Maritza Sayalero

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Maritza Sayalero (born Maritza Sayalero Fernández on February 16, 1961 in Caracas) was a Miss Venezuela in 1979 and became that country's first Miss Universe that same year. She is married to Mexican tennis player Raúl Ramírez with whom she has lived in Mexico since 1981.

1 1979 Miss Universe Pageant
2 Legacy
3 Life after 1979-80
4 External links

[edit] 1979 Miss Universe Pageant

The Miss Universe pageant and awards ceremony was held in Perth, Australia on July 19th.

The judges were:

Julio Iglesias - singer
Rossana Podestà - Italian actress
Don Galloway - American actor
Constance Towers - American singer/actress
Yves Cornassiere
Anne Marie Pohtamo - Miss Universe 1975
Lana Cantrell - Australian singer
Robin Moore - author/actor
Ita Buttrose - Australian journalist/magazine editor
Tony Martin - singer/actor
Apasra Hongsakula - Miss Universe 1965

The ceremony is also remembered also for the collapse of the stage set, when several contestants and photographers fell into a hole after the set was subjected to several times its design weight when paparazzi crowded the event.

[edit] Legacy

Her victory began a national interest in beauty that has resulted in the Miss Venezuela pageant becoming the most competitive and legendary national contest in the world.

Her name has become synonymous with beauty among Spanish language speakers, not only in Venezuela. In the 1980s, many girls were named Maritza, especially if the family name was the not uncommon Fernandez.

At least one ship was named in her honour, Maritza Sayalero.

[edit] Life after 1979-80

Marytza Sayalero is married to Mexican tennis player Raúl Ramírez. She now lives in Ensenada, Baja California where for years she owned a boutique where she sold her own designs. The couple has three children: Rebecca (born 1982), Raúl (born 1984) and Daniel Francisco (1989).