Since 1952, Texas has won nine Miss USA titles, according to the Miss Texas USA website. However, the Rio Grande Valley became more familiar with the world of pageantry in 2015 when McAllen native, Ylianna Guerra, was crowned Miss Texas USA 2015. After Guerra was crowned, she went on to compete on the Miss USA stage where she placed second. Since that day, the modeling and pageant industry in the Valley has been growing.
One of the pageants hosted every year in the Valley is Miss Glitz & Glamour. Glitz & Glamour is a formalwear store for ladies of all ages. It carries dresses for prom, pageants, and other special occasions. The business has been around for more than 20 years but it was not until six years ago that it decided to launch the very first Imagine 1 Miss Glitz & Glamour competition. This year Imagine 6 Miss Glitz & Glamour took place on March 4 at 5 p.m. at the McAllen Convention Center located at 700 Convention Center Blvd, McAllen.
Miss Glitz & Glamour is a modeling/pageant competition designed to find a young lady, between the ages of 15 to 25, to be the image of the store for a whole year. Aside from being the face of the store, the winner gets to model for prestigious designers such as Mac Duggal, Sherri Hill, and Terrani. Karla Monje, Miss Glitz & Glamour assistant director, talked about where the idea of Miss Glitz & Glamour originated.
“Miss Glitz & Glamour was created by the owner of the store, Esmer Valle. She wanted to give girls the opportunity to be able to model for prestigious designers,” said Monje, runway coach of the pageant. “It is really difficult for girls from the Rio Grande Valley to have the opportunity to work for Terrani or Sherri Hill because of the distance between us and them. Mrs. Valle wanted to give the girls an opportunity to gain the experience of modeling for a prestigious designer.”
The winner will be determined after two areas of competition. The first is photogenic in which contestants will work with photographer Nufo Salinas, to take pictures that will later be scored by judges. The scoring will mainly be based on how well the model can be photographed. The second area is runway where the contestants will be asked to model two different gowns. They will be scored on their ability to model the gown, along with poise, grace, and personality.
Britney Garcia, Miss Glitz & Glamour contestant says that she is excited to be part of this competition.
“Although this is my first time competing in a pageant, I feel nervous and excited,” said Garcia who is 17 years old. “I am excited to know that I will be modeling for Glitz & Glamour. It is a pleasure to be able to participate in this pageant.”
This year Glitz & Glamour also hosted its first ever Little Miss and Junior Miss pageant on March 4 at 5 p.m. The Little Miss division is open to girls age four to six. The Junior Miss division is for girls ranging from eight to 10 years old. The areas of competition are photogenic and runway.
Glitz & Glamour decided to create a pageant for the younger girls because they wanted to give them the same opportunity as the older contestants. Johanna Alanis, the mother of a Junior Miss constant, says that she is excited to have Glitz & Glamour give the little girls this opportunity.
“By having a Little Miss and Junior Miss Division, Glitz & Glamour is not only giving these little girls an opportunity to experience something they may have never experienced before. It also allows local girls to be discovered by talent agents and designers,” she said.
Aside from being the face of the store for a whole year, the winners of each division will receive a trip to New York, Broadway show tickets and a gift certificate from the denim clothing store 7 Sevens. The prize package also includes a photo-shoot with Nufo Salinas who specializes in fashion and pageantry photos, a hair and makeup session with Antonio Von Marrok who has worked with pageant contestants and known stars such as Gloria Trevi and private pageant training sessions with Regina’s Modeling Academy, Regina’s was founded by Karla Monje an International pageant queen.
For more information contact Glitz & Glamour at 956-630-4948 or visit their Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/Glitzglamourmcallen