“What the pageant did for me is greatly help me in my professional and personal life,” said Jenny Jauregui, Miss Queen of the Fiestas Patrias 2016. The beautiful young woman is getting ready to end her reign and to crown the next winner of the pageant – but first, she talks about all she lived as its winner.
She is the daughter of Mexican parents from Jalisco, but Jauregui was born in Santa Ana, California: “We moved to Omaha 12 years ago, so this has been my home.”
Jauregui’s dream is to become a dentist, and she’s currently going to school while also having a full-time job. Jauregui, slim and with curly hair, is, according to her friends, someone with a charming smile and a cheerful nature – but they never imagined she’d dazzle them on stage: “I learned about the contest thanks to Facebook, and since I’ve always been interested in beauty pageants, I figured it might be fun to participate. So I got in touch with Claudia (Ceja), one of the organizers, and we got together to talk about it.”
When Jauregui got more information on all the workshops she’d be part of to prepare for the pageant as well as the schedules for the photo shoots, she couldn’t contain her happiness: “I went to see my parents, and I gave them the news!”
Even though her mother at first didn’t quite get it, she ended up calling their relatives in Mexico: “She is from a place called Manzanilla de la Paz where everyone is very close, so they were very supportive.”
The beautiful contestant enjoyed every single class before the main event: “I already more or less knew how one should speak in public, but I was given some valuable tips for things we could do to gain more confidence. For example, using certain words that help you sound more professional when you speak.”
Modeling for photographers and learning how to properly walk down the runway while wearing high heels were two of the many things Jauregui learned during the previous summer which was packed with great memories, such as being able to get to meet the other equally talented and beautiful candidates: “I didn’t want the girls to feel that we were rivals, and I even helped one of them in particular who was a bit shy. In the end, we were all going to be together at the event, and we all wanted to give it our best.”
Despite being a bit nervous and after some last minute changes to the venue’s scenography, Jauregui and all the girls did great in front of the audience: “After supporting and helping each other, I felt proud of all the girls because we all had to do a lot of things in order to be able to get here.”
Moving gracefully with a white dress she had previously worked in two other special occasions, Jauregui showed the audience her confidence: “Seeing my parents in the crowd gave me a lot of trust in myself.”
She then moved to the second phase where she wore a one of a kind design: “It was a design by Laura who has her own line of clothes. She created something that represented the Virgin Mary. I was honored because I am very religious and she is always watching over me.”
For the finale, Jauregui went with a long black dress in a siren cut decorated with crystals in the upper part – the dress she was wearing when she was crowned: “I had already won as Miss Popular for all the liked I got on Facebook, but when Rita (Rodriguez) announced me as the winner, I just couldn’t believe it!”
As she contained her tears, as her dear aunt Fanny suggested “so that I wouldn’t ruin my make up,” Jauregui, the Queen of the Fiestas Patrias 2016, began her reign by being thankful for getting a chance to share her culture: “Because even though I wasn’t born in Mexico I feel as if I did. I love all things Mexican, and I prefer to speak Spanish over English.”
Now that she’s almost done with her commitments as last year’s winner, Jauregui, who visited many local agencies and organizations, feels satisfied for all of her achievements: “Because I have been able to connect a lot more with the community and I can help Latinos more with this title.” 

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