Miss Venezuela

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The Miss Venezuela contest is the national beauty pageant of Venezuela and has been held since 1952. The combination of the intense competition to enter the pageant, the comprehensive training required of all contestants and winners, and its unparalleled record at winning international contests has made Miss Venezuela the world's most successful national beauty title. It is responsible for selecting the country's representatives to the Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International pageants (amongst others).

Under the direction of Osmel Sousa, Venezuela has accumulated more international titles than any other country, including four Miss Universe, five Miss World, and five Miss International winners. Alexandra Braun Waldeck, who won Venezuela's first Miss Earth title in 2005 (arguably the third-ranking member of the highest tier of international contests) was first runner-up at the Miss Venezuela pageant, and although she was not officially sent by the Organizacion Miss Venezuela her victory is considered in part due to its training. Throughout the 1990s, the emergence of Miss India as a strong contender has posed a serious challenge to Venezuela's long string of wins; other contestants that have traditionally challenged Miss Venezuela predominance in international pageants are Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Dominican Republic. The pageant is broadcast live across Latin America by Venevision, with edited versions to the United States and Mexico on Univision network. Traditionally the pageant lasts about four hours and is held in late September, but it is actually preceded by two or three months of preliminary events, including the award of corporate prizes.

Venezuela, a highly multiracial and diverse country, is the world's largest consumer of cosmetics on a per-capita basis, the culture of beauty runs deep as thousands of entrants apply for the pageant each year. Some young women would try for up to five or six years consecutively trying to get one of the 26 to 32 titles that will enable them to compete in the final pageant. Venezuela's 23 states, capital, and two regions of Zulia state are always represented; some years other regions of the country will have representatives in the pageant. Although some major states and regions such as Zulia, Tachira, and Carabobo will hold their own preliminaries, many of the states are assigned by geographical proximity or even random drawing to the final contestants. There is therefore considerably less emphasis on state titles than there is in other major pageants such as Miss USA, although certain areas such as Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Distrito Capital and Carabobo always seem to fare well. In 2006, a Venezuelan-American filmmaker Patrick Atanasije Pineda obtained the rights to document every detail of the pageant, including its process and contestants.

Contents 1 Getting to the pageant 2 State titles 2.1 Official states (23) 2.2 Official regions (3) 2.2.1 Ranking of the regions: 3 Training 4 Notable winners 5 Miss Venezuela and other countries 6 Further notes of interest 7 Order of succession 8 Trivia 9 "Miss Venezuela" Winners 10 Venezuelan representatives to International pageants 11 External links 12 See Also

[edit] Getting to the pageant

A would-be contestant joins the pageant at either the local level, if a regional contest is held in her state, or goes directly to the pageant's headquarters in Caracas. Regional contests generally select three to six candidates (except for the massive Miss Centroccidental pageant, which covers six to seven midwestern states) who will likely represent the state or one nearby: i.e. a candidate who is a finalist for Miss Carabobo will usually expect to represent Carabobo or a neighboring state such as Yaracuy in the final pageant. However, Osmel Sousa, president of the pageant, always sits on the selection panel regardless if it is a final regional contest or the direct "auditions", and it is not uncommon for him to overturn the entire regional results in favor of his own choices. For example, none of the candidates in 2004 for Vargas state were deemed fit for competition, so a candidate from Caracas was appointed Miss Vargas. Winners therefore have often never visited the state they represent. All this is done in accordance with the philosophy that the "strongest survive." In this fashion, rather than waste five or six candidates from a strong area of the country such as Zulia in a system wherein only one can represent the state, the pageant distributes "spare states" to them so all have an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities in the final night. Traditionally, strong candidates have been pulled from Caracas, Zulia and Carabobo states, although they can come from all over the country; e.g. in 2003 the Miss Centroccidental pageant sent seven candidates to the pageant, while in 2005 only one proceeded to the finals.

There is never any guarantee that a contestant will make it all the way to the final night, as the pageant reserves the right to pull out any candidate that is deemed not to be performing up to standard. However, such decisions are usually made before the class is convened and the various state sashes are handed out, a major ceremony each year that occurs behind-the-scenes but is eagerly awaited by those involved with the pageant. The pageant keeps a "reserve" pool of willing candidates always available to replace any last minute rejected contestant. Many aspirants will also make it into the final 50 or 60, only to be eliminated from the final rost of 26-32 contestants. Such eliminations have no real bearing on how well the contestant will do in the future. Mariangel Ruiz, Miss Venezuela 2002, did not place into the final 120 in 1998; Barbara Clara, second runner-up in 2004, had previously tried for the pageant three times before winning a title at the last minute in 2004. In the 2005 edition, for example, several candidates including Marianne Puglia (Aragua) and Johanna Penaloza (Vargas) were well known "eliminations" from 2002 and 2003.

