24-year-old Mexican model, armed with passion, eyes big win

Born without arms, Mexican model Ana Gabriela Molina wants to challenge traditional perceptions of physical attractiveness by winning a beauty pageant in her home state of Veracruz.

Molina, a 24-year-old psychology graduate, said this week that accepting her condition had been tough but that she wanted to set an example for others living with a disability.

“I’ve managed to overcome everything that has happened to me in my whole life,” she told reporters in the eastern port of Coatzacoalcos.

Having no arms, she explained, had not stopped her from eating, using a mobile phone or writing with her feet — all with perfectly manicured and painted toenails.

In March, Molina will take part in the beauty contest in Veracruz, a state on the Gulf of Mexico which is home to more than 8 million people. If she wins, she will qualify for the Miss Mexico pageant in June.

“I’m going to face the same tests as everyone else, and I’m going to get through them,” Molina said. “I feel like any other normal person because I’ve lived my life like that. So, for me my disability is not a limit, on the contrary.”

Molina gives motivational talks and occasionally works as a model for a clothing line.

Veracruz is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez, according to Wikipedia.

Veracruz is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south, and Tabasco to the southeast. On its east, Veracruz has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.

The state is noted for its mixed ethnic and indigenous populations. Its cuisine reflects the many cultural influences that have come through the state because of the importance of the port of Veracruz. In addition to the capital city, the state’s largest cities include Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Minatitlán, Poza Rica, Boca Del Río and Orizaba.

Various types of forest cover the state, but evergreen tropical forest dominate.

The state’s ecoregion is of great importance for many plant and animal species. It is a center of plant endemism and has two separate endemic bird areas.

Agencies