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April Lufriu didn't compete in the 2011 Mrs. World pageant for the glamorous prizes, celebrity fame and travel to exotic places.
She entered to raise awareness for a degenerative eye disease that affects her family.
The 42-year-old wife and mother from Tampa won the Mrs. World title Dec. 15 in Orlando. She credits her personal story — over her good looks — for achieving the top crown for married women.
"Beauty only doesn't stand alone unless you have a message to be told,'' she said. "They look for a well-rounded woman.''
Lufriu, her two children and her sister suffer from retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which gradually leads to blindness. Her sister, Melissa Escobio, was diagnosed in 1989 and has limited vision. She and her children Brandon, 12, and Savannah, 8, got the news in 2010 and are in varying early stages of losing their sight.
Lufriu competed in pageants when she was single in her 20s but renewed her efforts after her children's diagnosis.
"As a mom I really had a hard time dealing with it. That's when I had to get myself together and get a plan in place,'' she said. "I was tired of people saying, 'I don't know what RP is.' "
Winning Mrs. World culminated an already big year for Lufriu, who was crowned Mrs. Florida in February followed by Mrs. America in April. Pageant officials said she stood out among the field of 58 Mrs. World contestants for personifying all the values of a contemporary woman.
"She's compelling not merely in her story but in her mission,'' said David Marmel, president/CEO of the Los Angeles-based Mrs. World and Mrs. America pageants. "She is facing a challenge that is beyond description. To have the strength, courage and conviction to stand up, that's bigger than any title, sash and crown.''
Born in Tampa to Honduran parents, Lufriu attended Hillsborough High School and St. Petersburg Junior College to be a dental hygienist. She works with her husband, George, at his marble and granite company in South Tampa.
Between the demands of family and work, preparing for the pageant took some creative thinking, she said. She did squats while making dinner, ran up and down the stairs of her Lutz home and went jogging after the kids went to bed. She stuck to a strict diet of protein, fruits and vegetables.
She insists she doesn't fit the mold of most beauty queens, except for perhaps her bright smile. She isn't even tall. At 5 feet 4, she says she was the shortest woman ever to win Mrs. World since it began in 1984. She was also the oldest.
Lufriu plans to use her title to educate people about the disease and the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which funds research for degenerative retinal diseases. She and her sister started the foundation's Tampa Bay chapter in 2008 and organize an annual Vision Walk fundraiser.
Lufriu has numerous speaking engagements planned and will serve as a grand marshal of the Krewe of Sant' Yago Knight Parade Feb. 18 in Ybor City. (Jerry Springer will serve as honorary grand marshal.) After that, she vows to take her mission to fight blindness to anyone who will listen.
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