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| PHOTO CREDITS: TOP MODEL OF THE WORLD, ELENA KOSMINA'S FACEBOOK PAGE |
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| CELESTE MARSHALL / Photo Credit: Top Model Of the World |
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| Hector Joaquin interviews the lucky semifinalists on stage / Photo credit: Top Model Of The World |
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| PHOTO CREDIT: MISS BAHAMAS ORGANIZATION |
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| PHOTO CREDIT: MISS BAHAMAS ORGANIZATION |
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| TORIA PENN - MISS UNIVERSE BAHAMAS 2015 |
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| CHANTEL O'BRIAN - MISS WORLD BAHAMAS 2015 |
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| DARRONIQUE YOUNG - MISS EARTH BAHAMAS 2015 |
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| PHOTO CREDIT: CELESTIALLY CREATED FROM FACEBOOK |
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| FROM FACEBOOK |
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| FROM FACEBOOK |
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| Rosibel Chacon (1985) |
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| Gabriela Aguilar (1995) |
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| Adriana Zúñiga (1997) |
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| Veronica González (2006) |
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| Carolina Rodriguez with Critical Beauty's Hector Joaquin Colon Gonzalez who met Carolina earlier this year in Costa Rica where is currently fulfilling his acting career. |
My name is Angela Bonilla and I am 23 years old. I was invited to compete for the title of Miss Earth Ecuador through an audition with girls from all over the country. After a selection process I was chosen as the Ecuadorian representative for Miss Earth. My crowning took place on September 2nd. I study communication and English and work as a model and catwalk instructor in addition to work with my father in tourism.
I come from an indigenous background. My province has the largest indigenous population in Ecuador and I am very proud to represent this ethnic group.
I have two sisters and I currently live with my parents and my younger sister. I was born in the city of San Miguel de Urcuquí, Imbabura, but I have spent my life living between my hometown and Quito, the capital of Ecuador. I am the first woman from Imbabura to represent Ecuador in one of the most important beauty pageants in the planet.
I was pursued by a pageant promoter when I was 19. Pageants were never among my plans but after some consideration I decided to give it a try.
I competed in my first pageant in 2011 and although I did not place I won the title of Miss Photogenic.
Representing Ecuador in Miss Earth feels wonderful. To have the opportunity to represent my country in Austria is a dream come true and a great opportunity as well. I couldn't be prouder.
I am very committed to represent Ecuador and I have worked very hard for several months to be ready. I want to represent my country in the best possible way.
The will say that I am friendly, brutally honest, and they will most likely say that I am a bad driver.
When I was 18 I decided to live on my own in order to pursue a modeling career away from home. I was cast to compete in a reality television modeling competition where I finished second, and because of that I appeared as a guest in two popular TV shows in Ecuador.
Living on my own taught me responsibility, endurance, independence, courage and the value of earning a living. I truly believe this changed me as a person, changed my perspective about life and made me mature and grow as a human being. Most important of all, it taught me I am capable to do things on my own and be a responsible and courageous woman. Even though I live with my parents now I have worked and I have been independent ever since.
I will never betray my loved ones. I will never deny my roots or my culture because I am very proud of who I am and where I come from. I will never discriminate people for any reason.
I love reading, horse riding, hiking and watching sports. Believe it or not I am a little bit of a tomboy. My father works in the tourism industry and I also love to travel with him and show tourists the beauty of Ecuador and specially the landscape of my province and its many sites.
Dinner with all my family and love ones. Because of my father's travels and my older sister living away is very hard for all us to get together at the same time and because we are a very close family I truly love and enjoy having family night out or dinner in with my parents and sisters. That is a "perfect" evening which unfortunately does not often happen.
Ecuador is small country but it is a very diverse nation with dozens of ethnic groups, languages and culture that cohabit together. Ecuador is the only place in the world where people can see and experience warm beaches, snow mountains, and a vast jungle in one single day all year long within driving distance. Ecuador is also home of many species of plants and animal which aren't found anywhere else in the planet. Ecuador is known for the Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin wrote his famous Theory of Evolution and is the home of several Unesco Heritage Sites.
One of the biggest environmental problems in Ecuador is logging. Every year many trees are cut in order to make room for urbanization. This has created unclean air and pollution. As Miss Earth Ecuador I have partnered with the Mayor of my city to launch a campaign to revive the forest by working with seeds and plants in nurseries with the help of women from my community. With the assistance of volunteers, we plan to reforests many areas. We are working on utilizing several natural products used by indigenous groups to prepare the soil and to care for the trees in the most natural possible way. This will minimize the impact of bad weather and will also provide cleaner air.
