Latina Model Magazine is excited to highlight the beautiful Latina Model Aniuska Semprun from Venezuela. We were privileged to photograph Aniuska on the runway during the Metropolitan Fashion Week event in Los Angeles at the historical L.A. City Hall during Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring Summer 2020.
We reached out to this beautiful Latina Runway Model to ask if she could share her story with Latina Model Magazine, and she returned our email with a resounding YES!
Learn about the Latina Model Aniuska Semprun early successes and about some of the bumps she experienced along the way to becoming a very talented International Latina Model.
How Her Modeling Dream Began
QWhat is your cultural background, and how would you describe yourself?
I come from a small city called Maracaibo in the beautiful country of Venezuela. I’m a tall, skinny girl who loves reading and participating in sports like karate. In addition, I love doing new things like learning foreign languages such as French and German. I describe myself as a daydreamer but also a persistent person.
QHow did you start modeling?
At twelve years old, my mother said it was time to take advantage of my height, therefore, she enrolled me in a modeling academy. Every young girl in Venezuela dreams of being a beauty queen and winning Miss Venezuela. That was my dream too at the time. Beauty pageants are everything in Venezuela.
I attended all the model academy classes; practiced my runway every day in the hallway of our small apartment in the city. Every Sunday, I went with a new outfit for my academy photo-shoots. I worked hard to produce good images.
I learned to know myself better and realized that my dream was (and is) to be a Top International Model.
When I arrived at my first casting; it was for a fashion show at a university in the city. I was extremely nervous. All my classmates from the academy were there. Little by little, I saw how they were all selected, all except me.
How could I forget the academy’s professor who saw me crying, and ran to look for me? He told me that everything would be fine and that this was just the beginning of my career.
After that day, I received a call from the director of the academy telling me that a student from the university needed a model for a show. Without any hesitation, I met her to get measured for the outfits. She won the second-highest score in the fashion show (which was also an assessment.)
Having practiced continually. I watch videos of the best models in history, continuously evaluating myself in the mirror, and always finding ways to be better.
How Latina Model Aniuska Semprun Prepares & Motivates Herself to Succeed
Q How did you prepare for the castings, especially the big ones?
In preparation for castings, I take a sheet of white paper and some markers. I sit at the kitchen table and draw myself being cast and succeeding. Then I place the drawing in the center of my closet. The power of attraction and positive thinking has usually worked for me in the selection process.
Q How were you discovered?
When I was thirteen, I participated in one of the most well-known fashion shows in my city. While I was in the dressing room, a man saw me; he gave me his phone number and told me to call him any time.
I called him the following day, and he told me that a designer’s friend would be having a fashion show soon, and was looking for models. The designer’s name is Douglas Tapia.
Since I met Douglas, everything has changed rapidly. I have met extraordinary people from my country and the world. I have done numerous photoshoots that helped me improve (the catwalk has always been my forte).
Having the privilege of being sworn into the casting to select Miss Zulia’s candidates was an honor. The swearing-in is for a contest in my state to choose the Zuliana representative for the Miss Venezuela competition. That was an adventure. But the most important thing is that Douglas became part of my family.
Q Which has been your favorite fashion show?
I loved the fashion show I participated in the Dominican Republic, where I was fortunate enough to have walked for many designers. However, one label I enjoyed most was Benitos Santos. I love the cheerful and kind people of the Dominican Republic, and it’s a beautiful country!
The other fashion show I will never forget (my favorite) has been Douglas Tapia’s at the Metropolitan Fashion Week in Los Angeles. I loved every single detail of Los Angeles, California, especially Santa Monica.
The Struggles of a Model
Q What obstacles or difficulties have you had along the way?
I remember two years ago I doubted myself very much. Small streaks on my buttocks were appearing, and I thought that it would close thousands of doors in the world of modeling.
When I started to have my respective athlete body, the people in the industry, and those who were not all started to tell me what part of my body, I should reduce. I have always been an athlete, so the muscles in my arms and legs did not help the stereotype of a model in people’s minds.
Remembering the struggles with my weight and no matter how many times I went to the gym, I wasn’t able to reduce my weight sufficiently. The ladies of aesthetics argued over whether or not I should lose weight, not to mention I was barely fifteen years old.
I started having soup at dinner, drinking natural juices, vegetables, oatmeal, and eggs all the time. I became so obsessed with losing weight and pleasing others that I hadn’t realized that I was losing myself in my attempt to lose weight.
My short career as a model has been full of ups and downs. They have rejected me in some castings and accepted me in many. I have met people from all over the world, but more importantly, I learned more about myself along the way.
Q Have you ever felt caught between your country’s beauty stereotypes and the beauty stereotype of a model?
Mmm, good question. If I have to be honest, no. Its never been a problem not having curves or prominent attributes like my friends or any other female member of my family. However, it did become stressful, trying to be skinnier. I don’t feel proud of it but it was a learning experience.
What the Modeling Industry Means to Latina Model Aniuska Semprun
Q What supermodel do you admire, and why?
I admire thousands (laugh), but I much admire Gisele Bündchen. I admire her not only for what she does but also for her way of being and what she reflects. She is professional in everything she does, including being a successful businesswoman.
Gisele has never forgotten to help others, including her work with charitable organizations. Just look at her beautiful family, she’s done it all.
Q What are your future goals as a model?
Well, I have a million, but the conclusion is that I want to be an International Model. I want to travel the world and work doing what I love and feel passionate about.
My biggest aspirations are to be a Victoria’s Secret Angel. It would be a pleasure for me to work with a designer like Carolina Herrera, that’s a common dream for all the models. Still, it’s something I wish to do.
Q What do you like most about modeling?
When modeling or walking on the runway, I feel myself, my true self. By putting on a tight red dress, I can become the sexiest Latina Model Aniuska Semprun ever. When modeling jewelry, I am the most elegant version of myself. With every garment of clothing or accessory, comes to light a new and excellent version of me, which I sometimes do not recognize.
Q Do you have any advice for young models like you that want to start a career as a model?
At seventeen, I feel that I have lived many magical moments that will stay with me forever. If this is the world you want, never stop fighting for it because if you can dream it, it’s because you deserve it.
Lastly, find the right agency, practice your catwalk every day, and study the lives of the supermodels you admire. My advice always is to be yourself and never compare yourself to others. Believe in you and your talent!
Connect to Aniuska Semprun via these provided links: Agency Link, Twitter, IG
