Gouw would like to attend law school.

"We need more Chinese-Americans in law, in positions where they can help their community she said. "Traditionally, we are less vocal and less assertive, and we need to change that."

Gouw began her schooling at Del Mar Elementary School, then attended Portola Junior High and El Cerrito High School. Her father, Thomas, is an engineer with Chevron Research in Richmond and her mother, Norma, is an accountant.