Houston Woman Is a Finalist in PETA’s Sexiest Vegan Next Door Contest

On-the-Go Dancer, Runner, World Traveler, and Founder of Vegan-Food Co-Op Will Drop Everything to Help an Animal in Need

For Immediate Release:
April 26, 2013

Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382

Houston — PETA’s Sexiest Vegan Next Door 2013 contest is down to the wire, and 26-year-old Houston resident Kristina Carillo-Bucaram could take home the grand prize. That’s because she has beaten out hundreds of other entrants from across the U.S. to become one of 10 female contestants to advance to the final round. Two lucky winners (one female and one male) will each receive a free vacation for two to Maui, Hawaii, courtesy of HumaneTrip.com. Although the annual contest dates back to 2004, this is the first year that participants must be vegan.

“Going vegan can help make you feel better on the inside, look better on the outside, and save more than 100 animals a year from the violence of factory farms, slaughterhouses, and fishing nets,” says PETA Associate Director of Campaigns Lindsay Rajt. “On average, vegans are fitter and trimmer than meat-eaters are, and that makes them sexier, too.”

Carillo-Bucaram went vegan at 18 and noticed a dramatic improvement in her health. Now, she runs her own business, a 100 percent vegan-food co-op, and still manages to get in a 6- to 8-mile run every day. She has spent a lot of time in Latin America, including in her father’s native Ecuador, and has been to Lebanon, where her mother was born. Carillo-Bucaram graduated valedictorian from Houston’s Second Baptist School and later graduated from Rice University with a triple major, including in kinesiology, the study of human movement. This woman of many interests enjoys reading, going to the beach, and traveling, and she teaches salsa dancing. But no matter how busy she gets, Carillo-Bucaram always stops to help an animal in need—including recently, when she found an opossum who had been hit by a car and helped save the animal’s life.

Voting for the finalists to help PETA determine the winners ends at 12 noon EDT on May 3. PETA will select winners based on several factors, including vote count. See full contest details here. Winners will be notified and announced by May 9.

For more information and to cast your vote, please click here.