Miss 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 ...

. Currently, there are two separate televised pageants held annually: Miss Universe Puerto Rico to select the representative for

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 ...

and Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico to select the representative for Miss World. Additionally, the Miss Puerto Rico Scholarship Organization selects the representative for Miss America.

Big Four pageants

Puerto Rico has been represented in the

Big Four international beauty pageants The Big Four or the Big League Pageants refers to the four major international beauty pageants for women – Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth. The group was first described by the '' China Daily'' newspaper in 2004 ...

, the four major international

s for women. These are Miss World,

Miss International Miss International (''Miss International Beauty'' or ''The International Beauty Pageant'') is a Japan-based international beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest pageant i ...

, and Miss Earth.

Miss Universe

History

In its various forms, the "Miss Puerto Rico" beauty pageant has been held almost every year since the 1930s. The winner of the contest represents

at the

pageant each year. 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 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 network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...

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". In 2018,

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 G ...

obtained the Miss Universe Puerto Rico franchise and placed

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 R ...

as the pageant director. 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 choosin ...

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. 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) is a Puerto Rican actress, fashion model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2005 and placed 1st Runner-Up at Miss Universe 2005. Biogr ...

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 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 television host, model and beauty queen. In 1970 she was the first Puerto Rican woman and Caribbean woman to be crowned Miss Universe. Biography She started to work from an ea ...

, 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 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 in her hometown, and was ...

(

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 peacefu ...

( 2001), 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 a ...

( 2006). 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 t ...

. 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, but grew up in Puerto Rico.

Representatives

''For a complete list of the representatives to Miss Universe'' ;Color Key

Winners gallery

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

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 ...

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 Mi ...

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

Miss World

History

Puerto Rico debuted in Miss World in 1959, then was absent from 1960 to 1969. In 1970 a new organization took the responsibility of sending contestants until 1985 via castings. Puerto Rico did not compete in Miss World from 1986 to 1988. The Miss Puerto Rico organization, directed by Anna Santisteban, obtained the Miss World franchise in 1989, Tania Collazo was her first Miss World delegate. Santisteban produced Miss World PR until 1995. In 1996, Delia Cruz, mother of Miss World Wilnelia Merced Cruz, obtained the franchise and began organizing the Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico pageant with Tania Collazo as organizer for a few years before

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. ...

and later on Shanira Blanco. Winners have been competing ever since in the international pageant. Puerto Rico has produced two winners (1975,2016), two 2nd runners-up (2005, 2011) and ten semi-finalists (1976, 1978, 1980, 1985, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), and one quarter-finalist (2012).

Representatives

''For a complete list of the representatives to Miss World'' ;Color Key

Gallery of Miss World representatives

File:Joyce Giraud 2014.jpg,

, Miss World Puerto Rico 1994 File:Miss Puerto Rico 07 Jennifer Guevara.jpg, Jennifer Guevara, Miss World Puerto Rico 2007 File:Miss Puerto Rico 08 Ivonne Orsini.jpg,

Ivonne Orsini Ivonne Marie Orsini López (born April 6, 1988, at Bayamón) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and TV personality. Her career began in the pageantry industry, but she has moved into other media. Orsini was one of the hosts of WAPA-TV show ''� ...

, Miss World Puerto Rico 2008 File:Génesis Dávila profile.jpg,

Génesis Dávila Génesis María Dávila Pérez (born November 18, 1990) is a Puerto Rican American model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the Miss World Puerto Rico 2014 competition, where she represented Arroyo. She also represented Puerto Rico at Mis ...

, Miss World Puerto Rico 2014

Miss Earth

History

The Miss Puerto Rico Universe organization sent representatives to Miss Earth between 2001–2004 under Magaly Febles. From 2005 to 2013 Puerto Rico's representative to Miss Earth was selected through the Miss Puerto Rico Earth pageant. Under the direction of Shanira Blancoin 2014 the representative was selected through the Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico pageant with the 1st Runner-Up being sent to Miss Earth. however, Puerto Rico dod not send a representative in 2015.

Representatives

''For a complete list of the representatives to Miss Earth'' ;Color Key

Miss International

The first Puerto Rican delegate in

was Carmen Sara Látimer, sent in 1960. Since 1960, Puerto Rico has produced two winners ( Laurie Simpson in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

and Valerie Hernandez in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

), one 3rd runner-up and ten semi-finalists. The Miss Puerto Rico pageant had the Miss International franchise from 1960 to 1997, after a two-year hiatus, a new pageant was created called ''Miss Puerto Rico Turismo'' that sent representatives until 2007 when a new organization acquired the franchise (Creative Options Inc. – Fernando Oquendo Vega).

