Spain’s Lalaguna Named Miss World

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

The world is Mireia Lalaguna’s oyster…

The 22-year-old Spanish model was crowned Miss World on Saturday at the 65th edition of the beauty pageant, held in the Chinese city of Sanya.

Lalaguna, a Barcelona-native with a degree in pharmacology, outshined second-place Miss Russia, Sofia Nikitchuk, and Miss Indonesia, Maria Harfanti, who came in third.

For the first time ever Spain was victorious at the Miss World contest, which was launched in Britain and is considered the longest running beauty pageant on the planet, though another Spaniard, Amparo Muñoz, took home the Miss Universe title in 1974.

Lalaguna, with her blonde locks combed back on one side and wearing a stunning blue dress that bared her back, took her place on the queen’s throne where she was crowned by the winner of the 2014 contest, South Africa’s Rolene Strauss, with the glittering blue diadem she will wear over the coming year.

Lalaguna Catalan could not hide her shock, even from the time she made it into the finals ahead of big favorites like the beauties from France, Venezuela and the host country China.

Also among the five finalists were Miss Jamaica, Sanneta Myrie, and Miss Lebanon, Valerie Abou Chacra, while the Ecuadorian Maria Camila Marañon was the best classified Latin American after making it into the top 20.

The gala was held at the Beauty Crown Culture Center in Sanya, a complex outside the city with extravagant skyscrapers shaped like gigantic trees, a resort that has now hosted the pageant for the sixth time.

Sanchez Believes Latinos Can Stop Donald Trump From Being Elected President

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Roselyn Sanchez is speaking out against presidential hopeful Donald Trump…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actress, who will serve as a co-host at Sunday’s Miss Universe pageant, says Hispanics have the power to prevent Trump from being elected president.

“I refuse to believe it. I don’t think it’s possible,” said Sanchez when asked by EFE whether the business mogul and Republican candidate could win the 2016 election.

“Hispanics have the power to prevent it,” she said.

Sanchez, an advocate for the Latino community, bowed out as co-host of the 2015 Miss USA pageant, of which Trump had been part owner, saying that incendiary remarks by Trump about Mexican immigrants were degrading.

“He said what he said and never apologized,” Sanchez recalled, adding that hearing Trump’s views on Latinos was “devastating” and “sad.”

Trump, a former reality television star who has performed well in early polling ahead of the first Republican primaries, generated controversy when he said most Mexican immigrants crossing the border were a scourge on U.S. society.

“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” Trump said in launching his candidacy in June.

The magnate sold the Miss Universe Organization to the WME/IMG agency in September after a legal spat with NBC Universal, which along with Univision refused to broadcast the Miss USA pageant, held in July, due to Trump’s remarks.

The Miss Universe Organization runs both the Miss USA and Miss Universe competitions.

Sanchez, known for her roles in the film Rush Hour 2 and the television series Without a Trace and Devious Maids, said Hispanics were doing “incredible things” in fields as diverse as entertainment, science, politics and business.

In that regard, she said she hoped Latinos would “be able to make their voice heard” in the future no matter who is elected as the next U.S. president.

The actress said she agreed to co-host this year’s edition along with comedian Steve Harvey because there were new owners and new people behind this event, which will be held Sunday at the AXIS Theater in Las Vegas and televised by Fox.

Sanchez to Co-Host This Year’s Miss Universe Pageant

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Roselyn Sanchez has landed a universal role…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actress, singer and Devious Maids star will co-host this year’s Miss Universe pageant.

Sanchez, who recently co-hosted this year’s Latin Grammys, will report live from the show and backstage.

Sanchez made headlines around the world when she walked out of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s Miss USA Pageant as co-host after his remarks about Mexican immigrants in the Unites States.

Trump sold his interest in the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants after the controversy that erupted in remarks in his bid for the presidency. Univision and NBC severed their relationship with the real estate mogul, and Sanchez, whose credits include Without a Trace, walked away from the pageant broadcast in protest.

At the time, Roselyn wrote on her Facebook page: “As a Latino, proud of my roots, culture and all that we have contributed to this nation, I decided to cancel my participation in the Miss USA Pageant.

“I cannot tolerate the disrespectful and hurtful words out of the mouth of Mr. Trump. Mexicans, like all Latinos, contribute positively to this great nation. We are the force that keeps the country afloat.”

Hosted by Emmy winner Steve Harvey, the annual broadcast will feature performances from Seal, Charlie Puth and The Band Perry.

The 2015 Miss Universe telecast will air live from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on Sunday, Decenber 20, at 7:00 pm ET on Fox.

