At the beginning of July, the Miss Universe Spain pageant took place in Tenerife, a beauty contest in which the most beautiful woman in the territory is sought. After several phases, Athenea Pérez from Murcia was the winner and will represent Spain in Miss Universe 2024, a competition that will take place next November 19 in San Salvador.
Pérez's victory was full of controversy, since the 27-year-old received many racist and xenophobic attacks after her victory became public. ''You have nothing from Murcia", "You are more suitable for Miss Morocco", etc. were some of the comments on social networks that attacked the skin color of the mannequin and questioned her origin.
The graduate in Marketing and Advertising and professional gymnast left everything for the world of fashion and left her homeland to live in the capital of Spain, since being in front of the camera and walking catwalks is what really moves and excites her. .
Before facing the 72nd edition of the world beauty contest to be held on the weekend of November 18 in El Salvador, the model gave an interview to the gossip magazine HELLO! in which she has opened up and told how she has lived the last few months.
According to what she said, the fact that a woman like her is our country's candidate in said contest is a clear sign of progress: ''I represent today's Spain, that of 2023. A multicultural country.'' After pointing out that she is mestizo, the woman has made it clear that not because she has a darker skin tone makes her any less Murcian or Spanish.
Regarding criticism, the model has explained that everything that is out of her control does not affect her. Furthermore, she has declared that she feels very proud of putting a face to the diversity that exists in our country and that the racist criticism she suffered after her participation in Miss Universe Spain made her stronger: ''I only had to empower myself and claim the existence of hundreds of thousands of people like me.
The woman has appeared confident in the conversation with the media and has expressed her desire to show the entire world what she is capable of. ''I have surpassed myself,'' she explained, happy and pleased to have enjoyed the process.
When preparing for the competition, Pérez has been sincere and has expressed his special interest in taking care of his mental health: ''I have completely prioritized the mental plane (...) Life does not teach you to compete with 90 women! spectacular!''