Reentry into the final pageant is rare, although the rules are arbitrary and not as restrictive as those of Miss Colombia or as liberal as Miss Puerto Rico Universe. Only one contestant has ever participated in the official Miss Venezuela pageant twice: Maria Fernanda Leon, who represented Guarico in 1999 and Portuguesa in 2002. Aida Yespica competed in Miss Venezuela World 2001 but withdrew before being assigned a state for the final pageant her year; she returned in Miss Venezuela 2002 for Amazonas state. The majority of the contestants in 2000 and 2001 competed in both the Miss Venezuela World and Miss Venezuela contests of their respective years; they were assigned numbers for the Miss World preliminary, with the most desirable contestants being allowed to proceed to the final Miss Venezuela pageant with state titles. The ten contestants for the "emergency" Miss R.B. Venezuela (Miss Venezuela for Miss Universe 2000) and the six for Miss Venezuela Mundo 2006 (Miss Venezuela for Miss World 2006) were "recycled" from previous years.

[edit] State titles

There is an unofficial formula to determining the states and regions represented in Venezuela. The base number of contestants over the last decade has been 26, which can be increased by Venevision's management.

[edit] Official states (23)

Amazonas Anzoategui * Apure Aragua * Barinas ** Bolivar * Carabobo ** Cojedes

Delta Amacuro Falcon ** Guarico Lara ** Mérida ** Miranda Monagas * Nueva Esparta *

Portuguesa ** Sucre * Tachira * Trujillo ** Vargas * Yaracuy ** Zulia *

  * Denotes that state has a preliminary pageant – which may or may not still be held – as of 2005 only Tachira, Zulia, Lara, Aragua and Sucre held preliminaries.

• * Denotes that state has been represented through the Miss Centroccidental preliminary. Additionally, three states, Carabobo, Falcon and Merida hold their own individual pageants.

[edit] Official regions (3)

• Costa Oriental de Lago (East lake coast (Maracaibo Lake))
• Distrito Capital (Capital District)
• Peninsula Goajira (Goajira peninsule)

Costa Oriental and Peninsula Goajira are regions of Zulia state and are titles handed out at the Miss Zulia preliminary. As of 2003 Costa Oriental has its own preliminary.

Together, these 26 regions form the "base" of the Miss Venezuela contest. However, at times other regions and territories have been represented. If there are 27 sashes, the 27th candidate is Miss Dependencias Federales (representing the Venezuelan islands). If there are 28 sashes, either Canaima (a national park in Bolivar state) or Peninsula de Paraguana (a region of Falcon state) is represented. In 2003, additional titles of Peninsula de Araya (a region of Sucre state) and Roraima (a national park in Bolivar state) were created to bring the pageant to its highest ever number of contestants: 32. In the mid-1990s, the districts of Municipio Libertador and Municipio San Francisco were also represented, the last one only in 1997 and 1998. Also, only in 2003, Guayana Esequiba (Part of Guyana that historically Venezuela claims of its own) was represented. Vargas state, the most recent modification in Venezuela's map (1999) was always present in the pageant, but with other names: Departamento Vargas (until 1986) Municipio Vargas (1987 to 1997) Territorio Federal Vargas(1998) and Vargas State since 1999.

[edit] Ranking of the regions:

1. Guárico has won the most titles with 8 winnings (1963,1966,1976,1978,1982,1985,2004,2006; the candidate who won in 1976 resigned, so Nueva Esparta became Miss Venezuela).
2. Capital District is second, with 7 crowns (1956,1957,1960,1961,1965,1968 and 2001; the first 5 of them were won as "Federal District" except 1961, won as "Miss Caracas". These have been the only 2 times that a state or region had consecutive winnings).
3. Miranda has the third place of more winnings with 5 (1955, 1964, 1981, 1988 and 1999).
4. There is a triple tie in the fourth place with 4 crowns each: Nueva Esparta (1972,1975,1976 and 1987; curiously, it had 3 second places in a row, from 1995 to 1997 and other in 1999) Carabobo (1953, 1970, 1973 and 1996) and Vargas, with all its victories when it was called "Department" (1967,1969,1977,1979).

