Larissa Riquelme, the Paraguayan model whose claim to fame and World Cup dominance was through a strategically placed gadget tells Terence Fernandez she’s not shy to use her natural talents to her advantage.
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| I put (the phone) there because my jeans don’t have any pockets." |
With Paraguay’s dream run in the tournament, both the squad and its No.1 fan have captured the admiration and imagination of football fans worldwide, with Larissa commanding over 5 million Google searches – about two million more than her national team!
"I put (the phone) there because my jeans don’t have any pockets," said Larissa when theSun contacted her last week.
Although she is the face of a local mobile carrier, Larissa insists that it never started out as a publicity stunt. However, ever since the first pictures of her appeared following Paraguay’s opening match against Italy, the phone has become a permanent accessory to her ever-plunging neckline.
"When I watched that match I didn’t think about cameras, I only watched the match.
"But now I am happy that the pictures have made their way around the world!"
"I have a lot of memorable football moments but I will forever remember the Italy match because the photos from that game are going around the world and for what it is doing to my career," said the church-going Catholic.
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| I think I have a nice body, so why not show it off?" |
Unfortunately any hopes of giving her more "exposure" died on Sunday when Paraguay crashed out of the tournament to Spain. Larissa had vowed to run through the streets of Asuncion covered only in body paint of the national colours if the team went through.
Obviously the word "shy" is not in the vocabulary of this lingerie model who has posed nude in various glossy magazines including a raunchy shoot for Maxim.
With such derring do and a strong passion for football as any Latin American, she certainly wears her tag as "Super-fan" and "World Cup Girlfriend" very well.
"It (football) is a tradition in my family. We are all big fans of (premier local club) Cerro Porteño and the national team," said Larissa who names Roque Santa Cruz as her favourite player and Spain’s Fernando Torres as her favourite "opponent".
When she is not in the studio or walking down the catwalk or making yet another Youtube video, she can be seen kicking a ball around with her friends at one of the neighbourhood pitches.
The only other girl among three children, Larissa’s modeling career took off five years ago when she won Paraguay’s version of America’s Next Top Model.
"I had always wanted to be a model from when I was three years old.
"I’d pretend to be walking down the catwalk in a fashion shoot and would wear my mother’s make-up and all!"
After her big break, she was much sought after by Paraguay’s fashion houses and modeling agencies but Larissa decided to take it one step further. Having sky-dived, she is one to push the envelope and agreed to take it all off for Maxim.
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"The pictures were very professionally done," she said.
However Larissa conceded that her parents were not too keen with their daughter’s over-exposure.
"My father almost killed me!" she laughed.
With her busy schedule getting even busier now, Larissa is a free spirit who does not want to be tied down.
Asked if she had a boyfriend, her response was cryptic: "My heart is fine; I‘m very happy right now."
However Larissa knows that beauty and youth have a shelf life and is considering a legal career after she is done with the catwalks.
But with her new-found fame, it may take awhile before she switches from tank tops and tubes to black robes and white wigs.
"I have a lot of offers but I have to analyse them, although that’s my manager’s work!" she laughed, adding that she would love to take her work abroad.
"Maybe I’ll do some modelling in Malaysia, what do you think?"
Updated: 01:22AM Wed, 07 Jul 2010
The Sun
1 comment:
hot! haha =P
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