Educations is the key. Creating conscience of reusing, recycling and showing the advantages of using artifacts that use alternative energy in a more inexpensive and efficient way will motivate people to practice more sustainable living.
A smart phone, a laptop computer, an iPad, newspapers, several clothing items, music and many pictures of people and places which will help others in the future remember how life was in 2015.
I would love to be able to play an instrument, maybe the violin. I have always been fascinated by music because music communicates feelings and thoughts through sound and it would be amazing to be able to add that to my list of abilities.
I would take this person to feel the water, the plants,the animals, the soil, the trees,etc.The power of a touch is more accurate than thousand words.
I want to be Miss Earth because I want to use this enormous opportunity to grow as a person, as a professional and as a human being. Miss Earth will give me the chance to work and meet many people and places through the environmental platform of this pageant which I am also very passionate about. I was born in a farm and most of my childhood was spent in nature,with very rustic technology and amenities. Most of my most memorable moments as a child and as an adult are from natural outdoor activities and because of this, the Miss Earth platform and advocacy is something extremely appealing to me.
My name is Alexandra Elizabeth I am 20 years old and I love art and astronomy. I grew up always moving because my dad was into real estate and my mother had Coffee shops all throughout the south in the states called Java Joes Bistro. My dad is very philanthropic and has always worked with charities and has even started his own that's what made me interested to participate in Miss DR Earth. I am currently studying computer science I love computers and know it will ultimately lead to a career in astronomy. I graduated from a collegiate high school in North Carolina. I am also an avid drawer and painter. Here is a bit of my work.
I became interested in pageants because of my mom. She always viewed it as a great way to grow and better myself as a woman. Then when I heard about Miss Earth and what it stood for, it was such a good fit for me because I've always loved volunteering and learning about our precious planet that I couldn't say no to the opportunity.
I can honestly say I've never been happier. It is such a great feeling you have when you can represent your country internationally and show the world how much talent, motivation and drive we have here in the Dominican Republic.
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| PHOTOGRAPHY: HAIRO ROJAS |
Loving, creative, humble.
I had a car accident and broke my hip and femur when I was 17. I really never thought I would be able to walk normal again let alone model on a runway. It showed me that with dedication and strength you can always make your dreams come true no matter the obstacles in your way.
Deep sea diving, swimming with sharks, cliff jumping
When I have free time I love to draw/paint, curl up in bed and read one of my favorite books, or watch the BBC documentaries I have downloaded on my computer "Planet Earth" and "Life." Yes, I am a total nerd.
It would either be movie night with my family at the theatre or me in my room learning about the things I love.
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| PHOTOGRAPHY: HAIRO ROJAS |
The Dominican Republic is an exotic, very lively country. It is a tourist destination because we have some of the most amazing beaches, a lot that people don't even know about. To be in the Dominican Republic you could either be tanning on a tropical beach or dancing bachata at night in the city. What makes the Dominican Republic different from the rest of Latin America is our rich diverse cuisine and the million different dishes we can make with plantains. The dances are unique but our music sounds all over the world. We are particularly unique that you can almost always point out a Dominican in a crowd of Latinos. Dominican Republic is a land of cultured unique human beings with a knack for rhythm and exceptionally tasteful food.
I think one of the biggest problems facing the Dominican Republic has to be pollution and contamination. We need to make a big effort in this country to recycle and keep our country's rivers, lakes, shores, and streets clean. I think the biggest thing I can do to help is inspire people to join the clean up groups I organize and spread a message of prevention and precautions you can take.
By incorporating the message into video clips, projects, magazine spreads, fashion shows, campaigns, and on TV so if people like what they see they will be inspired to help. Also to inform the people.
First of all an iPhone!! Probably 3 different computers so we can see how the size evolved. Microwaveable food, clothing, solar panels, batteries, medicine and genetically altered plants.
It would definitely be to be immortal because just in the few years I've been on this planet and so much has changed I can only imagine what's in the future and I would love to be around for that.
Fresh air and chilly winds that give your body cool sensations. Rough dirt that grows smooth and rigid plants. Large blue oceans that taste of tangy salt. Volcanoes that feel like burning and ooze fire. Violent water storms called hurricanes. Perfume scented flower meadows that look like happiness. And calming pink sunsets on the horizons kissing the oceans.
It would be a dream come true to be Miss Earth. To live out my dream to spread a message of hope and change for the globe. To save planet Earth along with an amazing foundation that has already contributed so much to restoring Mother Earth back to her glory days.
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| Htet Htet Htun (left) is crowned by the outgoing queen Sharr Htut Eaindra |