With 3 victories: Aragua (1969, who resigned so miss Vargas Department became the new winner; 1992,2002) and Lara (1980,1989,2003). With 2 titles: Sucre (1958,2005) Apure(1993,2000) Zulia(1974,1984) and Bolivar (1952,1990)

Finally, just with one victory each, is Anzoátegui(1962) Monagas(1971) Portuguesa (1983) Trujillo(1986) Amazonas(1991) Costa Oriental (1994, though many people think this victory belongs also to Zulia State) Yaracuy (1995) Táchira (1997) and Delta Amacuro (1998).

Interestingly, representatives of Miranda state who won any of the three Miss Venezuela titles have won crowns for Miss Universe (1981), Miss World (1955 and 1984) and Miss International (1997). The rest of Venezuela's major international titleholders represented the following states or department during their Miss Venezuela competition (indicates year of international victory): Miss Universe: Vargas Department (1979), Trujillo (1986) and Yaracuy (1996); Miss World: Aragua (1981), Zulia (1991) and Nueva Esparta (1995); and Miss International: Monagas (1985), Costa Oriental (2000), Carabobo (2003) and Barinas (2006). Miss Earth 2005, Alexandra Braun Waldeck competed in Miss Venezuela 2005 as Miss Nueva Esparta but was sent to the Miss Earth pageant by Sambil Models not Miss Venezuela.

[edit] Training

Once a candidate is shortlisted for the pageant, she begins an intensive training program which can last for half a year. She receives coaching in speech, physical fitness, make-up, modelling, and all the other skills required for the competition. The Miss Venezuela also plastic surgery is optional some refer to padding, and cosmetic dentists, a source of unending criticism from many quarters, in particular rival Latin American pageants. As the Miss Venezuela broadcast lasts up to four hours long, with countless musical numbers and dances, rehearsals alone require weeks of preparation on the part of the contestants. Furthermore, contestants must devote countless hours to official photoshoots (lately done by Ivan Dumont, after several years by Daniel Alonso) and also to fittings by fashion designers. The evening gowns worn by candidates are a major source of politicking by Venezuela's domestic fashion houses, with top designers such as Mayela Camacho, Ángel Sanchez, Durant & Diego, and Jose Maria Almeida selecting candidates that they will dress for the final night, while other, newer designers compete to present designs for the pageant. As a general rule the evening gowns are always custom-designed for each of the candidates on the final night, and always by a Venezuelan designer. By tradition, Nidal Nouaihed dresses the representatives of his home state of Zulia (Miss Costa Oriental, Miss Peninsula Goajira, Miss Zulia); Ángel Sanchez designs the gown for Miss Trujillo; Jose Maria Almeida designs the dress for Miss Merida and the national costume for Miss Venezuela to Miss Universe. Only in 1999, 26 different designers took part of the evening gown competition, one candidate for each one. Also, in 2006, for the first time ever, the designers appeared on stage with the delegates, showing their fabulous creations.

The winners chosen to represent Venezuela in the major international pageants are accorded unparalleled fame and opportunities in the country and throughout Latin America, although they will further undergo continuous preparation to compete in those pageants. All these efforts, funded by corporate sponsors like Pepsi Cola, Palmolive, Colgate, Ebel and Lux -attracted to the pageant by ratings at times as high as 80% ratings- have been rewarded by an impressive record particularly at the Miss Universe contest. Between 1983 and 2003, Miss Venezuela placed into the semifinals each consecutive year, and between 1991 and 2003 into the final six. Venezuela has also twice held the two top international beauty crowns simultaneously: in 1981-1982 with Irene Saez (Miss Universe) and Pilin Leon (Miss World), and again in 1995-1996 with Alicia Machado (Miss Universe) and Jacqueline Aguilera (Miss World). This unmatched streak was ended in 2004 when Ana Karina Añez was eliminated from the finals held in Quito, Ecuador. It is said that Osmel Sousa will retire from his two decades of directing the pageant after seeing a Venezuelan crown another Venezuelan as Miss Universe- in a pageant where no country has ever won on consecutive years. In total, Venezuela has won over seventy international crowns under the guidance of the pageant, and the country's representatives never fail to bring back at least one international title each year.

