Mariam Habach Santucci (born 26 January 1996) is a Venezuelan model and beauty pageant titleholder who won

Miss Venezuela 2015 Miss Venezuela 2015 was the 62nd edition of the Miss Venezuela pageant held on October 8, 2015 at the Estudio 1 de Venevision in Caracas, Venezuela, after weeks of events. Outgoing titleholder Mariana Jiménez of Guárico crowned Mariam Habac ...

. She also won Señorita Centro Occidental 2016, she also represented Venezuela at

Miss Universe 2016 Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...

Personal life

Habach is a dentistry student and was raised along with her two brothers in the city of

El Tocuyo El Tocuyo is a fertile valley and city in west-central Venezuela at elevation. It is located in south-central Lara State about 60 km southwest of Barquisimeto. The town of El Tocuyo was founded by Juan de Carvajal in 1545 on the banks of the Toc ...

. Her father, Antonio, was born in the city of

Tartus ) , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = Tartus corniche Port of Tartus • Tartus beach and boulevard Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa • Al-Assad Stadium&n ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and her maternal grandparents immigrated from

Fontanarosa Fontanarosa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of ...

and

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Habach speaks three languages:

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Pageantry

Miss Venezuela 2015

During Venezuela's final coronation night on 8 October 2015, Habach was crowned

representing her home state of Lara. She went to represent

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Miss Universe 2016

Habach represented

and she was amongst a group of favorites to win the pageant. She also won three special awards given by local sponsors during the pre-pageant activities in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. During the preliminary competition, she was introduced to the televised press as having won all nine beauty pageants she entered, the current coinciding with her birthday. Habach is also known to wear the golden Maria Clara terno gown, disputed to having been initially reserved by former Miss Czech Republic Andrea Bezděková, to which its designer finally transferred the gown to Habach. During the national costume competition, she wore a blue and white balloon dress designed by Nidal Nouaihed entitled “Reina encantada del mar”, inspired by the

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

culture and the myth of the ocean goddess Yemaya, which weighed more than 18 kilos and was made of 120 meters of organza with hundreds of pearls and crystals. However the hugeness of her costume hampered her movements and forced her to constantly kick her dress forward. She ended stuck in the fabric to a point she had to be assisted off stage. Ultimately, Habach did not make placement among the 13 semi-finalists. In thirty three years of Venezuelan pageantry since this time, Habach is the fourth contestant whom did not make placement.

Controversy

Accordingly, many pageant connoisseurs were bewildered on Habach's non-placement in

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 ...

, resulting in being pejoratively labeled as the recipient to the " Ruth Ocumarez Award". Prior to the coronation night, a Venezuelan journalist Julio Matute Rodríguez wrote that Habach was arrogant and spoiled due to an affluent upbringing. It was also rumored that her family influenced the judges at the

pageant. Furthermore, several social media fonts speculated that her failure to enter the top 13 selection was due to allegedly disrespecting several candidates. There were televised segments where she pinched second runner-up

Andrea Tovar Jealisse Andrea Tovar Velásquez (born 3 September 1993) simply known as Andrea Tovar, is a Colombian model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Colombia 2015, representing Colombia at Miss Universe 2016, where she ended up as 2nd runner-up ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and stepped on semi-finalist

Valeria Piazza Valeria Piazza Vásquez (born 8 December 1989) is a Peruvian social communicator, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Peru 2016 and represented Peru at the Miss Universe 2016 pageant where she was a semifinalist. Early life Piazza ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, among other candidates' dresses without issuing remorse or apology. In later months, Habach gained further notoriety for a video mocking former first runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez of Colombia, in a recorded video prank allegedly referring to the provincial nature of

Colombians Colombians ( es, Colombianos) are people identified with the country of Colombia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Colombians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the sourc ...

References

External links

Miss Venezuela Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Habach, Mariam 1996 births Living people Venezuelan people of Italian descent Venezuelan people of Syrian descent Miss Venezuela winners People from Barquisimeto Venezuelan female models Miss Universe 2016 contestants Venezuelan Roman Catholics 21st-century Venezuelan women