LEES GARCIA; TAKING CONTROL | Darrin Henry
Attacked by a dog as a four year old little girl growing up in Puerto Rico, Lees Garcia required stitches to patch up her torn face, yet 23 years later was crowned Miss Grand International at a glittering ceremony in Thailand. As ‘against the odds,’ inspirational stories go, this is right up there.
Miss Grand International – Living In Bangkok
Today, 28 year old Lees is mid-way through her reign, living in a Bangkok apartment that came with the win. The Miss Grand International (MGI) pageant is new, just two years old, but itβs growing and the Thai organisers have high ambitions for it to become one of the most prestigious events on the global pageantry calendar. The inaugural competition (2013) attracted entrants from 75 countries. Last yearβs competition (October 2014) saw ladies from 85 countries compete, with Lees, representing Cuba, crowned βqueenβ after a month of events.
Meeting Lees at the Phra Khanong BTS station, in the heart of Bangkok, our first impression is definitely, βwow!β Effortlessly oozing beauty queen glamour, she greets Sharon and I with a mega-watt smile and we are all instantly at ease, chatting away as we walk to a nearby coffee shop.

Traffic is always a challenge. We managed to keep shooting as the scooters drove around us – only in Bangkok!

Lees Garcia adding plenty of glamour to the Bangkok streets and generating plenty of interest from curious locals.
So howβs life in Bangkok? βItβs awesome! Itβs not even a barrier that I donβt speak Thai, itβs really easy to get around; people are really open and friendly.β Lees finds it funny that she seems to spend more time teaching English than learning Thai. βThe driverβs like: Left? Is this left?β
She may be gushing now, but for Lees, her Bangkok story has also been testing.
βWell Iβll give you the stages of my adoption,β she says, explaining that first it was easy; a month in Thailand with the other contestants, having fun being well looked after without considering she might win. But then everything changed overnight.
βWhen I won all 85 girls I was competing with went home. They were like my family then suddenly theyβre all gone. After one month in Thailand suddenly I donβt know anyone or anything, so come November I was so depressed; more than ever in my life.β

Bangkok was a difficult place for Lees to begin with, but now it’s really beginning to feel like home.
Dropped at her new apartment with the keys and a suitcase full of clothes, and βweβll call you when we need you,β Lees was suddenly alone. She admits feeling lost and spending the next month βin bed, watching TV, hoping for a miracle.β When that didnβt happen Lees decided to take control and figure it out. It was back to basics. βWhere do I find a mall? How do I get there? How much will it cost?β
You’ve Got To Be Your Own Cheerleader
Suitably motivated, Lees began meeting people and making friends who in turn helped her learn the Bangkok way. In just three weeks she was finding her feet and enjoying it. When her pre-planned Florida holiday came round in December she didnβt want to leave.
βIt was the saddest,β she recalls.

Our second look was shot on a commuter walkway bridge, over the street. The noise from the traffic below was almost deafening at times.
A wiser and more determined Lees returned to Bangkok in March. βWhen I got back I hit the ground running! I was like; I canβt sit around and wait for things to happen. I donβt want to look back after seven months and say, oh, that was fun, I sat around and I was a small piece of nothing. But itβs part of life right, you have your inner doubts, sometimes itβs scary to be in a new place. But no oneβs going to help you but yourself; youβve got to be your own cheerleader.β
Cultural challenges have been more fun to overcome. βMainly the greeting,β says Lees, explaining the bowing felt strange to begin with. βBut Iβm learning to adopt it and they way they respect their king, itβs mind blowing, different to what we know in America.β
The reserved culture of the Thais also conflicts with Leesβ big personality. βNo, Lees, no,β is something the staff [MGI] say all the time, βyouβre a lady you should be more reserved, theyβre like βno, Lees no,β but I just have to find a balance. They also say my name as, βLee,β so now Iβm calling myself Lee too!β
Before the MGI adventure began, Lees was a hotel manager for the Hilton in Florida for five years. βI do miss it, but I donβt want to go back.β
Leesβ time is now split between fulfilling her MGI contractual obligations and plotting a course for life after she relinquishes her crown to a new MGI queen in October. For MGI she carries out promotional appearances, advertising for sponsors, charity work and modelling.

