STAMFORD -- A 25-year-old Greenwich woman took the crown of Miss Connecticut Sunday night at the Marriott Hotel, while the runner-up was a Fairfield woman recently named to the New York Jets cheerleading squad.
As Desiree Perez received the crown from the reigning title holder, Erin Brady, she hinted she wanted to follow in her footsteps. Brady went on to win Miss USA and placed in the top 10 in the Miss Universe pageant Nov. 9 in Russia.
"I'm thinking back-to-back baby Connecticut," Perez said, with a laugh.
Perez wowed the judges in a sparkling gold dress and tugged at their heartstrings with her touching story about suffering from a tumor in her jaw and having to undergo reconstructive surgery to her face. The beauty queen said she has tried to bring inspiration to others through her hardship.
"It was the only thing I could do at the time," she said.
Of the 35 contestants in the pageant, Fairfield County dominated the competition by taking all of the top five spots. Along with Perez, there were women from Fairfield, Redding and Bridgeport. The fifth woman was from New Milford.
The pageant began Saturday, with a total of 65 contestants -- 30 competing for Miss Teen Connecticut and 35 competing for Miss Connecticut. They underwent the swimsuit, interview and evening gown portions, before being pared down to 15 women.
On Sunday, the final 15 contestants marched onto the stage in their evening gowns and were introduced to the crowd. Among the group, five finalists were named and each had to answer a few questions.
As the panel of judges made their decision, Brady took the stage to a round of applause and the announcer said, "She made everyone proud."
The 26-year-old walked the stage for the last time as Miss Connecticut, as a tape of her voice played in the background. She thanked her grandmother, sisters, parents and fiance, saying she can't wait to spend the rest of her life with him.
"So take the reigns and run with it because it is the opportunity of a lifetime," Brady said to the women, as they stood waiting for results.
Fourth runner-up went to Ranya May Rasamny, of Redding, who said she was an English major who wants to inspire people through her writing. Third runner-up went to Jessica Bouwman, of New Milford, who works for Hearst Publications and is also a belly dancer/instructor who finds dance routines for people of all shapes and sizes.
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Second runner-up was Tiffany Teixeira, of Bridgeport, a nurse who said she doesn't mind the "blood and guts." She also said she wants to break the stigma attached to coming from the inner-city that "you're from the ghetto and you're going to end up pregnant."
"I'm street smart, but I'm poised," Teixeira told the crowd.
First runner-up was Nikki Delventhal, of Fairfield, a model and dancer who said having a good body image is important. Wearing a flowing black dress, she told the judges that she's been a competitive cheerleader her whole life and recently won a spot on the New York Jets cheerleading squad.
"In a few days, I pushed myself and I made it and my dreams came true," Delventhal said, of the grueling tryouts.
After the competition, Perez stood on the stage for several minutes, taking pictures with Miss Teen Connecticut, Sydney West, of Vernon, and some others.
Perez said she grew up in New York City and moved to Greenwich two years ago. She still works in the city, running a marketing company that endorses products through social media.
Since discovering she had a tumor in her jaw at age 7, Perez said she has had to receive treatments for many years. Though the tumor was benign, it required a series of operations.
"My last surgery was two years ago, but I'm healthy now," she said.
Because she's of Venezuelan descent, Perez said it's natural that she has competed in pageants her whole life. She took fourth runner-up in this competition last year and wanted to give it one more shot.
"I saw it, I believed it and I think I owned it," she said of the night. "This was my last time competing in a pageant."
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