Fayetteville native Alyna Aidee Ortiz Acosta will be representing the Latin community for North Carolina on a national stage after being crowned Miss North Carolina Latina last year. 

Born and raised in Fayetteville, Ortiz is proudly half Panamanian and half Puerto Rican and got her start in pageants as a teenager in the Miss Fayetteville Dogwood  Pageant in 2020 at the age of 17. 

“I was always really shy growing up and I didn't really do any pageants. I didn't do much to get myself out there and in high school, I decided that I wanted to do more,” shared Ortiz. “So I was already an older girl going into the whole pageant world, and competed for Miss Dogwood Festival and I won that pageant, then I went on to go into the Miss North Carolina Outstanding Teen organization. I didn't win there but I am now here as Miss North Carolina Latina, competing for this new title of Miss U.S. Latina.” 

The first and longest-running national pageant system for Latinas in the United States, Miss U.S. Latina was founded in 1983 to recognize the outstanding Latin women of the U.S. and as a celebration of their beauty and culture.

Ortiz shared that she and her mother found the Miss U.S. Latina organization and later went on to apply. Following a successful interview, she went on to compete and be crowned for 2022-2023. During her reign, she has focused on the message of being proud of your culture and confidence in representation. 

“It's just been amazing to be able to work with them and to be able to show off my culture, my Panamanian side of myself and compete with them. I feel like with other organizations that I've worked with, I've not been able to do that and show off who I am and who I'm made from,” shared Ortiz. “And so with this organization, I'm able to do that. They want to show off my dance, my Salsa. I'm able to talk how I want, in Spanish, and nobody is going to judge me about that.” 

Now, Ortiz is moving on to the Miss U.S. Latina pageant to compete against 49 other Miss U.S. Latinas from around the country in Miami, Florida from Aug. 4- 6. 

The national pageant will be an opportunity to represent the USA on a world wide platform with the winner being the official USA Delegate to Miss Latin America of the World, a pageant also produced by the Miss U.S. Latina organization.