María Julia "Maju" Mantilla García (born 10 July 1984) is a Peruvian actress, dancer, model, teacher and beauty queen who won

Miss World 2004 Miss World 2004, the 54th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 4 December 2004 at the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China. The 2004 pageant marks the second straight year that Sanya played host of the pageant. Rosanna Davison o ...

in China.

Early life

Born in Trujillo, Mantilla is the younger of two daughters of Olmedo Lucio Mantilla Mayer and Elvia Elizabeth García Linares. She was studying to become a high school teacher and planned to start a second degree in Tourism. One of her dreams was to own an online tourism company to promote her native town and country all over the world. Her city, Trujillo, is a mixture of colonial and pre-Columbian architecture. In 2001, Mantilla became the Peruvian national champion of Triathlon and Pentathlon, and was elected national athlete of the year. She is a professional dancer in ''The Marinera'', a typical local dance. With a group of ladies, she developed a program in Trujillo to give breakfast to hundreds of children in poor areas. She is a professional dancer.

Miss Peru

In 2004, she was Miss La Libertad and won the right to represent Peru in the Miss World contest as runner-up to Liesel Holler (Miss Peru Universe 2004) and was one of the major favorites in the run-up to the pageant, which was decided by a global television/telephone/online vote. Popularly known in her country as "Maju" Mantilla, her aunt María Julia Mantilla Mayer was Miss Peru 1969.

Miss World 2004

On 4 December 2004, in the Beauty Crown Theatre located in the Chinese beach city of

Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...

, she was crowned

by the winner from the year before, Rosanna Davison of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, becoming the second winner from

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 ...

since Madeline Hartog-Bel in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

. She was also crowned Miss World Americas. Mantilla was a record breaker for Peru during the competition, and was among the semifinalists in three fast track events. In Miss World Sports, she tied for third place with Kenisha Thom of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...

. In

Miss World Talent 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 ...

, she was among the Top 25 semifinalists with a traditional Peruvian dance, ''The Marinera Norteña''. And finally, in Contestants' Choice, she placed second runner-up.

Claudia Cruz Claudia Julissa Cruz Rodríguez (born February 5, 1986, in Bonao) is a Dominican actress, TV Host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who represented her country at the Miss World 2004 pageant. After representing Bonao and placing only as th ...

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 with ...

and Nancy Randall of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

were the first and second runners-up, respectively. Other contestants who made it into the final five were 20-year-old Karla Bautista of 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 ...

, and 19-year-old Katarzyna Borowicz of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. During her reign, Mantilla performed a variety of duties focused on fundraising for charitable organizations. She traveled to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

, China,

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and many other countries during her reign. On 10 December 2005, she crowned her successor, Unnur Vilhjálmsdóttir of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

References

External links

Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia's official website

Miss World official website

Maju Mantilla Fans Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mantilla, Maria Julia 1984 births Living people Peruvian people of German descent Peruvian people of Italian descent Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian child models Peruvian beauty pageant winners Peruvian female models Peruvian female triathletes Miss World 2004 delegates Miss World winners People from Trujillo, Peru