Miss Universe Puerto Rico is a national

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, held annually since 1952. Currently, the pageant is responsible for selecting the country’s delegates to

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

. Since 2018, the organization is owned by

Hemisphere Media Group Hemisphere refers to: * A half of a sphere As half of the Earth * A hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western Hemisphere ** Land and water hemispheres * A half of the (geocentric) celestia ...

, and the annual competition is broadcast on

WAPA TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, which is 84% owned by InterMedia Partners. WAPA-TV's studios are located on Avenida Luis Vigoreaux in Gua ...

and WAPA América. After Hemisphere Media Group acquired the rights of the franchise,

Denise Quiñones Denise Marie Quiñones August (born 9 September 1980) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2001. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of Lares in the Miss Puerto Ric ...

, was appointed as the director of the organization. Traditionally, the organization begins castings of the contestants in April. The delegates of each municipality go through months of training and workshops. The pageant's preliminary and final night are held in September. The winner of the title of Miss Puerto Rico Universe goes to compete in

, traditionally held in December.

History

The selection of Miss Puerto Rico commences the year before the winner advances to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. Each Puerto Rican city may choose a representative who then enters the Miss Puerto Rico finals, traditionally held at a

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

area hotel. The winner is crowned at the conclusion of the final competition. There have been three changes in the organization that led to modifications in the pageant's name. "Miss Puerto Rico" was held from 1952 until 1998 under the direction of

Anna Santisteban Anna Santisteban (November 3, 1914 – May 18, 2003) was a Puerto Rican businesswoman and beauty entrepreneur who presided the Miss Puerto Rico beauty pageant. This beauty contest was in charge of selecting the Puerto Rican delegate to compe ...

, in 1996 the pageant lost the franchise for Miss Universe. From 1996 to 1998

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

organized the event, under the name "Miss Universe Puerto Rico". From 1999 to 2002 TeleOnce (now

Univision Puerto Rico WLII-DT (channel 11), branded on-air as TeleOnce, is a television station licensed to Caguas, Puerto Rico, serving the Territories of the United States#Permanently inhabited territories, U.S. territory as an affiliate of Univision and UniMás. ...

) obtained the franchise and renamed it "Miss Puerto Rico Universe". Magali Febles organized the pageant between 2003 and 2009 and the pageant title has remained the same. In 2009, Luisito Vigoreaux and Desireé Lowry obtained the Miss Universe franchise and renamed the pageant "Miss Universe Puerto Rico". The Miss Puerto Rico beauty pageant has now turned to technology to reach more people through the use of

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

ing. Starting with the 2006 pageant, Miss Puerto Rico Universe became the first pageant of the Miss Universe franchise to have a podcast. In this, Wilton Vargas, an international multi-media and technology personality, interviews all contestants with the goal of helping people get to know them better so that they can participate in the voting process using cell phones. This podcast is published as a section in technology news and information website Tecnetico.com and various podcast directories, including

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. Delegates are allowed to compete more than once at the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant, the caveat being that they are not allowed to compete again after they have won. For example,

Cynthia Olavarría Cynthia Enid Olavarría Rivera (born January 28, 1982 in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Santurce) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actress, fashion model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2005 and placed ...

placed 1st runner-up in 2003 and returned in 2005, winning the title and placing 1st runner-up at Miss Universe. A number of delegates and winners have competed in the "Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico" (Miss World Puerto Rico) pageant, a preliminary to the

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss Int ...

pageant. There are frequently crossovers between the two pageants: for example

Joyce Giraud Joyce Marie Giraud Mojica (born April 4, 1975), also known as Joyce Giraud de Ohoven, is a Puerto Rican actress, model, philanthropist, film and television producer. Firstly in 1994, she competed in Miss World 1994 and was unable to make in top ...

was crowned Miss Puerto Rico twice by Ana Rosa Brito, first in 1994 as Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico, then in 1998 as Miss Universe Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is one of the most successful competitors in the history of the Miss Universe pageant, having won five times.

Marisol Malaret Marisol Malaret Contreras (born October 13, 1949) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican television host, model and beauty queen. In 1970 she was the first Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican woman and Caribbean woman to be crowned Miss Universe. ...

, Miss Puerto Rico 1970, was the first Puerto Rican to win the

title. The four other Puerto Rican delegates who have won the Miss Universe title are

Deborah Carthy-Deu Deborah Fatima Carthy-Deu (born January 5, 1966) is a Puerto Rican actress, TV host and beauty queen. She was the second Puerto Rican Miss Universe Biography Early years Deborah Fatima Carthy-Deu was born on January 5, 1966, in the Santurce d ...

(

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Dayanara Torres Dayanara Torres Delgado (born October 28, 1974) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actress, singer, model, writer and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1993. Torres was discovered at age 17 while walking through the Plaza de Toa Alta, Puerto Rico ...

