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 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 ...

. Additionally, the Miss Puerto Rico Scholarship Organization selects the representative for

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

Big Four pageants

Puerto Rico has been represented in the Big Four international beauty pageants, the four major international

s for women. These are

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 Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one of t ...

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 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, 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) 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 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 ...

obtained the Miss Universe Puerto Rico franchise and placed Denise Quiñones 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 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

pageant. There are frequently crossovers between the two pageants: for example Joyce Giraud 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, 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 (

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 (

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 ...

), Denise Quiñones (

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 (

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. Bodine Koehler Peña was crowned as Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2012. 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, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1967 File:Dayanara Torres 2011.jpg, Dayanara Torres, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1993 and Miss Universe 1993 File:Joyce Giraud 2014.jpg, Joyce Giraud, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1998 File:Denise Quinones head.jpg, Denise Quiñones, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 and Miss Universe 2001 File:Zuleyka Rivera, Red Dress Collection 2007.jpg, Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Puerto Rico 2006 and Miss Universe 2006 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

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

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 and later on

Shanira Blanco Shanira Blanco Colón (born August 1, 1981) is a Puerto Rican TV presenter and model, social media Influencer marketing, influencer and former national director of Miss Puerto Rico#Miss World, Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico and Miss Puerto Rico#Miss ...

. 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, Joyce Giraud, Miss World Puerto Rico 1994 File:Miss Puerto Rico 07 Jennifer Guevara.jpg,

Jennifer Guevara Jennifer Guevara Campos (born May 18, 1987) is a Puerto Rican beauty queen who represented Puerto Rico at Miss World 2007 in China placing in the Top 16 semifinalists of the pageant. She has learned to use sign language and helps coach deaf ch ...

, Miss World Puerto Rico 2007 File:Miss Puerto Rico 08 Ivonne Orsini.jpg, Ivonne Orsini, 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 Miss ...

, 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

in 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

'' ;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 Laurie Tamara Simpson Rivera (born October 26, 1969) is a Puerto Rican model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss International 1987. Miss International Prior to winning the beauty pageant, the blonde, blue-eyed beauty participated in several b ...

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, k ...

and

Valerie Hernandez Valerie Hernández Matías (born July 19, 1993, in San Juan) is a Puerto Rican model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss International 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. She is the second winner from Puerto Rico after Laurie Simpson in 1987. Pageantry ...

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,

, Miss Puerto Rico International 2014 and

Miss International 2014 Miss International 2014, the 54th Miss International pageant, organized by the International Cultural Association held on November 11, 2014 at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa in Tokyo, Japan. Bea Santiago of the Philippines crowned her success ...

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.

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 broadca ...

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 the M ...

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 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 estab ...

and

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

collectively refer to the four major pageants as "Big Four" namely:

and

. 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 scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

•

) * Two —

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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) * Two —

crowns (

•

) * One —

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 *Ana Aviles —

Miss World Puerto Rico Miss World Puerto Rico or ''Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico'' is a national Beauty pageant that selects Puerto Rico's representative to the Miss World pageant. History Puerto Rico debuted in Miss World in 1959, then was absent from 1960 to 1969. In 1 ...

*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 —

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 Madison Sara Anderson Berríos (born November 10, 1995) is a Puerto Rican-American model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2019. She represented Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe 2019 competition, where s ...

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

Brenda Jiménez Brenda Azaria Jiménez Hernández (born December 10, 1994) is a Puerto Rican model and beauty pageant titleholder who was appointed as Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2016 on March 17, 2016, after the original titleholder, Kristhielee Caride, was d ...

- Gabriela Berrios **

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 ...

- Joyce Giraud ''(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 t ...

- 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 Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

- Brenda Robles **

- Dayanara Torres ''(

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'' ...

)'' **

''(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 ente ...

- Elizabeth Robison ''(Top 10)'' *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

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

- Joyce Giraud **

- Ana Rosa Brito *

- Gabriela Berrios **

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

- Dignelis Jiménez **

- Brenda Robles **

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

- Dayanara Torres ''(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 Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

- Ana Rosa Brito **

''(

)'' **

- Elizabeth Robison ''(Top 15)'' *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

- Dignelis Jiménez *Miss Latin International US **2010 - Gabriela Berrios ''(WINNER)'' *Miss Tourism Intercontinental **2010 - Gabriela Berrios ''(WINNER)'' *Miss Supranational **2012 - Gabriela Berrios ''(Top 10)'' *Miss Grand International **2017 -

''(3rd Runner-Up)'' **2016 –

''(3rd Runner–Up)''

Hostings

Other pageants

Miss Puerto Rico Scholarship Program

Up until 2016, Puerto Rico sent a delegate to the

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