Vintage

A few days ago I had the pleasure of spending some time visiting with Miss Tennessee Latina and Miss Teen Tennessee Latina when we did a photo shoot of them for eSpanglish. I love the energy and enthusiasm that these girls have and respect the responsibility that they have by being beauty pageant winners in Tennessee. The following is a brief summary of what we talked about.

The young Miss Tennessee Latina, Lilibeth León, is 21 years old and was born in Macon, GA. Her family moved to Jackson Tennessee at the age of 11 to be closer to her father’s family. She is of Mexican descent and currently lives in Chattanooga, where she attends the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. She is in her fourth year and is studying Literature, Language, English and History, majoring in Environmental Sciences. Her dream is to become a journalist and travel around the world. One of her passions is the sport of soccer, which she has played for 12 years, and she also loves volleyball. Her favorite dish is ceviche, more than anything because it reminds her of family gatherings, now that she lives far from her parents.

What Lilibeth likes the most about the people of Tennessee are their values and generosity. She also enjoys the natural beauty of this state and the lively atmosphere of Memphis and Nashville. Although she does not know much about Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, she acknowledges that he supports the Latino community in this city with Nashville for All of Us. Regarding the current issue of the economy, she believes that although it is a bad time, she does not think that is the beginning of a crisis and it is necessary to have hope. Her advice is to be prepared and to always have faith that the country will recover. 

Lilibeth’s motivation for participating in the Miss Tennessee Latina was her desire to be a positive example for girls in the Hispanic community. She believes it is important that Hispanic girls in Tennessee and around the country know that it is possible to realize their dreams no matter what they are. She believes that being Hispanic in the United States is a privilege and not a burden. She advises the Latino community to remain in school and to excel in their studies and to learn English so they can have better opportunities in this country. However, it is also considered important in Hispanic households to maintain the tradition of speaking Spanish so they don’t forget the traditions of the Latin countries. 

On a personal level, Lilibeth is in a relationship of 4 years with her boyfriend who is in the United States Navy. She does not intend to marry soon and has a lot of things she still wants to do. She believes that she is too young to make a commitment like that, because she recognizes that marriage is very special and she wants to be 100% ready. In regards to staying a virgin until marriage, she says that is a decision that each person needs to make for themselves based on their religious and moral values. Take any decision seriously that brings emotional and physical consequences and, if you are not prepared to confront these consequences, it is better not get in that situation. 

The goal of this Lilibeth as Miss Tennessee Latina is to get to know her community and she would like to do community service to help Latinos in Tennessee. 

Miss Teen Tennessee Latina, Alexia Medina lives in Williamson County TN. She is of a mixed-race mother and a Mexican father. She is currently enrolled in school and in the future she would like to study international law. She enjoys sports like volleyball, track, cheerleading and others and her favorite subject is math. Her hobbies include going out with friends to the movies, visiting the mall and going to football games. Her favorite foods are Caesar salad and Mexican food; she especially likes tortas and horchata. To Alexia, the family is very important and she loves to be with them. 

Alexia is very pleased and grateful to live in Tennessee and she really likes the area’s topography and how beautiful it is. Her favorite place in is Fall Creek Falls. She likes to travel and when she learned that she would move from Georgia to this state, she knew that was going to love it here. She has also had the opportunity to meet Mayor Dean and thinks that he is a very charismatic and charming gentleman. What impressed her most about him was his great desire to build a good relationship with the Hispanic community and she believes that he is making great efforts in this community despite the current challenges facing the economy. 

Alexia says that she thought for several months about whether or not to participate in the Miss Tennessee Latina pageant. She was intrigued by how someone could benefit from being pretty. Her mother always told her that true beauty is inside a person and that there is no such thing as an ugly woman. She is determined to maintain her action in representing what it means to be a young Latina and has done so with glamour, honesty, loyalty and intelligence, and she has felt very honored to do so. 

Alexia has done everything in their power to represent the Latin youth in Tennessee and has sought to influence youth participation in society. Her recommendation for young people is to always look for ways to be better people. Besides the incentive of honoring her family and respecting the laws while maintaining clear goals and convictions, most important for her is to never forget that the Creator of all things, God will always be with us as. 

Alexia believes that it would be very difficult to think of it an engagement at this point in her life but it is very important and is something that requires a lot of dedication and time. She would like to marry at the right time after she have finished her studies and fallen in love. Regarding abstinence she believes that everyone can have their views but for her abstinence is very important not only for religious but for health reasons. 

Her goal during his reign as Miss Teen Tennessee Latina is to leave an impression of good will, justice and prove that yes you can!