I think the Miss Universe title not only gives me the opportunity to become a role model for Latina girls around the world, but to show that beauty isn't just about the outside.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I feel I'll take on the responsibility of showing the world a whole different kind of Latin woman.
I owe my career to Latina women. I was surrounded by the amazing group: my mother, my aunts, my extended family. They didn't necessarily have access to high fashion, but they had great style and looked stunning naturally at every age.
My grandma loves beauty pageants, like most of Latin American culture, but it's not for me.
I'm not so interested in perfect, plastic beauty, and I think it translates in the girls I've shot over the years for Nars, from Guinevere to Iris to Mariacarla. I love those girls. I love the more interesting faces, with maybe a strange nose, not just the Texan blonde. By picking those girls, I think it's changed what I've seen in other campaigns.
I did not try to conform to anybody's ideal of what a Latin celebrity or movie star should be. I took a lot of hits for it.
In Latin America, women are supposed to be voluptuous. They don't believe that you have to be skinny to be attractive.
Beauty should not be culturally relevant; it should be universal.
There is a role and function for beauty in our time.
Beauty has a lot to do with character.
The Miss America Pageant reinforces a belief that women are merely how they look and how they please.