Lía Victoria Borrero González (born August 22, 1976) is a Panamanian model and beauty queen who was the first
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
nian delegate in history to win a major
beauty pageant
A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...
, the title of
Miss International 1998.
[ Retrieved on 11 Apr 2008.]
Early life
Lía won her first beauty contest in early 1996 when she became queen of the Las Tablas carnival, a title that had previously been won by her aunt by the same name Lía Victoria Borrero de Jurado.
Señorita Panamá
She competed in the Miss Panama competition that same year, where she beat other 14 contestants and became Miss Panama 1996. This gave her the opportunity to compete in the
Miss Universe 1997 pageant, broadcast live from
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
.
Miss Universe
She was a Top 6 finalist, the highest placement ever by a Panamanian at the time (a record that would not be surpassed until
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
).
Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...
,
Brook Mahealani Lee would be the eventual winner.
Miss International
Later, she was invited to participate in the
Miss International 1998 beauty pageant, which is annually held in Japan. On September 26, 1998, she became the first ever Panamanian to win a major international pageant, overcoming other strong delegates such as Venezuela and Colombia. She worked for the International Culture Association (ICA) during her year-long reign, helping the One Love Fund, a foundation that gives donations to people who suffer from natural disasters, through the creation of goodwill activities.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borrero, Lia
1976 births
Living people
Miss International winners
Miss International 1998 delegates
Miss Universe 1997 contestants
Panamanian beauty pageant winners
Señorita Panamá