Representatives

''For a complete list of the representatives to Miss International'' ;Color Key

Winners gallery

File:MI 2014, Valerie Hernandez.jpg, Valerie Hernandez, Miss Puerto Rico International 2014 and Miss International 2014 This is a list of

's official representatives and their placements at the Big Four international beauty pageants, considered the most important in the world. Hundreds of beauty pageants are conducted yearly, but the Big Four are considered the most prestigious, widely covered and broadcast by

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

, and global

news agencies A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire, ...

such as

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

and Agence France-Presse collectively refer to the four major pageants as "Big Four" namely:

, Miss World,

and Miss Earth. The country has won in all four pageants with a total of ten victories: * Five —

crowns (

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

•

• 2001 • 2006) * Two — Miss World crowns (

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

•

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

) * Two —

crowns (

•

) * One — Miss Earth crown (

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

)

Current franchise holders

The franchise holders in Puerto Rico of the four major beauty pageants are the following: *

—

Miss Universe Puerto Rico Miss Universe Puerto Rico is a national beauty pageant in Puerto Rico, held annually since 1952. Currently, the pageant is responsible for selecting the country’s delegates to Miss Universe. Since 2018, the organization is owned by Hemisphere ...

*Ana Aviles — Miss World Puerto Rico *Fernando Vega —

Miss International Puerto Rico Miss International Puerto Rico (previously called Miss Puerto Rico) is a national beauty pageant in Puerto Rico. History The first Puerto Rican delegate in Miss International was Carmen Sara Látimer, sent in 1960. Since 1960, Puerto Rico has ...

Vanessa De Roide Vanessa Menendez (née: De Roide Toledo born August 1, 1987, in Carolina) is a Puerto Rican TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who winner of Nuestra Belleza Latina 2012. She was the female image of Fox Deportes. Miss Earth 2005 Sh ...

—

Miss Earth Puerto Rico Miss Earth Puerto Rico (previously called Miss Puerto Rico) is a national Beauty pageant in Puerto Rico. History The Miss Puerto Rico Universe organization sent representatives to Miss Earth between 2001–2004. From 2005 to 2013 Puerto Ric ...

Puerto Rico's Big Four titleholders

;Color key
× Did not compete
↑ No pageant held

Crossovers

- Madison Anderson ''(1st Runner-Up)'' **

- Brenda Jiménez **

Gabriela Berrios Gabriela Berríos Pagán (born November 30, 1990) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican former model and beauty pageant titleholder. She represented Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, Toa Baja municipality at Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2014 and represented ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

''(2nd Runner-Up)'' **

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

- Ana Rosa Brito ''(Top 10)'' **

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

- Brenda Robles **

''(

WINNER Winner(s) or The Winner(s) may refer to: * Champion, the victor in a game or contest *The successful social class in winner and loser culture Film * ''The Winner'' (1926 film), an American silent film starring Billy Sullivan * ''The Winner'' ...

)'' **

- Laurie Simpson ''(4th Runner-Up)'' **

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

- Elizabeth Robison ''(Top 10)'' * Miss World ** 2005 -

''(2nd Runner-Up)'' **

- Ana Rosa Brito *

** 2003 -

Dignelis Jiménez Dignelis Taymí Jiménez Hernández (born 1984 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican beauty pageant titleholder, who held the title of Miss Puerto Rico Earth 2009. Jiménez competed in Miss International 2003, and in Miss Tourism World 2 ...

- Brenda Robles ** 1992 -

''(Top 15)'' **

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

- Ana Rosa Brito **

- Laurie Simpson ''(

)'' **

- Elizabeth Robison ''(Top 15)'' * Miss Earth ** 2009 -

*Miss Latin International US **2010 -

''(WINNER)'' *Miss Tourism Intercontinental **2010 -

''(WINNER)'' *Miss Supranational **2012 -

''(Top 10)'' *Miss Grand International **2017 - Brenda Jiménez ''(3rd Runner-Up)'' **2016 – Madison Anderson ''(3rd Runner–Up)''

Hostings

Other pageants

Miss Puerto Rico Scholarship Program

Up until 2016, Puerto Rico sent a delegate to the Miss America pageant. 2010 was the first time Puerto Rico had done so since 1961.

Representatives

References

External links

Miss Universe Puerto Rico

Miss Earth Puerto Rico

El Podcast de Miss Puerto Rico Universe

Miss Puerto Rico Scholarship
{{Portal bar, Puerto Rico

Beauty pageants in Puerto Rico Puerto Rican culture Recurring events established in 1952 Puerto Rican awards 1952 establishments in Puerto Rico