Lourdes Valentina Figuera Morales represented Venezuela at the 7th edition of Miss Grand International i.e., at Miss Grand International 2019 on 25th October 2019 at the Poliedro de Caracas located in the city of Caracas, Venezuela. She was crowned as the winner at the end of the finale night by the outgoing queen and Miss Grand International 2018 Clara Sosa from Paraguay; making the host city’s representative the winner.
A native of Calle Maneiro in Puerto La Cruz, Valentina is 20-years-old and stands 184 cm tall, and is studying Architecture at the Santiago Mariño Polytechnic University Institute in Puerto La Cruz. She has a twin sister named Veronica and has previously won the El Concurso By Osmel Sousa reality show created by Osmel Sousa; former director of Miss Venezuela.
In just two weeks of participating at Miss Grand International 2019, Valentina emerged as one of the notable contestants as her outstanding modern beauty, confidence, communication skills, and attractive charisma was successful in impressing everyone. The diva is very close to her culture and traditions and showcases her love for the country on her social media as well. She mentioned in one of her posts; “From my homeland, I have learned that the most beautiful thing is to always welcome everyone with a smile and that's what makes my country strong to continue helping everyone around the world.”
The diva’s national costume, ‘Shii'mma’ was inspired by an ancient mother who dances with the colors on earth to remember that fabrics are textile wisdom. She explained it was too colorful and flashy for her and it was a tedious process to wear it but with the inspiration being so strong behind the design of it, she wore it and walked on-stage with full confidence. During the final question and answer round, she was asked, ‘What are the best things you can think of, from Venezuela to tell the world and why?’ to which she replied by saying that the people of the country give out an extremely friendly vibe. They have it in them to always give their best shot at whatever it is that they do. She further added that this is a positive message and an inspiration to the rest of the world to be like the people of her native country, Venezuela. This was one of the most heartfelt answers in the pageant and we were extremely proud of Lourdes.
After winning the title as her crown duty, Valentina toured many places and was also involved in many social activities. The queen’s first media tour was held in the city of Bangkok in Thailand, where she was accompanied by Arayha Suparurk Miss Grand International 2019 2nd runner up. Valentina’s next destination was in Indonesia where she visited a foundation in Indonesia and had the opportunity to share the time with disadvantaged children. The beauty said, “We learned a little about them and their cultures, as well as them from us. We hope that donations for your establishment are useful and that you can enjoy them.”
The diva then voyaged to Cambodia and visited one of the most emblematic places in Cambodia, the Tuol sleng genocide museum. The beauty grasped a lot of knowledge about the history and culture of the country and was grateful for the fact that she was warmly welcomed in the country and the way she was guided all the time. They also visited a children’s hospital, where they made a kind donation. She said the purpose of participating at Miss Grand International 2019 was to convey a message to encourage Venezuelans to be more patient and tolerant. She mentioned that after winning, traveling, and meeting such inspiring people in past one year, she has grown and advanced into a person she is proud of. The diva also accompanied Arayha Suparurk Miss Grand International 2019 2nd runner up to crown Miss Grand Thailand 2020 Chantarapadit Namfon. She also helped the people in her community during the lockdown with providing the essentials.
The diva started her own Youtube channel during the initial days of lockdown and has used the platform to explain her experience as Miss Grand International 2019; stating that even though she spent most of her time as queen on social networks to carry out her duties, she has enjoyed every bit of it. She explained that initially, it was a little tough for her to travel and collect everything but with the support of the organization and her team she was able to make it. Valentina explained that after her name was announced as the winner, she realized that she was here because she was determined to win and make the people of Venezuela proud. She thanked her parents for their constant support and motivation towards her building a career.
Valentina in her video encouraged the aspiring young models to never get distracted from their goals and only think about what you want to achieve in life and work towards it. She added that you can make a change in the world and use that power and knowledge to do so. She ended the video by mentioning that she is very lucky to have such opportunities and even though 2020 was tough for her, it is one of the best years of her life without a doubt.
The organization of Miss Grand International is all set to host the 8th edition of Miss Grand International on 27th March in the city of Bangkok, Thailand where delegates from all over the world will compete for the title. The winner will succeed Miss Grand International 2019 Valentina Figuera from Venezuela at the end of the event finale.
Even though it was a challenging reign, Valentina outdid herself as the reigning queen and performed her crown duties with utmost determination and honesty. We love you Valentina Figuera.