Machado to Pen Book About Her Negative Experiences with Donald Trump

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado is ready to write the world’s wrongs…

The 38-year-old former-beauty-queen-turned-actress/singer is planning to write a book about the “abuses of power” and “racism” she suffered at the hands of Donald Trump in the mid-‘90s during her reign.

Machado was crowned Miss Universe in 1996, the fourth woman from Venezuela to win title, and soon after made headlines for concerns about her increasing weight.

When Machado was crowned she weighed 118 pounds, and eventually the 5-foot-9 beauty queen reached 160 pounds. Pageant officials apparently found the weight unacceptable and threatened to revoke her crown if she didn’t trim down.

Months before the 1997 Miss Universe pageant, in which Machado was due to hand the crown over to her successor, Donald Trump — who partly owns the Miss Universe Organization — called in fitness expert Edward Jackowski to help Machado lose weight through a rigorous diet and exercise program, all of which was documented by photographers and camera crews.

Trump told People magazine back in 1997, “We want her to stay as Miss Universe and she is working on her problem. When you win a beauty pageant, people don’t think you’re going to go from 118 to 160 in less than a year, and you really have an obligation to stay in a perfect physical state.” The real estate mogul also reportedly called Machado “an eating machine” during an interview on the Howard Stern show.

Machado, then 20 years old, told People at the time, “Before Miss Universe I was a normal girl, but my life has had big changes. I travel to many countries, eat different foods.”

The beauty queen has since been very vocal about her experience with Trump, calling him “a detestable being” as recently as June to Mexican newspaper La Reforma.

In a formal statement issued earlier this week, Machado’s reps declare that she “will share all the details, abuses of power, arrogance, and racism on Donald Trump’s part that she suffered in the flesh, issues that Alicia will share for the first time and at the appropriate time so that the whole world can see who this person really is, someone who has gained even more notoriety recently for his attacks on the Mexican people.”

Machado currently stars in Televisa’s new Spanish telenovela Lo Imperdonable. The statement mentioned that after her contractual duties with the soap opera are over, Machado will announce more details about the book. Until then, “she won’t be saying anything else on the matter.”

Vega, the Reigning Miss Colombia, Named Miss Universe

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a crowning achievement for Paulina Vega…

The 22-year-old Colombian beauty queen representing her native land, has been crowned Miss Universe.

Vega, a relative pageant newcomer, beat out first runner-up Miss USA Nia Sanchez and contestants from more than 80 other countries at Sunday’s pageant in Miami.

Vega, a student of business administration from Barranquilla, Colombia, said she would wear the crown with “pride and excitement” as she heard the news that fans in Colombia had taken to the streets to celebrate.

Real estate mogul and reality television star Donald Trump, who owns the pageant, said many predicted Vega would take home the coveted crown a few weeks ago when contestants first arrived in Miami for the festivities.

“From the minute she walked in the building, people said, ‘She’s a star,'” Trump said.

Vega’s win keeps the title in the hands of another Latina — reigning Miss Universe Gabriela Isler is from Venezuela.

Pageants and performance run in Vega’s family. Her grandmother, Elvira Castillo, was Miss Atlántico 1953 (Colombia) and her grandfather is legendary tenor Gastón Vega.

But the contests leading up to Miss Universe were a first for Vega, who is one of eight children. She also said they would be her last, as she is eager to return to her business studies, saying: “It gives me independence. I want to have my own company.”

After Sanchez, the 24-year-old Miss USA from Las Vegas, Nevada, the second runner-up was Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha. Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell and Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen were also among the top five, emerging from the field of 88 contestants.

As Miss Universe, Vega will receive an undisclosed salary, a luxury apartment in New York, a wardrobe and oodles of beauty products, and a one-year scholarship from the New York Film Academy.

“It will be a dream come true to represent the woman of today,” Vega said earlier in the week. “A woman that not only cares about being beautiful and being glamorous, but also cares about being a professional, intelligent, hard-working person.”

Berríos Named Most Photogenic at This Year’s Miss Universe Pageant

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriela Berríos Pagán is picture perfect…

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican model and beauty pageant contest has been designated Miss Photogenic at this year’s Miss Universe.

Berríos is the second of four children in her family. She has lived in Puerto Rico and Orlando, Florida. She studies business administration and plans to establish her own production company in the future. Her hobbies include painting, exercising, and spending time with her family and friends.

When Berrios went to pick up her prize, this year’s pageant hosts Thomas Roberts and Natalie Morales stopped to take a selfie with the beauty queen.

Sanchez Named Miss USA 2014

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a crowning achievement for Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican American beauty queen, a fourth-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of taekwondo, has been crowned Miss USA 2014, becoming the first woman from the state of Nevada to win the title.

Sanchez, who once worked at Hong Kong Disneyland, beat out 50 other contestants Sunday night at the pageant in Louisiana.

First runner-up was Miss North Dakota Audra Mari.

Erin Brady, of South Glastonbury, Connecticut, the 2013 winner, handed over her crown to Sanchez after a three-hour telecast from the Baton Rouge Civic Center.

Other runner-ups were: home state beauty queen, Miss Louisiana Brittany Guidry; Miss Georgia Tiana Griggs, Miss Florida Brittany Oldehoff and Miss Iowa Carlyn Bradarich.

Bradarich got a second chance when the viewing audience gave her the most votes on Twitter.

Sanchez, the fourth Latina to win the title, will go on from the 63rd Miss USA to represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe competition later this year.

The other Latina Miss USAs are Laura Harring (1985), Lynnette Cole (2000), and Susie Castillo (2003).

Machado to Coach Beauty Contestants on Univision’s “Nuestra Belleza Latina” Reality Competition

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Alicia Machado is ready to coach the next Latina beauty queen…

The 37-year-old Venezuelan actress/singer and former Miss Universe has signed on to appear on Univision’s Nuestra Belleza Latina reality competition series.

Machado and fellow Miss Universe winner Denise Quiñones will mentor the 12 finalists, all talented Latinas from the United States and Puerto Rico, competing to be named Nuestra Belleza Latina.

Unlike previous years, this time around the 12 finalists are already known, said Univision.

The competitors will move to a luxury mansion where they will live together and compete in different challenges every week, until one finalist is left standing.

The winner will receive an exclusive contract with Univision, $200,000 in cash, a variety of other prizes and a new car.

The weekly series will have all the challenges of a traditional beauty contest, but with the added intrigue of the reality element – what goes on backstage.

This season hidden cameras will follow the drama being woven among the 12 contestants day by day in the mansion.

Along with Machado and Quiñones, Alejandra Espinoza, the first winner of Nuestra Belleza Latina and a host of Sabado Gigante, is joining the show as a presenter.

The Nuestra Belleza Latina reality competition series will begin its broadcast run on Sunday, February 12.

Venezuela’s Gabriela Isler Crowned Miss Universe

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a crowning achievement for Gabriela Isler…

The 25-year-old Venezuelan beauty queen has been named the new Miss Universe.

Isler, who appears on Venezuela’s Venevision television network and is an accomplished flamenco dancer, was crowned Saturday night at the end of the pageant held at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall.

With the win, Isler has given Venezuela the country’s third Miss Universe title in six years.

Within minutes of Isler’s crowning in Moscow, President Nicolas Maduro sent his congratulations over Twitter, celebrating her performance as a “triumph for Venezuela.”

Venezuela has won more major international beauty competitions than any other nation, including seven Miss Universe titles.

In the excitement just after the announcement, the tiara fell off Isler’s head as she was being crowned by Miss Universe 2012, Olivia Culpo of the United States. Isler caught the crown laughing.

Spain’s Patricia Rodrigues was the runner-up, with four of the five finalists representing Latin American countries. Miss Ecuador Constanza Baez and Miss Brazil Jekelyne Oliveira, finished 2nd and 4th, respectively. The only non-Latina finalist was third runner-up Ariella Arida, Miss Philippines.

This year’s beauty pageant was judged by Aerosmith frontman and lead singer Steven Tyler, Nobu and Matsuhisa restaurants’ Chef Nobu, Olympic figure skating gold medalist Tara Lipinski, television personality Carol Alt, supermodel Anne V. and Russian pop star Philip Kirkorov.

Nicaragua’s Nastassja Bolivar Claims Best National Costume at Miss Universe

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

She may not have claimed the Miss Universe crown, but Nastassja Bolivar is the costume queen…

The 25-year-old Nicaraguan beauty queen has claimed the Best National Costume award at the annual pageant.

Bolivar’s costume, which depicts the pre-Columbian indigenous empress, beat out the 85 other creative outfits to earn the coveted award.

The Best National Costume award was announced during the Miss Universe 2013 preliminary round held in Crocus City Hall.

Miss Nicaragua will receive a $5,000 credit card courtesy of the Russian Standard Bank.

Bolivar’s national costume features a feathered headdress and colorful sequined embroidery.

Bolivar, who grew up in Miami and spent her summer vacations in her home country, Nicaragua, dreams of becoming an entertainment producer and enjoys being active by playing volleyball, soccer, badminton and kickboxing. She is obsessed with board games and is proud to know some basic sewing skills, a handy talent for fashion emergencies.

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