Michelle Jiménez, Miss Universe Spain: “Being in several shelters helped me become a resilient woman”

During the two weeks that the concentration lasted – everyone traveled to Mexico at the end of October to be present in the different activities that the organization had prepared -, Spain’s candidacy has become one of the most recognized worldwide. In most of the ‘hot picks’ -predictions- it is positioned among the top 30. Note that there are more than 120 women who will fight to become the most beautiful in the universe. Given this, Jiménez is grateful, but without getting her hopes up: «There are girls who don’t appear on those lists and who win. The final decision will be made by the jury. This year there are very powerful candidates. Of course, he points out that his strong point is “my personality. You can teach catwalk and public speaking classes, but self-confidence and charisma always prevail. “It’s something that can’t be learned.”

Michelle Jiménez is not just a pretty woman. It also has a story worth telling and with which it aims to help everyone who goes through a similar situation. «I was from the age of 12 to 18 in shelters. It was a stage that helped me develop skills such as resilience and being an independent woman. “That’s what I want to convey.” And this does not mean that he has stopped having contact with his parents, quite the opposite: “Parents do what they can with what they have.” His experiences made him mature before the rest. Thus, as she told the author, when she won Miss Universe Spain, “my friends have always told me that when I was a girl I had the life of a 20-year-old girl.” Hence, it carries as its flag “humility and respect for others”: “One reminds you of where you come from and keeps your feet on the ground no matter how far you go and the other is the basis for having a good coexistence with anyone.” ».

Gaining notoriety means that you are more exposed to people’s opinions. For this reason, the criticism about his skin color has not stopped in these two months: «They are always there. Even winning, they have criticized me, but I notice it less because I am not one of them. In the end, we have to value beauty much more.” And that second part far surpasses those who dedicate themselves to spreading hate. You just have to look at his social networks to see the messages of support and affection he is receiving, which number in the hundreds. Regardless of whether he brings the second crown to Spain or not, Jiménez wants to make the most of this opportunity: “When I finish, I will continue with my social project to be able to focus on it in a more global way.” She will also seek to fulfill another of her dreams, “to be an actress.” Note that it would not be the first. Amparo Muñozthe only Spanish woman to have won Miss Universe, built a successful career in the acting world.

One of her fears was not meeting, before heading to Mexico, the candidate with whom she was going to share the room: «I was nervous because she is someone you spend a lot of time with. Thank God, I have been given Guatemala, which is a girl’s love. “I would like victory to be between the two of us.” Although she is not the only one with whom Jiménez has felt a special connection: «My chaperone – the woman in charge of the candidates – is the one from Venezuela and El Salvador. We say that we are like sisters and she is our mother. “We get along very well and, whenever we can, we are together.” She also wants to dedicate a few words to all the people who have come to the hotel where they are staying to greet them and to the professionals who make everything possible: “They have received us very well.”

The young woman has in her memory the words that her brothers said to her before taking the flight from the Barcelona airport, where she went with her uncle and her best friend – in Spain it is not common, like in America, for followers to organize to say goodbye to his candidate before flying -, to Mexico: «Let me be myself, have a good time, enjoy it and make people laugh. “Make friends and take advantage of it because if I don’t take the crown, there will be other opportunities.” Finally, he wants to send a message of hope to those who, in some way, are lost: “Let them look for their abilities and what they want to do. Let them work for it because dreams come true but you have to work for them, nobody gives you anything. Discipline is what remains when the imagination leaves.