Contestants from 88 nations are set to vie for the title of Miss Universe today in Florida. The women arrived in Miami nearly two weeks ago ahead of the main event, in which Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, is to pass on her crown.
The Today Show’s Natalie Morales is to host the show.
Beauty pageants are big business in Latin American nations, where potential hopefuls are groomed from an early age.
“There’s a lot of pride,” Miss Colombia Paulina Vega said.
“Latin women, Latin people, are very emphatic. They have it in their blood, right? So, it could be true that maybe between the Latin women there may be more competition,” Miss Bolivia Claudia Tavel said. “And we hope that this year, like brothers, we’ll support [each other] and that Miss Universe will be a good-hearted woman, and be a Latina.”
Miss Venezuela Migbelis Lynette Castellanos, 19, is one of the youngest contestants. She is especially feeling the heat — three of the last six titles have gone to Venezuelans.
“I have the pressure and the support from all the Venezuelans,” she said.
Roommates Miss USA Nia Sanchez and Miss Australia Tegan Martin quickly hit it off. They even started an online series: #watchNiaandTegan.
“Our video for today is her trying to teach me how to talk in an Aussie accent. We’ll do some self-defense moves; we’ll do some hair advice. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on,” Sanchez, 24, said.
“We’ve been doing everything together,” Martin, 22, said. “I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.”
Miss France Camille Cerf says it has been difficult to be away from her nation in the aftermath of this month’s terrorist attacks.
“I can’t really feel what’s happening there, so it’s making me really sad,” Cerf said. She did have a message for her people: “They don’t have to be afraid. They have to hope and think about good things.”
Miss Israel Doron Matalon took an Instagram selfie with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia and Miss Lebanon — and started a Middle East spat.
Lebanon and Israel are long-time foes, and Lebanon does not have diplomatic relations with its neighbor.
Lebanese Minister of Tourism Michel Pharon said that “if there was bad intentions” from Miss Lebanon Saly Greige, measures could be taken against her.
Griege said Matalon took the photo without her permission.
Matalon said it was a joint photograph and was saddened that Griege was being criticized at home.
“We need to remember that we represent the country and the people, not the government and not the political issues,” she said.
Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira, 21, nicknamed a gown after an X-Men character because of the scale-like sequins that change color from silver to pink when she moves her hand up or down the dress.
“I call it ‘Mystique.’ It’s fun,” said Devinamira, who worked with the designer on the gown.
In the comics, the character Mystique’s superpower is mimicking the voice and appearance of any person.
Meanwhile, Miss Great Britain Grace Levy is still trying to drum up support from her native land.
“Brits are quite fickle. They’re not very supportive of beauty pageants, and I think it will take a Great Britain win for them to be a lot more supportive,” she said.
DISASTER: The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded a magnitude 5.7 and tremors reached as far as Kolkata, India, more than 300km away from the epicenter A powerful earthquake struck Bangladesh yesterday outside the crowded capital, Dhaka, killing at least five people and injuring about a hundred, the government said. The magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 10:38am near Narsingdi, Bangladesh, about 33km from Dhaka, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake sparked fear and chaos with many in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people at home on their day off. AFP reporters in Dhaka said they saw people weeping in the streets while others appeared shocked. Bangladesh Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus expressed his “deep shock and sorrow over the news of casualties in various districts.” At least five people,
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
LEFT AND RIGHT: Battling anti-incumbent, anticommunist sentiment, Jeanette Jara had a precarious lead over far-right Jose Antonio Kast as they look to the Dec. 14 run Leftist candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right leader Jose Antonio Kast are to go head-to-head in Chile’s presidential runoff after topping Sunday’s first round of voting in an election dominated by fears of violent crime. With 99 percent of the results counted, Jara, a 51-year-old communist running on behalf of an eight-party coalition, won 26.85 percent, compared with 23.93 percent for Kast, the Servel electoral service said. The election was dominated by deep concern over a surge in murders, kidnappings and extortion widely blamed on foreign crime gangs. Kast, 59, has vowed to build walls, fences and trenches along Chile’s border with Bolivia to
DEATH SENTENCE: The ousted leader said she was willing to attend a fresh trial outside Bangladesh where the ruling would not be a ‘foregone conclusion’ Bangladesh’s fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial “biased and politically motivated.” Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her. She was found guilty and sentenced to death earlier yesterday. “The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate,” Hasina said in a statement issued from hiding in India. “They are biased and politically motivated,” she
RSS