Marianela Ancheta, who will represent Cuba in the Miss Universe contest, shared what she has gone through to get to where she is now.
Born in Villa Clara 31 years ago, Marianela emigrated at the age of 13 with her mother; both arrived in the United States after crossing the border with Mexico.
"I come from a very humble family, with few possibilities, and my inner child doesn't believe what she is living," she confessed to the EFE agency, as quoted by Telemundo.
"I was 19 years old and spent the nights of December 24 and 31 cleaning the bathrooms of a Walgreens. It was very sad, but look at this change," she pointed out.
The young woman, who has just been crowned the first Miss Cuba in 57 years, revealed that her dream of participating in the contest arose after watching the coronation of the Mexican Andrea Meza in 2020.
"At that moment I thought, why can't it be a Cuban?" she expressed.
Marianela assures that Cuban women have very few opportunities in events like this. "If the profession develops there, there are still many obstacles to pave our way internationally. This contest and other opportunities like these show them that there are indeed possibilities," she stated.
Her inspiration is her grandmothers, who are in Cuba and call her every day.
"If I don't believe that I am here, they don't believe it either. But they and all my family send me beautiful messages. It helps to have their support, even though they are so far away," she said.
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: