Rosa María Ojeda Cuen (born October 15, 1986 in

Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by the Spanish conquistadors Lázaro de ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

) is a Mexican model and

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 ...

titleholder who won the title Miss Mexico 2006. She also represented Mexico at the 56th annual

Miss Universe 2007 Miss Universe 2007 was the 56th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, Mexico on 28 May 2007. At the end of the event, Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico crowned Riyo Mori of Japan as Miss Universe 2007. It was Japan ...

pageant held at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, Mexico.

Biography

Rosa María Ojeda Cuen is the youngest of five children. Her two oldest brothers died (merely three years after one another) when Ojeda was very young, and at 15 years of age, she was diagnosed

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

. After overcoming these events during her childhood, Ojeda competed in the national beauty pageant

Nuestra Belleza México The Mexicana Universal is a national beauty pageant 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 ...

, held in

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

on September 2, 2006, where she beat 30 other contestants to win the title, as well as obtain the right to represent her country in the 2007 Miss Universe pageant. She became the second woman from the state of Sinaloa to win the title since the Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant first began in 1994. During the pageant week she was asked who was she closest to among all the 77 contestants, she said she had fun with all of them but felt closest to

Xiomara Blandino Xiomara Blandino (born September 10, 1984) is a Nicaraguan architect, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the title of Miss Nicaragua 2007. She participated in the Miss Universe 2007 contest representing Nicaragua. Pageantry Miss Unive ...

, Miss Nicaragua 2007 her roommate and who also was in the top 10. On May 28, 2007, Ojeda placed as a Top 10 finalist in

held in Mexico City.

Riyo Mori (born December 24, 1986) is a Japanese actress, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2007 in Mexico City. Personal life An only child, Riyo Mori began dancing at the age of 4. She studied at Quinte Ballet School and gra ...

of Japan was eventually crowned the winner.

National Costume controversy

In April 2007, controversy erupted over the proposed national costume of Rosa María Ojeda, Miss Mexico. The skirt of the costume depicted scenes from the

Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...

, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

rebellion in the 1920s in which thousands of people were killed, including

hangings Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerous countries and regions. ...

. The outfit included a bullet-studded belt and

crucifix necklace __NOTOC__ A cross necklace is any necklace featuring a Christian cross or crucifix as its pendant. Crosses are often worn as an indication of commitment to the Christian faith, and are sometimes received as gifts for rites such as baptism and co ...

. The design was chosen from over thirty others and had been intended to show Mexico's culture and history, but it elicited controversy amid claims it was in poor taste and inappropriate. Pageant owners said that the costume would be redesigned to include image of the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

References

External links

Official Nuestra Belleza Mexico Website
1986 births Living people Nuestra Belleza México winners Beauty pageant contestants from Culiacán Miss Universe 2007 contestants Mexican beauty pageant winners Models from Sinaloa {{pageant-bio-stub