[edit] Notable winners

Each "class" of Miss Venezuela is carefully composed, based on a general look or trend that the organizers are aiming for. Some have a high proportion of blondes (e.g. the 2005 class had 20 blondes versus 8 brunette candidates), while some a high mixture of mestizos and darker-skinned candidates. A very strong candidate may be pushed back a year or even two or three so that she can fully develop her potential. Nevertheless, there are "stronger" and "weaker" years, often determined by the presence of "filler" candidates that the press incessantly isolates. At the end, all that is needed is a handful of finalists to send to the international competitions to ultimately determine a good or a bad year, and the overall "quality" of the class often has no bearing on the final international outcome.

Winning the pageant is by no means a requisite for later success, which helps explain its intense popularity. Simply competing is enough to get a contestant noticed and launch her on a successful television or print career. At least a dozen well sought models come out of the pageant. Virtually all of Venezuela's female top models and television personalities are alumni of the pageant, including Maite Delgado (who competed in 1986 against future Miss Universe Bárbara Palacios, Alexandra Braun (Miss Earth 2005) and Dominika van Santen (Top Model of the World 2005). In fact, only Gaby Espino and several other entertainment figures stand out as never having competed in the pageant. Many of today's top young models, such as Onelises Brochero, Dayana Colmenares and Wendy Medina, have repeatedly been rejected by Miss Venezuela; on the other hand, Goizeder Azua and Desiree Pallota, who have variously been considered the top domestic supermodels in the country, joined the pageant after establishing their careers.

Nowadays, familiar faces on Spanish TV networks around the world include Catherine Fulop, Carolina Perpetuo, Norkys Batista, Daniela Kosán, Viviana Gibelli, Marjorie de Sousa, Chiquinquirá Delgado and Natalia Streignard. Two of the Latin world's most famous personalities, supermodel Patricia Velásquez and singer/actress Maria Conchita Alonso, also participated, in 1989 and 1975, respectively. Miss Universe 1981, Irene Saez, is perhaps most famous as the beauty queen who became mayor of part of metropolitan Caracas, governor, and high-profile presidential candidate in 1998. Interestingly, Miss Venezuela 1986, Bárbara Palacios, won the Miss Universe title just ahead of Miss USA Christy Fitchner, who in turn won Miss USA a few points ahead of Miss Ohio 1986, Halle Berry.

Many other national directors have often expressed their envy for the Miss Venezuela system, and for the established culture which promotes participation in pageants. Japanese model mogul Ines Ligron, appointed as Director of Miss Universe Japan in 1998 by Donald Trump, recently cited Venezuela as one country which holds an automatic advantage in recruitment: "Their culture teaches them from an early start to speak out, to be glamorous, and to turn heads." The trend looks unlikely to abate even if Venezuelans tire of the pageant itself. Jeff Lee, a former media designer for ex-Miss Venezuela and rising soap actress Monica Spear, writes that "There is a system built in place that makes participating in the pageant worthwhile, regardless of whether or not Venezuela's culture of beauty intensifies or subsides. Venezuela's national pageant operates as a subsidiary of the Grupo Cisneros. Since Gustavo Cisneros made a tremendous push to make his television stations Venevision and Univision the leading producer of Latin American telenovelas, the pageant has become a 'training ground' for women interested in acting and other television roles. It makes economic sense: the women who go into the beauty academy each year emerge with extensive dancing, speaking, and performing experience from the most popular TV program in Venezuela. They're trained in everything, including handling sustained media coverage which can go for months for the contestants who parlay Miss Venezuela into the international pageants. When alumni go to audition for future roles in the media, executives have already had a preview of how they perform in the public spotlight, and they're picking from women who are already known to the general public. The recruitment for television roles is basically performed by the pageant. You don't need to win Miss Universe to land roles as hostesses and soap actresses, as Daniela Kosan, Catherine Fullop, Maite Delgado Carolina Perpetuo and Marjorie de Sousa prove, and aspirants understand that simply making it onstage for the final night can be a ticket to fame."

[edit] Miss Venezuela and other countries

Some unsuccessful delegates in the pageant have used the Miss Venezuela training to catapult in other countries. Natascha Börger became the first Venezuelan to switch countries. She had placed 14th in Miss Venezuela 2000 before moving to Germany, where she won the Miss Deutschland pageant easily. At the Miss Universe 2002 pageant she gave a formidable performance, placing sixth behind Miss Venezuela 2002, Cynthia Lander by only a fraction of a point. Natascha has since gone on to become one of the most decorated beauty queens in history, sweeping numerous contests and placing in virtually every competition she has entered. The prospect of former contestants transferring their schooling to other countries seemed to become a reality when rumors flew that Astrid Carati, who had placed four spots ahead of Natascha in 2000, would go to Dominican Republic to contest that nation's crown. Though ultimately she did not compete in that country (where she would have gone up against future Miss Universe Amelia Vega), the rumors were enough to spur the pageant to allow former contestants (not winners) to try again. The policy was revoked after an experimental year.

