January/March 2015

Written by Sara Schaffer
Maria Fernanda was born in 1993 in Obregon Sonora Mexico,
and had early dreams of the fashion world. In her youth she
pictured herself owning over 1000 pairs of heels. At twentyone
years old, she has achieved her desire, yet this is only
one of her visions. Her entrepreneurship and draw towards
beauty combined when she began Mixed Beauties in 2013.
Maria wanted an outlet for girls to help them feel better
about themselves and embrace their lives, instead of turning
to wild parties, drinking and drugs. She envisioned a group
where all bodies, races and sizes were valued for their natural
state, and all seen and respected as beautiful. With societies’
preoccupation with a very narrowly defined set of beautiful
attributes, her message is a well needed change of attitude.
A few years ago, at the age of nineteen, she was hosting
her first fashion show. Like many first-time events and
fashion shows, there were many road blocks and hardships
throughout the process, yet she did not let anyone in on
that, and stayed positive. She felt her first fashion show was
a disappointment with only eight girls showing up to walk,
yet she did not let that stop her. Maria did not show her
discontent, and instead focused on the things she could learn
from the event. After putting photos from the show online,
she saw quite an influx of attention, and quickly had a second
show scheduled. She has grown and learned with every show
since, and continues to seek the positive in her events and life.
Maria did not let her personal life slack, and has graduated
with a business degree from Pima Community College
Right now she is working towards a University of Arizona
scholarship to further pursue her business education. She
would also like to get herself a cosmetology license, as she
has always loved the transformative power of makeup. Her
favorite part of makeup is before and after’s, and capturing the
delight and surprise in the people she works on. She sees how
looking good can help a person feel good about themselves,
and would like to bring this feeling to as many women as she
can reach. She says “Confidence is the best product a girl can
carry with her” and a cosmetology license would help her
bring this positivity to reach more people and she could assist
more at fashion shows and with her girls.
Being only 4’11”, Maria did not fit the typical model profile
but did not let that deter her at all. This fueled her desire to
achieve her ambition.She has been able to make money selling
posters of herself. There are also various cover photos of
Maria on many people’s Facebook pages.
Photo by David Clark
34