AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The Miss Amarillo Latina pageant was held Sunday night at the Amarillo Civic Center. It was a day filled with a lot of glitz and glamour and plenty of hair spray. For weeks, contestants have been working hard to prepare for the big day. A chance to represent not only their culture but also the city of Amarillo.
"It's a great opportunity for them," said Erwyn Kuehne, one of the judges for the pageant. "It just looks great on Amarillo and especially in the Latino community here."
Miss Amarillo Latina is an official preliminary for the Miss Texas Latina pageant which is the first national competition established exclusively for Latinas in the country.
For some, the pageant may just be a competition. But for many of the contestants, it has a deeper meaning. 18-year-old Kimberley Murguia states that she is most looking forward to the pageant building up her confidence and self-esteem. "I feel like confidence is really important in a woman's life and it's a great organization that just helps teenagers and women just feel great about themselves."
For 18-year-old Magaly Guerrero, confidence was not the only thing she was gaining, but also a new set of friends. "I've been so close to these girls throughout these whole several weeks," said Guerrero. "We've been so close and it's just great you know to see other girls go through the same as me."
There was a variety of cateogories to help the contestants show the judges their personality. There was plenty of dancing and cat walks and even a Latin Gangnum style. And the 2012 crown holder, Karime Zuniga was there to see who would be next up to take home the crown. "It's exciting to see who the next winner's going to be," said Zuniga. "But at the same time I'm sad because my journey is over."
Kimberley Murgia was crowned Miss Amarillo Latina 2013. She will be representing Amarillo in the state pageant that will be taking place at the Amarillo Civic Center on April 7th
