One Nuevo Laredoan is representing her city at a national level as she won a major beauty competition to represent Mexico at an international event scheduled for late November.
Natalia Duran won the prestigious distinction of Miss Earth Mexico. She was one of 15 women who competed for the national crown and ultimately overcame all of them. The coronation was held in Veracruz, Puerto de Veracruz, Mexico.
Miss Earth is an annual international environmental-themed beauty pageant competition promoting environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. The contest is the third-largest beauty pageant in the world in terms of the number of national-level competitions to participate in internationally.
“Miss Earth is a title of feminine beauty,” Duran said. “This is also known as the contest that confers it and that is held annually, where the integral beauty, intelligence, security, elegance and bearing that the candidates for the title possess are qualified. The participants and winners give meaning and importance to this beauty competition by promoting relevant environmental causes and actively getting involved in the concern for the protection of the environment.”
According to Duran, the competition was strong but she said her hard work and determination helped her achieve her goals. She says all of the other women worked hard and had great projects and ideas to showcase.
“My preparation was very arduous and extensive for this contest,” Duran said. “I firmly believe that to be successful in life you need determination, discipline and perseverance. In this process, my family and friends have been a key piece to achieving my goals.”
The beauty queen says she was also able to win the contest because she remained focused on her goal and worked hard to make her dream come true. She never gave up and had faith that she could achieve it.
One goal was to make an environmental project of hers stands out. The project focused on protecting natural resources and locations, which is something she will work on in projects throughout the country during her tenure as the new Miss Earth Mexico.
During her reign, she will represent Mexico internationally on Nov. 21 in Miss Earth 2021 edition, which will be held virtually. She will help implement her ecological project KUXTAL MX ORG nationwide, use her voice to give a message of conscience and love for mother earth, represent Mexico in different events regarding climate change and similar activities, and carry out ecological activities supporting taking care of the environment.
Duran must do all this as she prepares for the national competition, slated to be one of the toughest to date. She intends to present more of her project and illustrate her beauty on the international stage.
For Duran, the aim is to not just showcase who she is and her love for the environment but also showcase all Mexico has to offer.
“(I will) prepare for the international level and leave the name of Mexico very high and represent with great pride and love the culture, gastronomy, history, landscapes and art of our beautiful Mexico,” Duran said. “And above all, use this national title to raise awareness in the people of how important it is to take action and take care of our planet earth.”
Although Duran is content with being coronated Miss Earth Mexico, she says she is hoping to keep things going and win the international crown as well, which is something she will work hard to accomplish next month. She hopes to bring back a crown that Mexico has never won, in comparison to Mexico’s great victories in the Miss Universe pageant.
She also hopes to win and showcase her environmental project by taking it worldwide.
“I would like to win the international crown to implement my ecological project worldwide and that more and more people join this cause,” Duran said. “Also so that today’s youth push to fulfill their dreams and realize that the effort and perseverance pay very fairly.”
Duran believes every little young girl wanting to try out to be in a beauty pageant should do so because they are more than just physical beauty but also about intelligence and applying life skills and lessons.
Although Duran is still facing one more competition and she has already won nationally, she does say she has learned a lot along the way. Especially, when it comes to recognizing the beauty of women, which she says comes more from the heart and mind rather than just her looks.
“During this journey by way of trial and error, I have realized that when beauty shines from within, there is no way to deny it. The true beauty of a woman is in her humility, in her charisma, in her simplicity, in her security and in her being helpful,” Duran said. “In order to be beautiful on the outside, we have to work from the inside and prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually, enjoy every part of our life and accept and love ourselves as we are, because each one of us is unique and unmatched, and that is where the true beauty lies.”
The current titleholder of the Miss Earth competition internationally is Lindsey Coffey, who was crowned last November in a virtual ceremony as well that is being held in such fashion considering the continuing pandemic. Duran will still have to travel to the Philippines, which has been the host country of the competition since it began in the early 2000s. There she will find out what her fate is in the contest that can only be watched virtually by her family, friends and the people of the two Laredos online.