In 2005, Francys Barraza Sudnicka, who represented Trujillo in Miss Venezuela 2003 and finished in the top ten, was a major favorite to win the Miss Poland title. She was too old to go to Miss World 2005 (the winner of Miss Poland is assigned to Miss World, the first runner-up to Miss Universe) and therefore considered highly likely to become Miss Poland Universe, but only placed into the semifinals after being knocked out by an interview question. In November 2005, it was announced that Francys has been appointed to the title of Miss Poland Universe, making her the country's official representative to Miss Universe 2006 and the second alumnus of the Miss Venezuela pageant to capture a foreign Miss Universe title.

Delegates with Italian heritage have also taken advantage from their schooling. There is a strong relationship between doing well in Miss Venezuela and the Miss Italia nel Mondo (Miss Italy in the World) pageant: all three Venezuelans who have won the latter placed in the final five of Miss Venezuela: Barbara Clara (Miss Amazonas 2004) Valentina Patruno (Miss Miranda 2003) and Silvana Santaella (Miss Península de Paraguaná 2003) Although in this case, they worn sashes representing Venezuela except Patruno, who wore USA sash. Vanessa Fanesi (Miss Yaracuy 2002) was 1st. runner-up in that contest.

It should be noted that the Miss Venezuela school of beauty achieved such fame in the late 1990s that numerous countries would petition to have their candidates trained by Osmel Sousa and the pageant's team. Among these countries were Colombia, Philippines, and Brazil. In 2003, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic received training in the school before going on to win the Miss Universe pageant; Mariangel Ruiz, Miss Venezuela 2002 placed second behind her. The result was a ban from Venevision executives on the training of any foreign contestants. Nevertheless, designers of the Miss Venezuela pageant have provided support to other countries, including the new Miss Latvia Universe pageant which is run by Venezuelans (and Latvia's very first entry in the pageant went on to become a top 10 finalist).

In recent years the pageant organization has begun to "import" expatriates who have been working as international models. Miami alone has produced Valentina Patruno (Miss World Venezuela 2003), Andrea Gomez (Miss International Venezuela 2004), Monica Spear (Miss Venezuela 2004), and Ileana Jimenez (Miss Portuguesa 2005).

[edit] Further notes of interest

Between 2000 and 2002, the Miss Venezuela pageant was split into two contests: the Miss World Venezuela pageant, to elect the representative to Miss World, from which a reduced group of contestants would go on to compete in Miss Venezuela to go to the Miss Universe contest. In 2002, the organization merged the Miss World Venezuela contest with the Gala de Belleza, making the final "state cut" before the election of the Miss World representative. The two pageants were rejoined in 2003.

The most coveted symbol of the pageant, its crown, is a specially designed masterpiece by engineer George Wittels. It is changed about every five years, and is currently a heavy piece made out of white gold, platinum, silver, Austrian crystals and pearls. Since 2000 Miss World Venezuela carries a crown inlaid with turquoise. Winners retain their sash but are not allowed to keep the costly crowns which are passed from year to year and held in the headquarters at La Quinta Miss Venezuela.

The great pride the organization carries in its winners is never in dispute, although there remains, according to popular legend, regret for only one "stolen" crown: Carolina Izsak, Miss Venezuela 1991, considered by some the greatest winner produced. She was considered all but assured the Miss Universe 1992 crown when a mediocre interview score dropped her out of the final three. Interestingly, Michelle McLean of Namibia won the title that year, but was only a finalist several months before at Miss World 1991 which was won by Ninibeth Leal, who in turn lost the Miss Venezuela 1991 title to Carolina.

The thousands of Venezuelan pageants fans agree that the country has had a lot of "stolen crowns" lately in the Miss Universe, such as Milka Chulina (1993) Minorka Mercado (1994) Marena Bencomo (1997) and Veruzka Ramírez (1998).

[edit] Order of succession

There has been considerable controversy in a number of major national pageants as to how to direct their contestants to Miss Universe, Miss World, and the other international contests. The reason for this issue is the dispute between the international pageants, who generally desire that the winner of a national contest be sent. Although many nations such as Italy and Germany have completely separate pageants for Miss Universe and Miss World, in the case of Miss Venezuela the national pageant organization must field candidates to almost all of the major world contests.