(

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

(

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

), and

Zuleyka Rivera Zuleyka Jerrís Mendoza Rivera (born October 3, 1987) is a Puerto Rican actress, TV host, dancer, model and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 2006 in Los Angeles. She was previously crowned Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006. She made her debut as ...

(

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

). On November 7, 2011, Miss Universe Puerto Rico selected the first woman who was not born in Puerto Rico to represent the island at

Miss Universe 2012 Miss Universe 2012 was the 61st Miss Universe pageant, held at the PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 19, 2012. At the end of the event, Leila Lopes of Angola crowned Olivia Culpo of ...

. Bodine Koehler Peña was crowned as

Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2012 The 57th Annual Miss Universe Puerto Rico pageant was held at the Centro de Bellas Artes de Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico on November 7, 2011. Viviana Ortiz, who won the title of Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2011, crowned her successor Bodin ...

. Koehler was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and a Dominican mother, and grew up in Puerto Rico. On February 5, 2018, it was announced that

Luisito Vigoreaux Luis Vigoreaux Lorenzana (born July 1, 1951) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He is the son of Luis Vigoreaux, a Puerto Rican media personality and Rosaura Lorenzana Vilches. He is the brother of Roberto Vigoreaux, local senator, television ...

and

Desiree Lowry Desiree Lowry Rodríguez (born June 25, 1972, in San Juan) is a Puerto Rican beauty pageant titleholder, fashion model, TV host, radio presenter, event coordinator, model agency owner, and former pageant director for Miss Universe Puerto Rico. ...

had lost the rights to the franchise, with WME/IMG awarding rights to

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish language in the United States, Spanish-language Independent station (North America), independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by :es:Hemisphere Media Group, Hemisphere Media Group, w ...

. On February 15, 2018,

Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 The 46th Annual Miss Puerto Rico Universe competition was held in the fall of 2000 in Puerto Rico. Denise Quiñones won the pageant and represented Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 2001 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Results Placements Judges *Shaw ...

and

Miss Universe 2001 Miss Universe 2001, the 50th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 11, 2001, at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Denise Quiñones of Puerto Rico was crowned by Lara Dutta of India as her successor at ...

winner

was named as the pageant's national director.

Controversy

Nationality of contestants

In 2011, after Bodine Koehler Peña was crowned

, people started to question her nationality. Koehler Peña was born in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, her father is

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and her mother is Dominican. Regarding the criticism, Koehler Peña said: "I want to clarify a point about my nationality and that is that I am Puerto Rican and I feel very proud to represent Puerto Rico. I was born in the Netherlands, but I came here when I was very little and my family is here too." After the strong criticism, the national director of the pageant at that time,

, explained that the rules of the contest establish that the participants must be citizens of the country and have lived in it for a minimum of six months.

Titleholders

Representatives of Puerto Rico in the

pageant. ;Key

Miss Universe Puerto Rico

In 2009, Luisito Vigoreaux and Desireé Lowry obtained the Miss Universe franchise and renamed the pageant "Miss Universe Puerto Rico". Since 2018, the organization is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, and the annual competition is broadcast on WAPA TV and WAPA América. After Hemisphere Media Group acquired the rights of the franchise, Denise Quiñones, was appointed as the organization's director. In 2022, Yizette Cifredo became the organization's national director.

Miss Puerto Rico Universe

From 1999 to 2002 TeleOnce (now

) obtained the franchise and renamed it "Miss Puerto Rico Universe". Magali Febles organized the pageant between 2003 and 2009 and the pageant title has remained the same.

Miss Puerto Rico

Miss Puerto Rico was held from 1952 until 1998 under the direction of

Statistic rankings

Placements at Miss Universe

Cities with most titleholders

Gallery of winners

File:Ivonne Coll at 2015 PaleyFest.jpg,

Ivonne Coll Ivonne Coll Mendoza (born June 18, 1947) is a Puerto Rican actress. She was Miss Puerto Rico in 1967 and competed in the Miss Universe pageant the same year. She later became an actress, appearing in films such as ''The Godfather Part II'' and ' ...

, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1967 File:Dayanara Torres 2011.jpg,

, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1993 and

Miss Universe 1993 Miss Universe 1993, the 42nd Miss Universe pageant, was held on 21 May 1993 at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, Mexico. At the event's conclusion, Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss Universe by outgoing titleholder Michelle Mc ...

File:Joyce Giraud 2014.jpg,

, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1998 File:Denise Quinones head.jpg,

, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 and

File:Zuleyka Rivera, Red Dress Collection 2007.jpg,

, Miss Puerto Rico 2006 and

Miss Universe 2006 Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006. At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Miss ...

File:Ingrid.JPG,

Ingrid Marie Rivera Íngrid Marie Rivera Santos (born October 8, 1983, in Luquillo) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico 2005 and represented her country at Miss World 2005. She later won Miss P ...

, Miss Puerto Rico 2008

Notes

References

External links

Miss Universe Puerto Rico

El Podcast de Miss Puerto Rico Universe

Miss Universe
{{Miss Universe countries and territories

Beauty pageants in Puerto Rico