Miss Colombia, Natalia Navarro, resisted social pressure to undergo plastic surgery on her nose, to come within an eyelash of being crowned as the pinnacle of female beauty at this year’s Miss Universe competition.
As the Cartagena-born beauty queen prepares for the pageant taking place this year in Las Vegas, U.S., she spoke to newspaper El Tiempo about her attitudes to success and to criticism.
Navarro sees her strengths as being her sense of humor and her legs, while her weakness is widely perceived as being her nose, which has provided her with nickname “eagle beak.”
The saga of Navarro’s nose has been the subject of much discussion and controversy around the Andean nation, as many Colombians have called for the beauty queen to undergo cosmetic surgery.
“I greatly respect the opinion of the people, but … I decided I will not do it because I disagree with cosmetic surgery, especially in beauty contests,” Navarro said.
“What makes a queen is her attitude,” she continued. “And my nose, even if it’s not perfect, makes me who I am, and that gives me the strength to show other features of my personality.”
The Miss Universe pageant is held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on August 23.
