The Miss and Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific Pageant\u2019s preliminaries took place at the<\/p>\n

Tamuning Community Center on Saturday, Oct.22.<\/p>\n

The event is an alternative lifestyles beauty pageant.<\/p>\n

The current titleholders and last year\u2019s Miss Queen and Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific used<\/p>\n

their positions in other meaningful ways.<\/p>\n

Naveah Lashay, Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific 2015, joined when she was just a senior in high<\/p>\n

school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first ever Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific actually reached out to me and asked me if I<\/p>\n

would be interested in joining the pageant,\u201d Lashay said.<\/p>\n

Lashay had no second thoughts about joining as she asked her parents for permission to join the<\/p>\n

pageant.<\/p>\n

Lashay used her title to promote equality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won the crown so I used that as an advantage to talk to my peers,\u201d Lashay said.<\/p>\n

She wanted to provide the people of Guam with more information about the transgender<\/p>\n

community and how it works.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just people like everyone else. We love everyone and we\u2019re here the same reason why<\/p>\n

everyone is here,\u201d Lashay said.<\/p>\n

Alongside Lashay, Kylie Diosa Duenas, Miss Queen of the Pacific 2015, also explained that the<\/p>\n

pageant is more than just glitz and glam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of responsibility that comes with holding a title after winning the pageant,\u201d<\/p>\n

Duenas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really takes a lot of brain and a lot of dedication to think of the things that you are going to do<\/p>\n

to impact the island and pull through and execute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duenas emphasizes that this pageant is also a great way to bring people together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we compete in the pageant and we\u2019re on stage looking out into the ballroom, it\u2019s not just<\/p>\n

a ballroom with LGBT people,\u201d Duenas said.<\/p>\n

Duenas explains that the ballroom is filled with Guam\u2019s community. She appreciates the<\/p>\n

different cultures and beliefs of the audience members. She is happy to see that the Guam<\/p>\n

community is diverse and supportive for the LGBT community. She also says that the support of<\/p>\n

the audience gives the confidence the contestants need to compete in the pageant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows people that we\u2019ve come a long way with acceptance and equality. There are people<\/p>\n

who support you and you\u2019re going to encounter people that don\u2019t, but just remember that there<\/p>\n

are always more who will,\u201d Duenas said.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Miss and Miss Teen Queen 2016 Preliminaries was a competition on Talent and Recycled<\/p>\n

costumes.<\/p>\n

The Coronation of the Miss and Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific will take place at the Grand Vrio<\/p>\n

Hall in the Fiesta Resort on Saturday, Oct.29 at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

For more information, please contact Leah at leahsfabulousproductions671@gmail.com or call<\/p>\n

(671) 487-8356\/6839.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Miss and Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific Pageant\u2019s preliminaries took place at the Tamuning Community Center on Saturday, Oct.22. The event is an alternative lifestyles beauty pageant. The current titleholders and last year\u2019s Miss Queen and Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific used their positions in other meaningful ways. Naveah Lashay, Miss Teen … <\/p>\n

Read more “Miss Queen and Miss Teen Queen of the Pacific Preliminaries 2016”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[298],"yoast_head":"\n