Venezuela is a country known as the “crème de la crème” of the pageantry world. No country has managed to achieve what Venezuela has achieved in such a short period; it all started in the 1980s when a young man named Osmel Sousa became the national director of Miss Venezuela. After he sat on the throne, there was no looking back for Venezuela.
Miss Venezuela is one of the most popular National Pageants; millions of viewers tune in to watch the most spectacular and extravagant event of the year in the Venezuelan calendar. Beautiful, confident, statuesque, and glamorous ladies from Venezuela compete in the annual Miss Venezuela pageant. Parading in exquisite and high-quality garments created by talented Venezuelan fashion designers. The start of the 1980s was the beginning of a golden era for Venezuelan pageantry. As they started to win Miss Universe in 1979, 1981, and 1986; Miss World in 1981, 1984, 1991, and 1995 and Miss International in 1985, 1997 from the 1980s to 1990s.
History of Miss Venezuela
Mr. Osmel Sousa had an eye for beauty and sophistication; he had a great understanding of high-quality standards suitable for different international pageants. As he would attend all the regional pageants and choose the best ladies for the most coveted national pageant. He would provide assistance to all the delegates with their hair, make-up, styling, runway walk, and most important the ability to stand out on the stage. He had the magical technique to polish and refine the young girls into spectacular beauty queens. Many people have considered Mr. Osmel as Pygmalion a Greek mythology figure who was a king and sculptor, renowned for constructing marvelous statues of beautiful women.
Miss Universe
The first woman to win the Miss Universe title was Maritza Sayalero in 1979. She was poised and carried herself with grace and elegance during the final night in Perth, Australia. She ended up winning Miss Universe 1979 title. Miss Universe 1981 Irene Sáez was named “Queen of Club Campestre Los Cortijos” for three years. She had a thriving political career as mayor of Chacao (a municipality of Caracas), Governor of the state of Nueva Esparta, and former presidential candidate.
Bárbara Palacios was born in Madrid to a Spanish father and a Venezuelan mother. She was a recent graduate and a junior advertising executive when she was crowned Miss Universe 1986 in Panama City on July 21, 1986. She had a successful career as a television host and spokeswoman for multinational corporations in the USA and Latin America.
During Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado was a young enthusiastic, captivating lady and full of personality. She had a fabulous style, a friendly aura, and magnetic energy on the stage. Throughout the night, she gave an extraordinary presentation and excel the competition. Her swimsuit performance is noticed by many pageant fans even now. Despite the incredible crowning moment, she went through a challenging reign due to the constant body shaming by former President Donald Trump of the Miss Universe organization. She has been very vocal about her traumatic past experience with the former management of the Miss Universe company. Post career, she has worked as a flourishing actress in the film industry in Latin America.
In 2008, green-eye beauty Dayana Mendoza was the fifth Venezuelan woman to win the Miss Universe title in Vietnam. Her final answer is considered one of the most iconic answers where she answered – “Actually God made us share and have differences. The difference is that men think that the faster way to go to a point is to go straight, and women know that the faster way to go to a point is to go through the curves and fix every curl.”
Dayana is the only Miss Universe winner to wear the golden Vietnamese CAO Crown; it was made especially for the event by the Vietnamese organization. Her modelesque beauty has helped her maintain a thriving modeling and acting post-career after she handed over her crown to her successor. She joined the Celebrity Apprentice 2012, a business competition organized by Donald Trump.
At a historical moment in the pageantry world, Stefanía Fernández won the first ever back-to-back victory for the same nation in the Miss Universe pageant. Dayana Mendoza crowned Stefanía Fernández as Miss Universe 2009 which happened in the Bahamas. Her accomplishment is in the Guinness World Records. Stefanía became the first Miss Universe to wear magnificent The Diamond Nexus Crown. She currently runs her beauty line, AMMATERRE, vegan skin care products.
Queenly beauty Gabriela Isler wore a full sleeve silver evening gown, which made her stand out during the pageant. She was the eventual winner of Miss Universe 2013, which happened in Moscow, Russia. She is the founder of Universe of Blessings Fund, a charity organization devoted to female empowerment and counseling. After Mr. Osmel Sousa stepped down from his position, Gabriela became the national director of the Miss Venezuela beauty pageant. She has the huge responsibility to send excellent delegates to Miss Universe and other international pageants.
Miss World
Miss Venezuela had a victorious performance at Miss World, with six winners coming from this South American country. Susana Duijm was the first Venezuelan and Latin American woman to win the prestigious Miss World crown in 1955 held in London, United Kingdom. Susana became an actress and presenter on Venezuelan television. Pilín León was the first celebrity to turn on the Christmas lights on Oxford Street after winning Miss World 1981 title.
