Teary send-off for Laura Lehmann and Winwyn Marquez ahead of int’l pageants

Beauty queens offered teary farewells to Miss World Philippines 2017 Laura Lehmann and Miss Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 Winwyn Marquez ahead of their journey to win international crowns.

The two were given a send-off party at Anabel's Restaurant on Wednesday, attended by Miss Eco Philippines Cynthia Thomalla, Miss Multinational Philippines Sophia Senoron, 1st Princess Glyssa Leian Perez and 2nd Princess Zara Carbonell.

Miss World Philippines national director Arnold Vegafria said that Lehmann and Marquez have already proved that they have what it takes to represent the Philippines in the world stage.

"Laura and Winwyn have shown us how much they can stand tall and proud with their own unique personalities and individual talents, and how they can mesmerize any crowd not just with their stunning beauty but also with their purposeful advocacies and charitable endeavors," he said.

Lehmann thanked Filipinos for their support, and said that she will do her best to represent the country well.

"The Filipinos love pageantry, and I feel that I have a big family...I have so much support. I want you to know that as soon as I land in China, the way I look at it, I'm not Laura, I'm Philippines," she said.

"Because I'm Philippines, I know I'm representing a country that I love so much, I was born here, I was raised here, this is my home. And because of that I will really do my best to represent it the best way I can, because I want the world to see how great we are," she added.

Marquez, meanwhile, admitted that she feels a lot of pressure since she is the first Filipina and first Asian to compete in the prestigious Miss Reina Hispanoamericana pageant.

"It's going to be a challenge for me because it's a land of talented girls. We all know that Latinas are very good in pageants, very good in dancing, they're very, very good," she said.

"But I don't want to put myself down because I know that I'm standing for my country and that I'll do my very best," she added.

Marquez will be flying to Santa Cruz, Bolivia on Thursday for the Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 pageant.

Lehmann is scheduled to fly to China on Friday for the Miss World 2017 pageant. — BM, GMA News