Karina Buttner, Miss Paraguay 2005
It took only six years for this Latin beauty to go from an unknown modeling hopeful to Paraguay’s leading pageant queen. But she considers these only stepping-stones to greater glory as a superstar.
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Karina Buttner, Miss Paraguay 2005. PHOTO BY FADIL BERISHA |
At the age of 17, Karina Buttner became a fashion model, and it didn’t take long for her to take the modeling world by storm, receiving recognition throughout South America by earning the title of Best Skin from Mar Skin Care products in her native country of Paraguay, Most Beautiful Face by Avon Cosmetics in Bolivia, and walking the runway for Latin hair stylist Roberto Giordano.
Then the 5-ft.-11-in. beauty with an international management degree zeroed in on pageant competition, and replicated her rapid rise to success, placing 1st Runner-up in the Reina Sudamericana Pageant in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and in the Top 10 at the Miss Silver Bird International 2005 in Nigeria. In March, Karina won the title of Miss Paraguay 2005, and represented her country at the Miss Universe Pageant in Bangkok, Thailand. The 23-year-old aspiring clothing designer recently sat down with Pageantry to discuss her experience and to share some of the hard-earned lessons she absorbed along the way.
Her victory as Miss Paraguay 2005 came as a shock to Karina — surprisingly, considering her modeling success. “I was not expecting to win at all,” she recalls. “I thought they had made a mistake. I started watching Miss Paraguay contests when I was a little girl, and would always dream of one day participating. My studies always came first, so I never was able to participate. But as soon as I finished school, I entered myself in contests and I started winning.” |