As of 2003, when the current system was put into place, the winners of the Miss Venezuela title (who goes to Miss Universe) and Miss World Venezuela are equal in rank. Nevertheless, the representative to Miss Universe is still announced last, and she is still considered the holder of the one single Miss Venezuela title. Nowadays, the final five finalists are announced during the telecast, followed by the elimination of the second and first runner-ups, then Miss Venezuela to Miss International, Miss Venezuela to Miss World, and Miss Venezuela to Miss Universe.

While this system is similar to that of Mexico and India, in Mexico the first runner-up is known as the "substitute" and in the order of succession automatically fills into any title above her that is emptied. For example, if "Nuestra Belleza Mexico Mundo" (Miss Mexico to Miss World) is unable to fulfill her duties, the first runner-up assumes her title. While the Miss Universe representative is similarly considered the "greater of the two equals", if her position is vacated, the first runner-up ascends to her crown, instead of Miss Mexico-World becoming Miss Mexico-Universe and the first runner-up going to Miss World. In India, however, the succession does follow the other option: the top three titles go Earth->World->Universe in rising order of importance (although they are also emphasized as "equals") and when Miss India World was dethroned in 2004, Miss India Earth replaced her, and the first runner-up was appointed to go to Miss Earth.

In Venezuela, neither policy of succession is explicitly laid down. Osmel Sousa makes the final decisions as to who is appointed when a vacancy arises; i.e. in 2003, there were significant rumors that Mariangel Ruiz might be replaced by Amara Barroeta, the first runner-up, to Miss Universe (and not Goizeder Azua, who was Miss World Venezuela). In fact, in 2003, the Miss International Pageant was concurrent with Miss Venezuela, meaning that it would be impossible to send a "fresh" contestant, and Osmel actually opted not to send Amara, who should have gone (as the first runner-up then was almost always automatically titled Miss Venezuela International) and instead replaced her with Goizeder Azua, who won Miss International 2003. Due to scheduling conflicts between Miss International and Miss Venezuela, a similar situation occurred in 2002 when Cynthia Lander, Miss Venezuela (Universe), gave up her crown to the next Miss Venezuela and immediately boarded a flight for Japan to participate in Miss International. The reasoning was that her first runner-up had already participated the year before, and it would have been ridiculous to crown a Miss Venezuela (International) and immediately send her on a plane to her contest with no specific preparation whatsoever. Thus, Miss Venezuela International now competes in the year after her coronation.

Ironically, the only time in the "modern" pageant that the famous "if the winner should not fulfill her duties, the first runner-up will take over" statement was made for Miss Venezuela was in 1999. The decision was made to send whoever won to Miss World first, and then to Miss Universe if she did not win. This policy was adopted after the consecutive eliminations of Cristina Dieckmann and Veronica Schneider in 1997 and 1998, both of whom were considered amongst the strongest Miss World Venezuelas in history and whose eliminations were seen by the organization as a signal that it needed to send its winner to Miss World. Therefore, in 1999, there were no Miss World Venezuela or Miss Venezuela International titles, only an official Miss Venezuela, who was Martina Thorogood. Her first runner-up, Norkys Batista, was told that she would become Miss Venezuela to Miss Universe only if Martina won the Miss World crown outright. Martina came in second at Miss World and she was expected continue on to Miss Universe 2000 the next year. However, due to a number of major controversies, she was barred from Miss Universe 2000 on the grounds that as the first runner-up to Miss World, she was contracted to the organization and would have to succeed to that title if Yukta Mookhey, the winner that year, did not complete her reign. Osmel also declared that Miss Universe demanded a winner from Venezuela, thereby barring Norkys Batista from succeeding to the title. The only option for Norkys to go was for Martina to renounce the Miss Venezuela title, which neither she nor the organization was willing to do. Therefore, a new emergency (and temporary pageant) was held, called Miss Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which was conducted among ten former contestants (some semifinalists and other no finalists) from the previous five years. The winner, Claudia Moreno, had placed as seventh in the semifinals behind Martina and Norkys in Miss Venezuela 1999, and she ended up performing excellently and becoming first runner-up to Miss Universe 2000. In years to come, 2002's first runner-up Amara Barroeta would join Norkys Batista as one of several runners-ups to be "denied" the chance to compete at a "big three" pageant.