Lees Garcia wants to continue living in Bangkok after her year as Miss Grand International is complete.
βMy main job is to represent the MGI organisation. Their purpose is to stop war. So I work with refugees of war and am put in other [promotional] situations. Yesterday I was doing promotional work with the Red Cross.β
In her own time Lees is busy trying to ascertain the viability of remaining in Bangkok, post MGI, as a model and preferably a TV presenter. Before meeting us today she had attended a TV screening (interview).
Ten years ago Lees studied communications at college with dreams of finding TV work. A series of turns led to an unsuccessful interview for presenting TV weather at age 21. βLooking back at my baby faced pictures I think, poor thing! I know now that I wasnβt ready.β Hopefully this time around the timing is better.
Quizzed on the best thing about Bangkok; βIs it bad to say the nightlife,β laughs Lees. βIf youβre a night owl like me, Bangkok is great, everything functions through the night – markets, shops – here everything is unlimited all hours, thatβs the most exciting part, youβre not restricted. I think itβs amazing. I definitely want to stay beyond my contract.
βTraffic,β is the immediate answer for the worst thing in the city. βItβs awful; [which is] unfortunate as everything is so close and thereβs so much to see and do, there are some days when you are better off not even trying to go out.β
What does Lees miss about life in the US? βI miss the busy lifestyle, is that weird?β The pace in Thailand βis slow motion,β she says, then snaps her fingers to emphasise, βAmerica is now, now, now! When I got here, I was like, βwhere are we going, what are we doing,β and everyone was like, βrelax, chill out.β But itβs easy to adapt.β
Lees Garcia In Bangkok
Sharon asks Lees about the faint scar on her right cheek, and Lees recalls her mumβs account of the dog attack as she was too young to remember herself. βI had to get reconstructive surgery and I was covered in stitches. My mum told me I would sit in front of the mirror every day and cry. She would tell me, βyou canβt pull your stitches, you have to let them healβ but I kept touching, kept touching and it never healed properly. So I donβt remember but Iβm kind of glad that I have it.β
We leave the coffee shop to go shoot some pictures in the nearby streets, but truthfully we could have sat and chatted for hours. When we met Lees an hour earlier our impression was βwow, beauty queen,β but now itβs all about personality. Sheβs comes across as very open, not taking herself too seriously and very enthusiastic about life; our interview was full of laughter with the conversation constantly going off in all directions. But thereβs also a determined intelligence that belies Leesβ beauty queen looks; a realisation that success is not a given and that even setbacks can be opportunities in disguise.
A perfect example is the MGI competition. Originally Lees had entered hoping to represent the USA but was unsuccessful. However, the Cuban [manager] then approached her about representing Cuba, having watched her performance. Her father is Cuban. The politics of Cuba prevents girls from the island attending such competitions.
Lees went on to become Miss Grand International 2014.
As for her love affair with Bangkok? Thatβs something we are beginning to understand all too well ourselves.
I really like your pictures I really like pictures. It’s full of sensation and Lees still so beautiful. Anyway Have a wonderful time in Bangkok hope you fun and enjoying ^ ^
Thanks for the comment Toffy. Glad you like the pictures, Lees is certainly a very beautiful model to photograph. Bangkok is amazing, we love it.
Another great blog, you guys meeting some amazing people. And like Simon said you getting some brown too π
Thanks guys. Yes, the world is full of amazing people. Our day with Lees was brilliant, so much fun makes me wonder how we managed to get a shoot done! We love the sun too π can’t get enough!
Really enjoyable story and the pictures are so detail as always. I think you both could live the Bangkok for some time.
Thanks Borbs, Bangkok really gets under your skin, it’s a super city. We definitely could stay here for a while π Thanks for the comment.
Crikey! can see you two are having too much sun! Another fantastic post and pics. With all the great places you’ve been, it’s gonna be confused.com when it comes to choosing a holiday! π
South East Asia, amazing countries and such beautiful people. Just pick one and come with an open mind, you can’t go wrong, so much to discover π Thanks for the feedback.