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Model Becomes First Openly Trans Miss Nevada In Miss USA Pageant

A model has become the first openly trans Miss Nevada in Miss USA. 
Credit: @mskataluna/Instagram

A model has become the first openly trans Miss Nevada in the Miss USA pageant. 

Kataluna Enriquez snatched the title at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas on June 27, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

When she won, the 27-year-old was wearing a shimmering rainbow sequin dress to celebrate Pride Month.

Watch the moment she was crowned below…

Celebrating the history-making win, Enriquez took to Instagram and penned: “My community, you are always in my heart.

“My win is our win. We just made history. Happy Pride.”

Miss Trans Global 2020, Mela Habijan, has also taken to social media to congratulate Enriquez.

“Our trans-Pinay sister, Kataluna Enriquez, made history today!” she tweeted. “She won Miss Nevada 2020. She will be the first trans woman to compete at the Miss USA Pageant!”

In March 2018, Erinquez won the title of Miss Silver State USA and she reflected on what this means for the trans community.

“One thing that is important for me is inclusivity, diversity and representation,” she stated. “It’s something I did not have growing up and is still lacking in today’s world.

“Today I am a proud transgender woman of colour. Personally, I’ve learned that my differences do not make me less than, it makes me more than.”

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Credit: @mskataluna/Instagram

Before beating 21 other candidates to win the title, the pageant queen experienced years of abuse during her high school years, as she was openly trans.

But things turned around for Enriquez when she found work as a model, as it spurred her into entering beauty competitions.

Now Miss Nevada will compete for the Miss USA title and if she wins, this will make her the second trans woman to compete for the Miss Universe crown, following Spain’s Angela Ponce back in 2018.

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Written by Aimee Walker

Aimee is a senior content editor at IGV who specialises in finding the best original stories, trending topics and entertainment news. She graduated from Birmingham City University with a degree in Media and Communications.