In the USA and many other countries, an occasion when the order of succession comes into play is when the reigning titleholder wins her international contest, e.g. in 1997 when Brooke Mahealani Lee became Miss Universe and her first runner-up Brandi Sherwood became Miss USA. Interestingly, however, Venezuela does not have this official provision, even when the two "equal" winners both win Miss Universe and Miss World. In 1981, Miriam Quintana was considered somewhat unofficially as the serving Miss Venezuela, because both Irene Saez and Pilin Leon had won their respective pageants. However, in 1995-1996, when Alicia Machado took the Miss Universe title and Jacqueline Aguilera the Miss World crown, no new "Miss Venezuela" was appointed to hold the crown while they reigned internationally, though some newspapers said that Carla Steinkopf, Miss International Venezuela 1995, would give the crown to the 1996 winner.

[edit] Trivia

• Although the Miss Venezuela pageant has often been criticized for being a "playground of the rich Carabobo state's "elite" families, it actually pays for virtually all the training expenses a candidate requires, regardless of her background.
• Eleidy Aparicio, Miss Venezuela-International 2003, came from a humble background, was first dropped from the contest during the television vote-off that occurred in the 2003 edition, only to be "rescued" in the last preliminary vote. Not at all a favorite to even enter the semifinals, her warm personality and eloquence won her the third place in the pageant, beating major favorites Silvana Santaella and Mercedes Pulido.
• Veruska Ramirez, Miss Venezuela 1997 (and first runner-up to Miss Universe 1998), remains the ultimate Cinderella of the pageant, she was abandoned by her father and raised in foster homes, she was a waitress of little means in the western state of Tachira
• Very few black women have ever participated in the pageant, but when they do, they always sweep the contest: Ana María Amorer (third, 1994) Carolina Indriago (winner, 1998); Angélica Guvernez (fourth, 1998); Dayra Lambis (fifth, 1998); Aineta Stephens (fourth, 2000); and Stephanie Thomas (fourth, 2004); Susan Carizzo (second 2005), and Jictzad Vina (first 2005).
• The ideal measurements for a contestant in Miss Venezuela are 90-60-90. Officially a minimum height of 1.70m is required, but winners are most often at least 1.75m and actually average 1.80m in height.
• Maria Andreina Abrahamz (Miss Vargas 2002) was appointed Miss Vargas in 1998, but withdrew due to illness. She represented the state 22 years after her half-sister, famous actress Hilda Abrahamz, wore the title to become Miss World Venezuela 1980.
• At its height Miss Venezuela commissioned a wardrobe worth up to half a million US dollars for the Miss Universe contest. In 2000, Claudia Moreno carried several hundred articles of clothing, two dozen pairs of shoes, a dozen pairs of swimsuits, four full-length evening gowns, a handmade national costume, and a dozen purses to Cyprus for the pageant. All of the pieces were custom-made by top Venezuelan designers as well as Carolina Herrera and Escada.
• Between 1977 and 1984, there were intermittent backstage revolts against the results of the pageant. Among the most spectacular moments was in 1977 when Vilma Goliz, Miss Falcon, tore off her sash as first runner-up and stormed off the stage.
• Vanessa Peretti, Miss Sucre 2006, nearly became the first deaf mute winner of the pageant (and thus contestant at the Miss Universe contest). She placed third, winning the Miss Venezuela International crown, while reportedly delivering such an emotive performance in her preliminary interview that the jury was moved to tears.

Traditionally, the three crowns conferred by the pageant (Universe, World, International) have passed sequentially from each titleholder to the next. In their absence, either Osmel Sousa as president of the pageant or a former winner of the world title has performed the honor--i.e. in the years when the reigning Miss Venezuela to Miss World was unavailable to crown her successor, Jacqueline Aguilera (Venezuela's Miss World 1995) would perform the honors. Technically, in 2000 the tradition was broken (Martina Thorogood crowned Vanessa Cardenas as Miss World Venezuela, and placed the sash to Miss Universe on Eva Ekvall). However, in 2006 for the first time two women held a national title simultaneously: Federica Guzman was crowned Miss World Venezuela 2006 in an emergency pageant in July 2006 by Osmel Sousa, but the previous year's winner Susan Carrizo passed the crown and sash to Claudia Suarez in the main national pageant in September 2006. Ceremonially speaking, at least, Carrizo held her title for the whole calendar year, even though Guzman was crowned near the end of her reign.

