The Mexicana Universal is a national

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 ...

in Mexico held annually since 2018, replacing the former pageant, Nuestra Belleza México, held since 1994. Currently, the pageant is responsible for selecting the country's delegates to

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

Reina Hispanoamericana Reina Hispanoamericana (''Hispanic American Queen'') is an annual beauty pageant that celebrates Hispanic heritage, language, and culture. It was established in 1991 as Reina Sudamericana (''South American Queen'') and is headquartered in Santa ...

Miss Charm Miss Charm is an international beauty pageant based in Vietnam with the mission of promoting culture, tourism and educational activities. The current Miss Charm is Rashmita Rasindran from Malaysia, who was crowned on 21 December 2024 at Nguyen ...

, and Miss Orb International. The current Mexicana Universal is Melissa Flores of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

, who represented Mexico at

Miss Universe 2023 Miss Universe 2023 was the 72nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Gimnasio Nacional José Adolfo Pineda in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 18 November 2023. At the conclusion of the event, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua was crowned as Miss U ...

but was unplaced. The organization is directed by the nation's first Miss Universe titleholder,

Lupita Jones María Guadalupe "Lupita" Jones Garay (; born 6 September 1967) is a Mexican producer, actress and model. She was crowned Miss Universe 1991, and was the first Mexican contestant to win a major international beauty pageant. Education Before be ...

(

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

), who originally produced the pageant as Nuestra Belleza México in association with the

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

TV network. In October 2017, the organization parted ways with Televisa, and found a new home for the pageant's broadcasting in rival network

TV Azteca Televisión Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., commonly known as TV Azteca, is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as so ...

, rebranding the pageant due to televisa still owning the trademark, and changing the format. The organization has produced two Miss Universe winners (

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

), two Miss International winners (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

), and three

winners (2008,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Contestants

Aspiring hopefuls, ranging from 18 to 27 years of age and a minimum height of , must fulfill the organization's additional requirements and consequently vie in their respective

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

pageants for eligibility to participate in the national pageant.Nuestra Belleza Mexico – FAQ
/ref> Contestants are permitted to compete for their sub-national beauty titles more than once. However, this can no longer be done once they have taken part in the national event. They may also choose to represent a different state, as long as they provide proof of having resided in it for at least the last twelve months before registration. As of the year

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

's edition of the pageant, it is not uncommon for some states to have more than one delegate competing simultaneously. This occurs when non-winning hopefuls from select subdivisions are invited (designated) by the organization to partake in the nationwide competition, taking into consideration their potential, and to possibly make up for other states which may lack representation. Usually three or four are designated annually. Once in the national concentration, the participants engage in various events and appearances prior to the crucial preliminary competition from which a number of semi-finalists are chosen, only to be announced during the final competition. Additionally, five special awards given through sub-challenges enable the recipients an automatic pass to the semi-finals.Nuestra Belleza Mexico – Premios Especiales
/ref> During the crowning night, the semi-finalists are evaluated by a panel of judges while vying in swimsuit and evening gown, with eliminations taking place after each of these rounds. The remaining contestants are subsequently interviewed, and the runners-up and winners are respectively announced at the conclusion of the Nuestra Belleza México telecast. If any of the titleholders is unable to fulfill her duties, the next in turn, known as the ''suplente'' (substitute), assumes the right to represent the country abroad. The pageant is held a year prior to when the winners compete internationally, giving them sufficient time to prepare for their corresponding beauty events.

Titleholders

Below are the names of the annual titleholders of Nuestra Belleza México/Mexicana Universal, the states they represented and the venue which played host to their crowning, in ascending order. Titleholders whose names appear highlighted went on to win a major international pageant. For further details, see the representatives at major international pageants section. ;Color key (**)''Denisse Franco was awarded with two titles, as the last Nuestra Belleza México 2017 and the first Mexicana Universal 2017''

Mexican Miss Universe Winners

File:Lupita Jones (cropped).jpg, File:Ximena Navarrete - Miss Universe 2010.jpg, File:Andrea Meza, Miss Universe 2020 (cropped).jpg,

Representatives at international pageants

Below are the names of the delegates enlisted by the Nuestra Belleza Mexico Organization to represent the country at major worldwide beauty contests. Keep in mind that they are listed according to the year in which they participated in their respective international pageants, which do not always coincide with when their national crowning took place, as explained in the last paragraph of the contestants section. ;Color key

Miss International

Miss Universe

Miss World

Replaced delegates

The Nuestra Belleza México contestants below were slated to participate in an international pageant, but were unable to go through with it for one reason or another. And thus, they were eventually replaced.

State tally

Below is a table of the top rankings for the Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant, of the thirty-two Mexican states, based on all results from the first event in 1994 to the most recent competition. ''Cynthia de la Vega was dethroned, decreasing the number of Nuestra Belleza Mundo México titles for Nuevo León by one. The title was passed on to Gabriela Palacio of Aguascalientes.''
''Laura Zuñiga was dethroned, decreasing the number of Nuestra Belleza Internacional México titles for Sinaloa by one. The title was passed on to Anagabriela Espinoza of Nuevo León.''
''Jacqueline Bracamontes resigned her title after winning the main Nuestra Belleza México crown, decreasing the number of Nuestra Belleza Mundo México titles for Jalisco by one. The title was passed on to Paulina Flores.''

Delegates at other pageants

Miss Charm

Miss Orb International

Reina Hispanoamericana

Miss Continente Americano

Reina Internacional del Café

Miss Costa Maya Internacional

Nuestra Belleza Internacional

References

External links

Official WebsiteEl Universal Mexicana Universal WebsiteMiss Mexico: A Brief, Sexy History
– slideshow by ''

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'' {{Miss International countries and territories Beauty pageants in Mexico Culture of Mexico

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Recurring events established in 1994 1994 establishments in Mexico fr:Nuestra Belleza México hu:Miss Mexikó