Amelia Vega, an 18-year-old high school student and aspiring singer from the Dominican Republic, was crowned Miss Universe 2003 late Tuesday amid strict security.
Miss Venezuela, Maria Angel Ruiz, 23, was the first runner-up, followed by Cyndy Nell, 21, from South Africa.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Reigning Miss Universe Justine Pasek of Panama and pageant co-owner Donald Trump placed a US$250,000 crown of diamonds and pearls on the new beauty queen.
The 1.83m tall Vega, niece of popular Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra, dedicated her triumph "to the Dominican people," adding: "When you work hard, with exertion and sacrifice, you can reach it all."
Representatives from 71 countries took the stage earlier at the contest held at a brand new convention center in Amador, a former American military base located at the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal.
Vega, who before the contest told reporters she wanted to follow in her uncle's footsteps and was recording her first CD, was also voted best dressed contestant for her shimmering gown that was reminiscent of the ocean's waves.
"I didn't come here just for the crown, but also to make my country proud," she said, adding that she wanted to become "the first Miss Universe from the Dominican Republic."
Panama's Pasek was only the runner-up in the 2002 Miss Universe pageant: in September she took over as queen when organizers stripped Miss Russia, Oxana Fedorova, of the title -- officially "for breach of contract because she has failed to fulfill the duties required of the title" -- but unofficially because Fedorova reportedly married in secret and was pregnant.
It was the first time since the pageant was first held in 1952, organized by a swimsuit company in southern California, that a Miss Universe lost her crown.
One contestant was forced to drop out: Miss Iceland, Manuela Osk Hardardottir, couldn't handle the tropical heat and was hospitalized over the weekend to treat dehydration.
Hardardottir, 19, was not in the running as a finalist, though she was to participate in the final event, organizers said.
The contestants' every move has been shadowed by the tabloids, one of which reported that Miss Spain, Eva Maria Gonzalez, and her roommate Miss Colombia, Diana Lucia Mantilla, got into a fistfight over Gonzalez's smoking habit.
The two girls were all smiles later when they publicly denied the report.
And Venezuela almost failed to send a representative to the contest due to money problems.
The problem was eventually resolved, but Ruiz's late arrival generated unwelcome media gossip, with some calling her delay a strategic maneuver to tip the scales in Venezuela's favor.
The contest, jointly owned by property tycoon Trump and NBC Television, was broadcast to an estimated 600 million television viewers in 117 countries and hosted by Cuban-American model Daisy Fuentes and American comedian Billy Bush.
The beauty queens are protected by 1,500 agents from President Mireya Moscoso's own security because of protests by students and unions opposed to both the pageant and the president's economic policies.
Some 3,000 workers and students marched through Panama City to demand a higher minimum wage, and protest the pageant's multimillion-dollar budget.
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