With a newly motivated committee in place, the annual International Costa Maya Festival – Reignited is working on an exciting array of events, including the highly anticipated Reina de la Costa Maya pageant. The 2019 International Costa Maya Festival pageant is set to take place on Friday, July 26th at the Honorable Louis Sylvestre Sporting Complex in San Pedro Town. Honduras’ Mary Cruz Cardona Galindo is the proud 2018 titleholder, and she will be handing over the crown to one of eight beauties hailing from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. The pageant committee is pleased to introduce the first two candidates that will be vying for the title of Reina de la Costa Maya 2019: Miss Guatemala and Miss Costa Rica.
Proudly representing Guatemala at this year’s Reina de la Costa Maya 2019 pageant is Nallely Paola López Juárez. 21-year-old Lopez Juarez is 5’7’ and a licensed Criminal and Forensic Investigative Technician who enjoys playing basketball and volleyball and spending time with her pets. She describes herself as a supportive person who cares for the well-being of the people and wildlife of her country. She has since become very passionate about doing social projects that involve the younger generation in the activities as she aims to motivate them to become agents of change. The greatest gift she has received in her life is her education as it has allowed her to grow and mold herself into a better person, developing goals that she is aiming to accomplish.
Lopez Juarez is very excited about beauty pageants as it is through them that she has achieved personal growth and come to meet countless people with who she has formed unbreakable friendships.
Joining the bevy of beauties is also Miss Costa Rica. Lisbeth Valverde Brenes is a stunning 24-year-old educational psychologist by profession, with an emphasis on working with people with disabilities. Her hobbies include swimming, singing, dancing, and involving herself in social work. She describes herself as an extrovert who very much enjoys conversing and making others laugh. An unforgettable moment in her life has been accomplishing getting accepted at a university with a rigorous acceptance rate to pursue her dream career where her passion of using her voice for the children and persons vulnerable by society due to social injustice led her to. As such, Valverde Brenes has learned to listen to others and has become exceptionally well at being social and communicative.
This year’s festival will be held on July 26th, 27th and 28th. The festival began in 1991, and was an annual event with only one cancellation in 2016 due to Hurricane Earl. Originally known as the Sea and Air Festival, the Costa Maya Festival has evolved into a celebration of music, dance and celebration of the Mundo Maya countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and even Panama. In 1996, an official pageant was introduced and it has also grown into quite the international beauty spectacle. The 2019 festival has already made exciting announcements, including their International Artist set for Saturday, July 27th, Becky G! Stay tuned for more details on this spectacular event and follow their new website at www.costamayafest.com!
