MARCH 18th, 2011. Darlene Nava Munoz, resident of Pilsen, is the only out Lesbian of the 20 finalists in the 2011 Miss Illinois Latina beauty pageant.
The competition will take place April 15th at the Sabre Room 8900 W 95th St in Hickory Hills, IL. Doors open at 7 PM and show starts at 8 PM.
Says the Mexican American and recent lavender graduate of University of Illinois at Chicago: "My objective is to create lesbian visibility in the Latino community. Participating in this pageant is affirming my identity as a femme lesbian and as a Latina."
She has a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences and her major was in Gender and Women's Studies with a double minor in African American Studies and Latin American and Latino studies. In 2007, she won the Gilman Scholar Award and studied abroad for 8 months in Brazil. There she attended the largest gay pride parade in the world in Sao Paolo, Brazil. She's also traveled to Puerto Rico as a McNair Scholar where she got to see performances with two drag queens of RuPaul's Drag Race. Darlene has also traveled to Venezuela, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Mexico. Darlene Nava Munoz is a Chicago community activist that has worked for immigration reform and has organized with the Chicago Dyke March Collective for the last two years. She also co-founded a national network of women activists called EllasDaughters ( EllasDaughters.org ) . Currently she is a volunteer at a non-profit called Rape Victims Advocates and is looking to continue her graduate studies.
Darlene is still looking for sponsors and if you would like to help out or attend any events email her at darlenenavamunoz@gmail.com or contact her on facebook facebook.com/darlenenavamunoz
For more information on the Miss Illinois Latina beauty pageant:
MissLatinaUS.com