Local beauty queen is competing, again, in the Mrs. Globe pageant

In January 2021, we published an article about Annandale High School alum Rachel Laguna’s plans to compete in the Mrs. Globe competition in China.

Things didn’t work out as anticipated, however. Laguna, who had been named Mrs. Venezuela, had to drop out due to health issues, and she is now in the running for the 2023 Mrs. Globe title.

Shortly before the 2021 event, she learned she had a tumor. While waiting for surgery, she found out she was pregnant.

That was nothing short of a miracle, Laguna says. As a longtime sufferer of endometriosis, a painful condition that affects the uterus, she didn’t think she could ever have a baby.

Her daughter, Alessia, is now a year old. “I never thought I would have her,” Laguna says. “She has brought such joy to our lives.”

After the 2023 Mrs. Globe competition – June 24 in Palm Springs, Calif. – she will be back in the hospital in August for surgery as the tumor is still there.

Unlike other beauty pageants, Mrs. Globe competitors are ages 26-45 and can be married or divorced. The contest has several components: bathing suit, evening gown, national dress, and a personality profile, where the women are given one minute to talk about themselves.

The Mrs. Glove contest benefits the Women in Need Foundation (WIN), which helps people get out of abusive relationships and supports female empowerment.

Laguna is in second place in raising money for WIN. Anyone can make a tax-deductible $10 donation to the WIN Foundation by voting for her on the Mrs. Globe website. The contestant with the most votes is automatically considered a finalist and receives the title Mrs. Globe Choice of the People.

Related story: Annandale High School graduate will represent Venezuela in a beauty pageant

Laguna immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela when she was 10. She went to Braddock Elementary School, Poe Middle School, and Annandale High School, where she was a cheerleader and yearbook editor, and was in the band.

After graduating in 2007, she earned two bachelor’s degrees from George Mason University. She worked for many years as a manager in the Fairfax County Department of Family Services and now has a similar job for Prince William County. She and her partner, who also went to Annandale High School, bought a house near where she grew up in North Springfield.

“I haven’t always had the easiest journey,” she says. Leaving Venezuela and adjusting to life in the U.S. was challenging, and “I had to work hard to get to where I am today.”

“When people at events say their daughters look up to me, that fills my heart,” she says. At age 33, others might consider her a little old to be in a pageant, she says. “There’s no right time to do anything. It’s never too late to achieve your dreams.”