Maricielo Gamarra was in school when she participated for the first time in a beauty pageant. It was a Miss Quinceañera pageant, in the San Martín region. Already in college, she moved to Piura, but on one of her vacation visits to the jungle they encouraged her to try her luck in another contest. She didn't think twice and she tried it. The result: she was chosen Miss Tarapoto.
He was 19 years old when he achieved this recognition. Almost nine years later, Gamarra told La República that in 2024 she will return to the San Martín region, but this time with the crown of Hispanic American Queen 2023-2024. This is an unprecedented feat in the world of national modeling, since never before have two Peruvian women won this competition in a row.
After several days abroad, Gamarra has just arrived in Arequipa. She was in Bolivia during the duration of the international beauty event. She has a busy schedule. She has just gotten off the plane and she already has to give an interview. She asks us to wait five minutes. After time, she appears, on the other side of the screen, with her Spanish-American queen sash.
—What did it mean to win the Reina Hispanoamericana 2023-2024?
-Very happy. For Peru it was an important milestone. I had never before seen a back to back, that a Peruvian queen crowned another national queen again in the same contest. In fact, Arlette Rujel, the previous winner, was very excited and so was I because it was a bit of a difficult challenge, but I always thought it was not impossible. I trusted my work, my discipline and my commitment, and that is what I have demonstrated. From day one I enjoyed it and I think that is the key: when you do things with passion and love you get good results.
Maricielo Gamarra is the second Peruvian to win the Reina Hispanoamericana pageant. Photo: Instagram/Maricielo Gamarra
—What activities will you have as a Spanish-American queen?
—For Hispanic Heritage Week I am going (to New York) with the queen of the Bicentennial, who Mexico won. Now I am in Arequipa, I just arrived because we have the coronation tomorrow of Miss Peru Arequipa and for the official reception as Queen Hispanoamericana 2023-2024, which is also tomorrow. While on February 10 or 11 I will be in Curacao for the carnivals. Then I have other coronations. It is likely that I will go to Bolivia again (…). Now I am focused on what the Curaçao carnival is. I also have the Rioja carnival at the end of the month. I represented (at the time) the San Martín region, and Rioja is part of the department.
—What award did you receive for becoming a Spanish-American queen? Is there a financial prize?
—Yes, there is. I look forward to it at the end of the year. I still have to wait for my reign year to get it.
—Do you know the amount?
—It's better to keep it a secret. But yes, there is one. The organization also gives other prizes. I won, for example, the Miss Deporte Kalomai, which is the first title awarded by the organization. I have always been an athlete, so that title also represents me.
—In 2019, you became Miss Tarapoto, how did you enter the world of beauty pageants?
—I started at school, with Miss Quinceañera. I competed in the province of San Martín with quite a few candidates. We were 15 years old and I came out the winner. Then, when I entered the University of Piura, I was Miss Cachimbo. But it came out of nowhere because it wasn't a beauty pageant either, it was more of a competition and a question of leadership. There I raised my voice and said: “Interesting how one can lead more.” Later, I worked in television, at América Televisión, in the Norte subsidiary. My classmates told me: “Maricielo, you have good performance in front of cameras, you speak well, you are intelligent and beautiful, wouldn't you like to participate in Mis Perú? Why don't you enter?” There I just said: “It could be.”
In 2020, Maricielo Gamarra was the first runner-up of Miss Peru. Photo: LR composition/Instagram/Maricielo Gamarra
But I always thought, “I'm going to finish college and then go into something bigger.” Miss Tarapoto, for example, was when I finished a university cycle. I went to Tarapoto, they offered me the opportunity and in two or three weeks, which was my break period, I won. I returned as Miss Tarapoto. Obviously, a national involves much more preparation, because they are girls from all regions who have already had some previous regional experience or a smaller competition. So, I took on a difficult contest: Miss Peru. This was during a pandemic. I had to adapt to having interviews via Zoom, to only looking at the screen and not getting the mirror syndrome, which is looking at myself when I speak. Finally, I got the position of first runner-up, I was holding hands with Janick Mazeta. She represented us very well.
In 2020, after finishing first runner-up in Miss Peru, Gamarra moved to the United States. In the North American country, she studied acting and improved her English level. At this stage, she entered a Telemundo TV show. According to her, she hopes to at some point host a television show or venture into acting. “I love TV, I love cameras, but I would love to have an entertaining and inspirational program,” she said.
—What has been the most difficult moment in your career as a beauty queen?
—The most difficult moment was the pandemic. What's more, my regional director abandoned me and I had to do it alone. It was like volunteering for me. I lost my job and was starting over in the world of misses, it was new for me. For this reason, I am very grateful to all the people and designers who supported me during my time at Miss Peru because it was difficult, I think it was the most difficult moment.
Maricielo Gamarra studied acting in New York, United States. Photo: LR composition/Instagram/Maricielo Gamarra
—The role of women is key in the development of the country, what message could you leave them and, in general, Peruvians?
—As a woman, as a person, I believe that with determination, discipline and effort you can achieve any objective or goal. Never say no to opportunities and maintain a clear focus. If you really know where you are going, what your final goal is, you can fight and put together a plan to achieve it, because luck does not just appear like that. The opportunity presents itself and you have to be prepared, that would be my advice.
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