Mayra Matos Pérez (born August 28, 1988 in San Juan,

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 ...

) is a Puerto Rican actress, writer, fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder who held the title of Miss Teen International 2006 and

Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2009 The 54th Annual Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant was held at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum on October 22, 2008 in Hato Rey section of San Juan, Puerto Rico. A record of 70 contestants competed for the crown, in which the competition was tel ...

Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2009

Matos represented Cabo Rojo at the

pageant where she was crowned Miss Puerto Rico Universe by outgoing titleholder Ingrid Rivera with the assistance of

Miss USA 2008 Miss USA 2008 was the 57th Miss USA pageant, held in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2008. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Crystle Stewart of Texas was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder Rachel Smith of Tennessee. ...

Crystle Stewart Crystle Danae Stewart (born September 20, 1981) is an American actress, host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2008. Stewart later began an acting career, starring as a real estate agent Leslie Morris on the OWN/TBS comedy-d ...

and

Miss Dominican Republic 2008 The Miss República Dominicana 2008 pageant was held on December 3, 2007. That year only 9 candidates competed for the national crown. The chosen winner will represent the Dominican Republic at the Miss Universe 2008. The first runner up will enter ...

Marianne Cruz Marianne Cruz González (born April 23, 1985 in Salcedo, Hermanas Mirabal, Salcedo) is a Dominican news presenter, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Dominican Republic 2008 and represented her country at Miss Universe 200 ...

. She also won the award for "Most Beautiful Face".

Miss Universe

Preliminary rounds

Matos wore a costume modeled after boxing gear during the national costume competition; the piece included a hooded robe, gloves and a championship belt bearing the

Coat of arms of Puerto Rico The coat of arms of Puerto Rico was first granted by the Spanish Crown on November 8, 1511, making it the oldest heraldic achievement still currently in use in the Americas. The territory was ceded by Spain to the United States in accordance to th ...

. The outfit was known to the island's boxing tradition, which has produced more champions per capita than any other location in the world.

Final show

Matos represented

Miss Universe 2009 Miss Universe 2009 was the 58th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Imperial Ballroom in Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, The Bahamas on August 23, 2009. At the end of the event, Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela crowned Stefanía Fernández of Vene ...

on August 23, 2009 in

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. She was the first of the semifinalists to be called, breaking a two-year non-placement streak for

. She then advanced to the Top 10 and was one of the Top 5 finalists, along with

Ada de la Cruz Ada Aimée De La Cruz Ramírez (born June 15, 1986, in Villa Mella) is a Dominican model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Dominican Republic 2009 and placed 1st Runner-Up at Miss Universe 2009. Biography her first came to fame as Miss Domi ...

of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, Rachel Finch of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Stefanía Fernandez of

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 ...

, and

Marigona Dragusha Marigona Dragusha (born 23 September 1990), also known as Gona Dragusha, is a Kosovar model and beauty queen who placed as the 2nd runner-up at the Miss Universe 2009 pageant. Dragusha won her national title, Miss Universe Kosovo, on 4 April 2009 ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. She eventually finished as 4th Runner-Up. The eventual winner was Stefanía Fernandez of

This was Puerto Rico's most recent Top 5 placement until

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

when

Kiara Ortega Kiara Liz Ortega Delgado (born August 23, 1993) is a Puerto Rican dancer and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2018. She represented Puerto Rico at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand. She ...

also finished in the Top 5.

Professional life

In 2013 Matos appeared in the comedy film '' 200 Cartas'', a film about a comic book artist who travels to Puerto Rico to find a woman he met at a bar in New York City. Matos appears as Maria Sanchez, the love interest of

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...

's character Raul. The film also stars Mexican actor

Jaime Camil Jaime Federico Said Camil de Saldanha da Gama (born 22 July 1973) is a Mexican actor, singer and television personality. He is best known for his roles as Fernando Mendiola in ''La Fea Más Bella'' and Rogelio de la Vega in ''Jane the Virgin'', ...

, Puerto Rican actor and comedian Luis Raúl, 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 ...

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 ...

Lineage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Mayra People from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico Miss Universe 2009 contestants Living people 1988 births Puerto Rican beauty pageant winners