Erika Rodríguez, 23, filed a lawsuit for alleged fraud against the organization that allegedly sold her the title that gave her the right to participate internationally in a teen contest.
Last Wednesday, Erika Rodríguez, Miss Teenager El Salvador surprised her Instagram followers by posting a live video to inform them that in recent days they have legally sued Salvadoran Rosa Blanca Navarrete de Parres and Daniela Parres, national organizers of this beauty pageant, And to Guatemalan Tony Berganza, CEO of Miss Teenager International, for alleged scam.
The Salvadoran beauty took advantage of her publication to demand that the defendants return the money she paid for the national title, which gave her the right to represent El Salvador in the international contest.
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The audiovisual has attracted attention not only for the details that Erika provides regarding the alleged fraud of which she would have been the object, but also for revealing that she was accepted in this contest despite being, at that time, 22 years old and who then bought the local “crown.” It should be noted that Miss Teenager El Salvador and Miss Teenager International are two contests supposedly for teenagers between 14 and 19 years old.
Erika, second from left to right, would have been accepted into the Miss Teenager El Salvador beauty pageant. Instagram photo @missteenagersv
According to Rodríguez, at the time of the casting on December 21, 2019, the organizers of the national contest they already knew that she exceeded the permitted age limit and that in spite of this they admitted her participation, on the condition that she did not say her age or mention how many years of study she had taken at university.
“I very surprised I told them, ‘this is very risky, the only thing I don’t want is trouble'”, Expresses Erika in the clip of just over 46 minutes long.
The young woman states that after enrolling alongside other girls she only attended two face-to-face meetings because of her forties and that she did the other sessions virtually. He also states that one day “unexpectedly” he received a call from Daniela Parres, who was linked to Tony Bergara and Blanca de Parres, where they told him they were looking at her. “The possibility of being able to buy the Miss Teenager crown which was valued at $ 3,500”. By holding this title she could represent the country in Miss Teenager International, which would be held in Mexico.
“I, as a very cautious girl, told them: ‘what they are doing is very risky, this is not what other countries are doing’, which I was told: ‘other countries have done it as a result of the pandemic’ “I felt more comfortable and safe, but I didn’t know they were lying to me.”, Comments Erika.
The model also states that he ended up accepting the proposal as Berganza assured him that other countries had done the same.
Rodriguez revealed that she bought the title that gave her the right to participate in Miss Teenager International. Instagram photo @ erika_rodriguez_503
Rodriguez says he was offered the national title for $ 3,500, but, after asking for a rebate, was left with $ 2,000, but on the condition that he should send $ 710 to Berganza and transfer $ 290 to Daniela Parres. The rest of the money would be canceled weeks before the international competition, which will be held on February 27 in Chiapas, Mexico.
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Erika maintains that after paying for the pre-established, Daniela Parres assured her that she would provide him with etiquette, self-makeup and oratory classes, however, she maintains that these courses were never offered.
The young woman also reported that the organizers of the national contest were released from all procedures to travel to Mexico and that they informed her that all expenses (cost of visa, ticket, clothing …) would be incurred. on their own.
“I, for not doing this for so long, I said, ‘go, okay, I put it (the money). I didn’t want problems, I didn’t want to make the problem bigger anymore.’ holds the beauty queen.
The former beauty queen claims that she gave money to the organizers of the beauty pageants. Instagram photo @ erika_rodriguez_503
But the surprises didn’t stop there. In the video, Erika makes a revelation that has surprised many. The young woman, who is currently 23 years old and studying sixth year of Medicine, states that on October 18, 2020 she contacted Guatemalan Tony Berganza to ask him if “there would be any inconvenience if (she) got married” before compete in the international event in Chiapas. And, according to the young woman, she had already planned her wedding for October 2020 before “competing” in the national pageant.
“My wedding was in October and I went to this Miss Teenager event in December (2019). The truth is that this year (2020) was bad, the pandemic was over, but I had set my date to be in October.As a result of the pandemic all this interfered with my wedding, obviously I couldn’t say no, I couldn’t say ‘I’m not getting married’ because my wedding is already there era. Like, we had invited a lot of people and I couldn’t say no and wait another year. “, He stated.
According to Erika, upon notifying Berganza of her marriage plans, he replied that there was no problem with her participation in Miss Teenager International, which she had already talked to her partners about. The young woman claims that the director of this event accepted her participation despite being married, but that he put a condition on her: that she not upload photos of her wedding on social media.
The also fitness trainer expresses in the video that she complied with the request but that a month after reaching this agreement, Berganza removed her from the group of international queens who would participate in Chiapas.
“I asked him why. He told me that to violate the internal regulations I could not travel to Mexico. It was so hard for me, if he himself told me there would be no problems if I got married.”, Says Rodriguez.
Guatemalan Tony Berganza has reportedly been sued by Erika. Instagram photo @toniberganzaofi
After all these irregularities, Erika now demands that all the money she invested be refunded to her.
“I just demand that my money be returned to me. Now, I really understood that being a queen not only means wearing a crown, but, it goes beyond that. Which, owning a crown has me careless in this moment “, Expressa.
Rodriguez states that on November 12 he met with Rosa Blanca de Parres to personally explain his situation. He says that at this meeting De Parres promised to return the money she had given him before Christmas, but asserts that to date he has not received anything.
In the audiovisual, Erika exposes the recording of a phone call made by her husband to Rosa Blanca, where he asks her to make the money back. She agrees to return an amount on the condition that the young woman return the crown and the band, valued at $ 300 and $ 100, respectively. It should be noted that at the beginning of the live video the ex-sovereign appears wearing the tiara and the band.
Erika informed her Instagram followers that, in the face of Rosa Blanca’s refusal to return her money, she decided to file a lawsuit against her “and her accomplices” for the crime of fraud.
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The live video was used by the young woman to expose the photographs with the faces of their alleged scammers. Among the images is one showing a son (minor) of the Parres family. These photos were also shared in another Instagram post by Érika. In this post a user let the former beauty queen know that she was committing a possible crime by posting the face of a minor. Realizing such a point, the young woman deleted this image and deleted the comments from this post.
Erika’s live Instagram also included the testimony of Keren Guevara, another Salvadoran beauty queen who also claims to have been loved by the organizers of the national pageant.
Rodriguez hopes to win the lawsuit. Instagram photo @missteenagersv
Faced with the remarks made by Erika, the organization Miss Teenager El Salvador issued, through its Facebook page, the following statement (sic).
“We are aware of the public opinion that Mrs. Erika Rodríguez, who at the time was my Teenager El Salvador 2020, and who according to the contract signed between her and the director of My Teenager El Salvador la Mrs. Blanca de Parres, in clause Erika agreed at this time to respect the rules or obligations of a beauty pageant of ladies, who must not be married, united or have had children, which is why it was dismissed from her title and reign.When dismissed she loses all her rights to the reign and the payment of her expenses at the international event Miss Teenager 2020 is objected to the damages caused to the organization in El Salvador and the International organization. Regards, Org. Miss Teenager El Salvador “.
For his part, Tony Berganza has not commented on the matter.