She’s exotic! She’s saucy! She’s got a giant bowl of fruit on her head! She’s Miss Chiquita Banana, and she wants you to put words in her mouth.

Since 1944, the semi-fictional corporate spokeswoman has drilled that catchy little Chiquita banana tune into the collective head of America. And now, in her second incarnation as played by New York actress Elizabeth Testa, she’s touting a contest in which you, the fruit-munching public, update her jingle.

And so we asked the vitamin-rich Latin miss to let us peek under her hat for a little wisdom on those long, yellow banana things.

Q. What do I call you? Miss Banana? Chiquita?

A. Well, we’re on a first-name basis, so, yeah, just Chiquita.

Q. Tell me about your hat.

A. Well, it’s 17 inches from the tip of the pineapple to the base of my neck. It’s a big fiesta bowl of fruit, and, of course, the Chiquita bananas are prominently displayed. There’s also pomegranate, there’s kiwi, raspberry . . .

Q. How much does it weigh?

A. Let’s just say it gives my neck muscles a workout.

Q. Does it ever get itchy? Sweaty?

A. It depends on how tropical the environment is. But in Miami and L.A., it’s been known to make me a little on the hot side.

Q. Does the fruit ever rot?

A. Kids always ask me that: “Is the fruit real?” And I tell them that with all the traveling I have to do, it couldn’t be.

Q. Do people ever confuse you with Carmen Miranda?

A. Well, you know Carmen Miranda was the inspiration for the original Miss Chiquita Banana. I’m proud to be associated with her.

Q. How about Minnie Pearl?

A. I’m happy to say, no. I don’t have a price tag hanging off the fruit bowl.

Q. Tell me about the contest.

A. Chiquita has launched a national search to update the jingle for the ’90s. Should I tell you about the prize? The winner gets a trip for four to Disney World, and Chiquita plans to use the new jingle in their PR efforts and on their Web site.

Q. People love the old song. Why change it?

A. Well, this is the thing: Chiquita has actually changed the jingle throughout the decades. For example, when New England had a big water shortage, they added. “Don’t waste a drop, no, no, no . . .” to the end. It was very cute. Originally, the basic idea was to teach people how to eat a banana, which was a real exotic fruit back then. They want to update the song to the ’90s lifestyle, but it still needs to include that famous first line, “I’m Chiquita Banana and I’ve come to say . . .”

Q. How many times have you sung that song?

A. Thousands of times. Many, many times. Sometimes when I travel, I have a little Chiquita banana karaoke machine and I invite people to come sing with me, and that could happen maybe 200 times a day.

Q. How many bananas have you eaten in your lifetime?

A. I eat a banana every day (a Chiquita banana to make you feel better, a little plug there), so that’s 365 days in a year . . .

Q. Can monkeys survive on a diet of strictly bananas?

A. We don’t like to talk about monkeys too much. Monkeys are big fans, of course, of Chiquita bananas. Like babies. A lot of parents will tell you this, that bananas are one of the first foods they feed their kids.

Q. Why don’t you like to talk about monkeys?

A. Chiquita likes to associate their bananas with being eaten by humans.

Q. Do you find the term “chiquita” to be sexist?

A. Actually, it’s an endearment, so, no it’s not sexist. As the Miss Chiquita Banana of the ’90s (That’s me!), I’ve had to take a lot of people’s perceptions and take them away from the “cha-cha girl” image. I’ve enjoyed combining intelligence and wit to change the image of the woman in the big fruit hat.

Q. Do you look good in yellow?

A. Yeah, of course.

Q. Have you ever watched the hit Australian children’s television show Bananas in Pajamas?

A. Aren’t they so darling? I look at them as my little brothers.

Q. Do you shop at Banana Republic?

A. Actually, I just gave a friend a gift certificate there for his birthday.

Q. Which, if any, of the Fruit of the Loom guys is sexiest?

A. I’m a big fan of the um, the . . . uh, the grapes, actually. When I was in high school, my friends and I were the Fruit of the Loom guys in the costume contest, and I was the grapes, and we won. That was my first fruit role, I guess.

Q. What’s the stupidest question a journalist has ever asked you?

A. What was that one you asked me about five minutes ago? Just kidding. Let’s see. What’s a doozy? People ask if I sleep with the hat on. People always ask me if I sleep with that hat on.

Q. Do you?

A. No. But actually, the other day, when I was announcing the contest, I was being driven around in a big stretch limousine, and the hat was sticking out the top of the sunroof. Usually I drive a gold station wagon. What else should Miss Chiquita Banana drive, eh?

Q. I’ve read that the banana plant reproduces asexually.

A. Does it now? It seems that you know more than I do.

Q. Does this mean that there’s no Mr. Chiquita Banana?

A. There are . . . how can I put this? Let’s just say that Miss Chiquita has . . . how can we be coy about that? Well, let’s just say, hmmm . . . Can we just not answer that?

To obtain a contest entry form, call 800-827-9054, or access the Chiquita Web site (). Entries must be postmarked by Aug. 15.