Miss Bolivia Valeria Mena reveals plan after Miss Universe and how her grandmother inspired her social project

My greatest strengths will always be my commitment and the authenticity with which I try to live my everyday life, beyond the crown or the sash I wear.

I believe Valeria is a very committed woman who is going to give it her all. And through everything I give, I want to share my purpose, my voice, and the social work I have been doing.

The story of how I decided to participate in beauty pageants goes back to when I was very young. When I was 15, I participated in my first pageant, and it was the only one I competed in before this.

That was when I fell in love with pageants, but I wanted to become a well-rounded and highly prepared woman and earn my degree first.

Once I had accomplished that, I said, “I think this is my moment.” I have prepared my entire life for this. I was able to represent my department first and now, thank God, my country.

Yes. I think I’ve learned a little from every beauty queen I’ve had the opportunity to discover through pageants because these platforms allow us to get to know them.

One of the most recent women to inspire me greatly, because of her story and the way she has made an impact on society and her community, is Sheynnis Palacios.

I think she is a clear example of how perseverance and commitment can take you far.

Getting to know myself completely and being able to identify my weaknesses, but despite them, looking at myself in the mirror and knowing that I’m ready, knowing my worth and what I have to offer the universe.

Obviously, analyzing yourself isn’t an easy task. Sometimes it involves moments when we’re going to feel sad or think that we don’t fit in.

But those are also the moments when we realize that our value lies in those differences, in not being the same as everyone else while still having the ability to shine.

I believe all beauty queens have a voice and a message that we stand for on these platforms and international stages. Mine will always be about keeping alive the authenticity that characterizes women.

We are very sensitive beings. I consider myself a very sensitive person and someone who loves life, but I know that within that sensitivity lies my greatest strength: the ability to face life with a great deal of love.

Above all, I want to show love to the people I connect with so they also feel capable of continuing to fight for their dreams and discovering everything they can accomplish if they believe in themselves.

My social project is Latidos Dorados. I work with senior citizens to help give them more dignified lives and create balance in their physical and mental well-being, as well as through recreational activities, so they don’t feel alone or abandoned.

For Miss Universe, what I want to present is Legado, or “Legacy,” which is a way of telling their stories, giving them a voice, and preserving the life lessons they have to share with us.

The truth is that I’m very close to my grandmothers, and I believe they have been two of the fundamental pillars in my development as a person.

Seeing how society often forgets about this part of our population has always affected me deeply, whether it was seeing an elderly person alone on the street or visiting nursing homes.

And the reality is that many of them, at least in Bolivia, don’t have families. In 80% of nursing homes, the people living there have no family.

Coming face-to-face with this reality and having both the ability and the voice to help change it felt like an opportunity I couldn’t waste.

One of my grandmothers left me with the life lesson that everything happens for a reason and that the only thing we need to do is face life with joy and a smile.

My other grandmother taught me the faith I now have in God and the Virgin Mary. When we place ourselves in their hands and do things with love, I believe everything is possible, and paths open up for us.

We are the ones who then have to embrace those opportunities with gratitude and hope.

Ever since I entered the media and became a public figure, my life has changed quite a bit, and I’ve had to become much stronger.

Sometimes it’s easy to say that we shouldn’t pay attention to negative comments, but when you’re the one experiencing them, it becomes a little more complicated.

In empathy. I think empathy is something we should develop and practice much more: putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and understanding that hatred and criticism don’t get us anywhere.

Constructive criticism, of course, is different, and I’m always grateful for it. That’s what I try to focus on.

I try to shift my attention so that those people who don’t believe in me, and who don’t even know me, may one day have the opportunity to see everything I’m capable of.

Actually, yes. The day I did my media tour at Telemundo, I was talking about this with my entire team and my organization.

I really loved the work they were doing, and I would love to one day be part of a world and an organization like that.

I love talking and connecting with people, so I’m definitely not ruling it out.

Also, as I mentioned, I’m a very sensitive person and someone who loves life. I also love writing, and I hope to have the opportunity to publish my first book of poetry soon. It will be something I’ll feel very proud to share.

Ever since I was little, I loved reciting poetry. I started by performing and reciting poems, and that eventually led me to enjoy writing them as well.

Writing allows me to express things beyond what I’m able to say when I’m talking to someone. Being able to sit alone with my thoughts and put them down on paper is priceless to me. I think it’s the place where I’m able to release everything I’m feeling.

Something many people may not know about me is that Sundays bring me a lot of inspiration to relax and write. They’re my favorite days for writing because of something very personal involving my dad.

Before he passed away, we used to do many activities together on Sundays. After he died, Sundays began to feel very empty for me.

So I took that as an opportunity to start writing and to pour out everything I was carrying inside through my words. That’s when I began to enjoy writing even more and truly fell in love with it.