This Saturday, Nov. 16, the world will turn its attention to the 73rd Miss Universe pageant, held at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Since its founding in 1952, the event has evolved from a simple swimsuit competition into a global platform that now celebrates diversity and inclusion.
This year, a record 125 contestants from around the world will compete for the coveted crown. One of them will be Jennifer Colón, from Orocovis.
"The impact Miss Universe has on the country's culture is inspiration for its people, inspiration to dare to be their true selves, to go after their dreams and to feel proud of the country they come from. It is a source of hope," said Adela Aróstegui Savedra, Miss Teenager Internacional Puerto Rico 2017.
Miss Universe influences Puerto Rican culture by spreading the idea that dreams come true, inspiring women and leading many to identify with what the platform represents today, said Gabriel Bernier Rodríguez, who manages Boricua Universal, an Instagram account focused on coverage of Miss Universe Puerto Rico.
"A year and a half ago she said she was going to compete, and today she is doing it. Who would have told her that after 15 years she could compete again," added the pageant analyst, referring to the fact that Miss Universe Puerto Rico, Jennifer Colón, returned to compete this year after reaching the finals in 2015, made possible by the elimination of the age limit for participation in the pageant.
"This shows that dreams come true no matter how much time passes," Bernier Rodríguez said.
He also mentioned that on his social media accounts he receives numerous comments from mothers who identify with the Puerto Rican representative, who is herself a mother of two girls and a boy.
Although the platform today inspires many women and makes them feel represented, a few years ago the message it conveyed was different.
Initially, the pageant required contestants to meet height and age limits, and participants were expected to conform to a specific beauty prototype.
This made Miss Universe seem unattainable and led Puerto Rican women to feel they had to follow a stereotype based on what they consumed in the media, said pageant analyst Bernier Rodríguez.
For her part, Alexandra Rivera Berríos, a former Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2022 candidate, said that before her participation in the pageant, "I was boxed into a stereotype of what I understood beauty to be."
Through the changes made to the competition, however, she came to understand that beauty comes in different forms and began to "embrace diversity."
The inclusion of trans women, mothers, and the recent elimination of height and age limits in recent years have helped eradicate beauty stereotypes, allowing more women to feel represented, Bernier Rodríguez and Aróstegui Savedra agreed.
Aróstegui Savedra also noted that these changes respond to current social movements and, in turn, generate shifts in the country's culture, especially in sectors that resist change.
"In Puerto Rico there are still people who think in a more traditional way, especially when it comes to ideals of beauty and femininity. This resistance is tied to a culture that has historically viewed young, thin, childless women as the accepted model of beauty. Although social and cultural transformations can be slow, the changes at Miss Universe are helping to challenge and shift these standards, showing that women can be beautiful and successful at every stage of life," added the former Miss Teenager International Puerto Rico.
A pageant, a family gathering
For Bernier Rodríguez, Miss Universe has become another "sport" for Puerto Ricans. Beyond generating and transforming a beauty culture, it brings a people together in support of their candidate.
"This Saturday we'll gather as a family in my grandmother's carport to watch the competition. We've been doing it since 2018," said Bernier Rodríguez, who has followed the pageant from a very young age.
"I have always loved watching the Miss Universe competitions with my family and friends, whether at my home or at someone close to me," the former queen added.
This Saturday, Nov. 16, the Miss Universe final will air on Wapa. Places such as MarketPlace, Distrito T-Mobile and the public plaza in Orocovis will have screens so Puerto Ricans can gather to watch the pageant's final.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
