Good Vibes Only: El Paso beauty queens set historic pageant milestone

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)— Two El Paso beauty queens continue to celebrate following a victorious weekend.

Gia Soleil Espinoza and Mia Autumn Navarro were crowned Miss Earth USA and Miss Teen Earth USA in Orlando, Florida, last Saturday. This marks the first time Texas representatives, both from El Paso, have earned the national titles in the same year.

Both titleholders will now serve as ambassadors for the Miss Earth Organization, which champions community service, environmental awareness, and youth leadership.

Navarro said this was her first national pageant. She was surprised she walked away with the crown.

"It was so exciting. I remember I told myself I wasn't going to cry, and then they said it and I started crying immediately,” she explained.

And the winning streak didn’t stop there. That same day, Espinoza was crowned Miss Earth USA.

"It was this thing of, oh my gosh, I actually just won this.”

Both said they prepared arduously for this moment.

"We just spent the last three months working incredibly hard and truly making a difference. And it was just like, we just did this,” Espinoza said.

The teen titleholder is a type 1 diabetic. She created her platform called "Healing Without Harm” to help advocate for change. She told ABC-7 that the best part of this process was growing closer to her pageant sister, Gia.

"We would go to the gym. We did walk practices. We hung out just to build a stronger connection,” she said.

Espinoza is currently a criminal justice major who is preparing to enter the El Paso Police Academy. She started competing in pageants at a young age.

She said they have helped her develop her self-confidence and break out of her comfort zone.

Both said sharing this moment together made their wins extra sweet.

"It was insane. It was so meaningful to me to know that I'm a 15-year-old girl from El Paso, and I got to go represent our city on the national stage,” said Navarro.

"We're real people, and we're just two girls from El Paso. So it's truly, it was amazing. We had so much fun. And now being able to spend the next year together is going to be such an honor and a privilege. It's going to be amazing,” Espinoza added.

Now the real work begins. They’ll be representing this in 2026.

Navarro said she is excited to connect with even more people during her reign. Espinoza will be competing on an international stage at the end of this year in Asia.

We wish them the best of luck.

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