By Ric Cavazos

The history of the Miss Mercedes pageant goes back decades to at least the 1940s. The last 30 years have been among its best. The pageant has evolved from being a beauty pageant to one where interviews of the contestants provide the basis for selecting the eventual winner. It is an event that is sponsored by the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce and a source of great pride for not only the chamber, but the community as a whole. Volunteers play a key role in making the pageant a success. 

Donna Jackson has for the last 30 years been a supporter and among the many volunteers who organize the Miss Mercedes pageant.

“It’s a pleasure to do it,” said Jackson, who is the chamber’s sole employee and also assists the Mercedes Economic Development Corporation in greeting visitors to the building shared by the two organizations. “There’s not just one or two, (volunteers), working to support the pageant. There’s over 20 people involved with Miss Mercedes.” This year’s pageant chairperson was Laura Lopez.

The event has expanded over the years in adding Junior Miss Mercedes and Little Miss Mercedes. There were over 25 contestants in all of the age groups for the 2025 edition of Miss Mercedes. The winners crowned at the April 12 event were:

Miss Mercedes, Lacie Andrea Silva

Junior Miss Mercedes, Angelina Nevaeh Torres

Little Miss Mercedes, Isabella Rae Quintanilla

“We have so much pride with these girls,” said Raquel Lopez, a chamber board director and an avid supporter of the pageant. “We want them to represent everyday Mercedes girls.”

Growing Into Their Roles

The Miss Mercedes winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship to go toward covering college expenses.

There is also a year of Miss Mercedes being part of community events, especially the chamber’s ground-breakings for new businesses and ribbon cuttings that celebrate a growing community. Jackson in representing the chamber is at all of those events and sees firsthand how the pageant winners interact with the community.

“It teaches the girls how to communicate with the business world here,” Jackson said. 

“We give them the opportunity to mingle with businesses and make them more aware of their community.”

Jackson has observed how the experience of being in public functions has improved the communication skills of the pageant winners. She sees how their confidence grows and they feel more at ease at the public functions and events. Beyond the ribbon cuttings and ground-breakings, Raquel Lopez spoke of the extra efforts the pageant winners make in giving back to their community.

One Miss Mercedes, she said, got involved in civic programs and charity drives. Another did on-camera interviews of local business owners to highlight economic life in Mercedes. A Junior Miss Mercedes launched a raffle with proceeds to benefit a local toy drive during the holidays.

“We didn’t ask them to do any of those things,” Lopez said. “They did it on their own. It’s not just the pageant. These girls make an impact on their community.”

Miss Mercedes 2025 is in the books and now it’s a year to plan for the next edition while this year’s pageant winners enjoy their reigns and give back to their community.

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