Pilín worked as a professional writer and she was part of the judge’s panel during Miss World 2014. Astrid Carolina Herrera obtained the Photogenic award, Miss World Americas as well as won Miss World 1984. In 1991, Ninibeth Leal was the fourth Miss World winner from Venezuela which was held in Atlanta, USA. She is now a businesswoman living in Australia with her family.
Enchanting beauty don in a vibrant fuchsia evening gown captivated the attention of the judges and fans during Miss World 1995 in Sun City, South Africa. Jacqueline Aguilera was crowned the winner by the graceful and regal beauty Aishwarya Rai Miss World 1994 from India. She was also awarded the Photogenic award during the pageant. She now owns her modeling agency in Margarita Island, Venezuela. In 2011, a diplomacy student of Central Univesity of Venezuela, standing at the towering height of 180cm tall. Ivian Sarcos’s remarkable beauty and modeling background help her win the blue Miss World crown in London, the United Kingdom wearing a fluffy pink ball gown.
Miss International
Venezuela is currently standing with the most amount of Miss International winners with 8 ladies wearing the Mikimoto crowns. In the years of 1985, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2018; Venezuela triumph Miss International beauty pageant.
In 1985, musicologist and music lover Nina Sicilia became the first Venezuelan woman to win the Miss International crown. She carried her artistic career and has been involved, with many musical and variety programs in Latin America. Titled the Most Beautiful Skin and Miss Photogenic during the pageant, Consuelo Adler won the hearts of the judges and won the coveted Miss International 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. She had a successful modeling career in Paris, and she has graced the covers of many fashion magazines. She was the brand ambassador for many big fashion brands in Europe and the Americas.
From the Northern state of Zulia, Vivian Urdaneta won the title of Miss International 2000. After her reign, she continues to work as a journalist in her country. After competing at Miss World 2002, where she placed Top 10 semi-finalists. Goizeder Azúa tried her chance at the third international pageant after winning Miss Mesoamerica 2003, and she ended up winning Miss International 2003. She is now based in Spain and works as an anchorwoman for a television station. Wearing a Maki Diamond pearl tiara, Daniela di Giacomo was crowned Miss International 2005 in Bejing, China. She was born to an Italian Venezuelan family, and she attended Monteavila University in Caracas.
Tanned skin beauty from Zulia, Elizabeth Mosquera was studying civil engineering at the University of Zulia when she was crowned Miss International 2010. Glorious beauty Edymar Martínez attracted many fans and supporters with her grace and elegance, before the international contest. She manages to successfully win the Miss International 2015 competition in Tokyo, Japan.
She had traveled to many countries like Bolivia, Indonesia, and Panama and numerous trips to Japan and her home country Venezuela. The most recent Venezuelan woman to clinch the title of Miss International is Mariem Velazco in 2018 when she won during her special birthday. She has a background in Geophysical Engineering.
Miss Grand International
Under Mr. Osmel Sousa’s guidance, Valentina Figuera won El Concurso by Osmel Sousa 2018 which gave her the opportunity to represent Venezuela at Miss Grand International. Her outstanding beauty and fascinating personality lead her to win the first golden crown of Miss Grand International 2019.
Miss Earth
In Miss Earth, Venezuela has won the main crown twice with beautiful Alexandra Braun who was crowned as Miss Earth 2005 winner and the outgoing and lively personality; Alyz Henrich as Miss Earth 2013 both of these pageants were held in the Philippines.
In conclusion, Venezuela has mastered the pageantry world by adapting with time and training their queens according to the International Pageants standards. In the new era of Miss Venezuela with Gabriela Isler as the national director, she is following in the footsteps of Mr. Osmel. She has her style of training delegates, it has resulted Venezuela penetrating the Top 5 in Miss Universe 2017 with Keysi Sayago and Sthefany Gutiérrez placed 2nd Runner Up in Miss Universe 2018. Miss Universe pageant under the IMG management is looking for an outspoken delegate with of leadership quality in their winners.
The current Miss Venezuela Universe 2022 Amanda Dudamel has an impressive communication skills in 3 different langagues (English, Spanish and Italian), and it will be her advantage when she faces the judges during the crucial close door interview, it consist 60% of the prejudging. This year we have to keep our eyes on Miss Venezuela Amanda; she is proving to be a strong contender aiming to be the 8th Venezuelan Miss Universe winner.
What do you think of Venezuela’s long legacy in International Pageants? Comment below