After 57 years of absence, Cuba will once again participate in the Miss Universe pageant with a candidate selected from Cubans in exile. Miss Cuba will be chosen from 20 finalists.
The selection event will take place in Miami next September, according to Prince Julio César, organizer of the contest in Florida.
The national director of Miss Cuba, Prince Julio César, explained that the Miss Universe organization seeks to increase international representation in its November edition in Mexico, including Cuba.
“Miss Universe was originally an American company, which limited transactions with Cuba. However, this year they have opted for cultural inclusion and female empowerment,” she noted.
César stressed that the Miss Universe organization maintains a policy of not carrying out transactions with the Cuban Government, dealing exclusively with democratic governments. “That is why it was decided that Cuba participate in Miss Universe, but from Miami,” he added.
57 years absent
Since the beginning of the Cuban regime in 1959, Cuba stopped participating in Miss Universe due to ideological differences. Although there were attempts to maintain a presence with events such as Miss Cuba Libre in Miami, these did not last due to tensions between Cuba and the United States.
Venezuelan César, with more than two decades of experience in the beauty pageant industry, explained that Miami was selected as the venue for this pageant because it is the main center of the Cuban diaspora. “Cubans have arrived here by raft, boat or with visas,” he explained.
20 finalists
Out of a thousand applicants in Miami, more than half were preselected. Finally, twenty finalists will compete in September for the Miss Cuba crown. Most of the participants were born in Cuba and their arrival in the United States symbolizes a search for freedom and democracy, a message that the winner will take to Mexico.
César emphasized the inclusive vision of Miss Universe, which this year will also feature a 60-year-old Miss Argentina. And a Miss Colombia married with a daughter. The current Miss Universe, Sheynnis Palacios, the first Nicaraguan to win the title, resides in New York attending to her international commitments and without a return date to Nicaragua, where the Miss Nicaragua team faces political difficulties.
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