WESLACO — The City on the Grow will be represented at the Miss Globe United States pageant on South Padre Island.
Juanita Maldonado, 20, of Weslaco was recently crowned Miss South Texas Globe and — after having earned as much — effectively punched her ticket to the Island, where she’ll have a shot at the coveted nationwide crown.
According to Maldonado, a 2015 graduate of Weslaco East High School, the South Texas competition was held at the Edinburg Municipal Auditorium on April 29 after it was only recently added to the Miss Globe International umbrella.
Maldonado won in her age division — 20 overall — and is now preparing for the Miss Globe United States pageant, which is scheduled from Sept. 22-24 at the South Padre Island Convention Centre.
She’ll also be representing Texas at the competition in addition to the Rio Grande Valley. Her ultimate goal is to make it all the way to China for the Miss Globe International pageant.
“I just really love talking in front of crowds, and I’ve found such an enthusiasm for it as Miss South Texas Globe,” Maldonado, a mass communications major at UTRGV, said. “I feel a sense of love towards that.”
At stake in these pageants are scholarship, travel and modeling opportunities all over the world. But it wasn’t until one of her former teachers at Weslaco East suggested pageantry to Maldonado — coupled with Miss South Texas Globe Director Ronica Jackson’s encouragement — that she decided to participate.
“That’s where it started,” Maldonado recalled before also crediting her parents and her pageant coach, Karla Monje.
Of the experiences she’s gained thus far and hopes to continue through pageantry, Maldonado pointed to a recent speaking engagement that was especially moving for her.
“I was invited to speak to young ladies at (A.N.) Rico Elementary, and I shared my life experiences and what pageants are about,” she said. “I also explained the conditions I lived in poverty-wise, and how I went through bullying growing up. They told me that my words really made a difference in their lives, and that they weren’t going to let anyone call them names. Knowing that I made a difference impacted me tremendously.”
With regard to her preparations for the September pageant, Maldonado explained that contestants undergo panel-like interviews with several judges, in which they discuss their life, accomplishments and goals. Being that it’s a beauty pageant, contestants also prepare for fashion and formal wear events in which they’re judged on poise.
In the meantime, Maldonado is continuing her studies at UTRGV en route to a career in broadcast journalism, and has already conducted some freelance work covering Mid-Valley area high school sports.