[edit] "Miss Venezuela" Winners

Year	Winner	State	Venue
1952	Sofía Silva Inserry	Bolívar	Valle Arriba Golf Club, Caracas
1953-54	Gisela Bolaños Scarton	Carabobo	Valle Arriba Golf Club, Caracas
1955	Carmen Susana Duijm Zubillaga	Miranda	Hotel Tamanaco, Caracas
1956	Blanca "Blanquita" Heredia Osío	Distrito Federal	Hotel Tamanaco, Caracas
1957	Consuelo Leticia Nouel Gómez	Distrito Federal	Hotel Tamanaco, Caracas
1958-59	Ida Margarita Pieri	Sucre	Hotel Ávila, Caracas
1960	Gladys "Laly" Ascanio Arredondo	Distrito Federal	Hotel Tamanaco, Caracas
1961	Anasaria "Ana" Griselda Vegas Albornoz	Caracas	Hotel Tamanaco, Caracas
1962	Olga "Olguita" Antonetti Núñez	Anzoátegui	Teatro París, Caracas
1963	Irene Amelia Morales Machado	Guárico	Teatro París, Caracas
1964	Mercedes Revenga De La Rosa	Miranda	Teatro París, Caracas
1965	María Auxiliadora De Las Casas Mc. Gill	Distrito Federal	Teatro del Círculo Militar, Caracas
1966	Magaly Beatriz Castro Egui	Guárico	Teatro del Este, Caracas
1967	Mariela Pérez Branger	Departamento Vargas	Teatro de la Escuela Militar, Caracas
1968	Peggy Kopp Arenas	Distrito Federal	Teatro de Altamira, Caracas
1969	María José de las Mercedes Yellici Sánchez (resigned)	Aragua	Teatro París, Caracas
	Marzia Rita Gisela Piazza Suprani	Departamento Vargas
1970	Bella Mercedes La Rosa De La Rosa	Carabobo	Teatro Nacional de Venezuela, Caracas
1971	Jeanette Amelia de la Coromoto Donzella Sánchez	Monagas	Teatro Nacional de Venezuela, Caracas
1972	María Antonieta Cámpoli Schachio	Nueva Esparta	Teatro París, Caracas
1973	Ana Paola Desirée Facchinei Rolando	Carabobo	Club de Sub-Oficiales, Caracas
1974	Neyla Chiquinquirá Moronta Sangronis	Zulia	Club de Sub-Oficiales, Caracas
1975	Maritza Pineda Montoya	Nueva Esparta	Poliedro de Caracas
1976	Elluz Coromoto Peraza González (resigned)	Guárico	Teatro París, Caracas
	Judith Josefina Castillo Uribe	Nueva Esparta
1977	Cristal del Mar Montañez Arocha	Departamento Vargas	Teatro París, Caracas
1978	Marisol Alfonzo Marcano	Guárico	Teatro del Club de Sub-Oficiales, Caracas
1979	Maritza Sayalero Fernández	Departamento Vargas	Hotel Caracas Hilton, Caracas
1980	María Xavier "Maye" Brandt Angulo	Lara	Hotel Macuto Sheraton, Caraballeda, Vargas
1981	Irene Lailín Sáez Conde	Miranda	Hotel Macuto Sheraton, Caraballeda, Vargas
1982	Ana Teresa Oropeza Villavicencio	Guárico	Hotel Macuto Sheraton, Caraballeda, Vargas
1983	Paola Laura Ruggeri Ghigo	Portuguesa	Hotel Macuto Sheraton, Caraballeda, Vargas
1984	Carmen María Montiel Ávila	Zulia	Hotel Macuto Sheraton, Caraballeda, Vargas
1985	Silvia Cristina Martínez Stapulionis	Guárico	Hotel Macuto Sheraton, Caraballeda, Vargas
1986	Bárbara Palacios Teyde	Trujillo	Teatro Municipal de Caracas, Caracas
1987	Inés María Calero Rodríguez	Nueva Esparta	Teatro Municipal de Caracas, Caracas
1988	Yajaira Cristina Vera Roldán	Miranda	Teatro Municipal de Caracas, Caracas
1989	Eva Lisa Larsdotter Ljung	Lara	Poliedro de Caracas
1990	Andreina Katarina Goetz Blohm	Bolívar	Poliedro de Caracas
1991	Carolina Eva Izsak Kemenify	Amazonas	Poliedro de Caracas
1992	Milka Yelisaba Chulina Urbanich	Aragua	Poliedro de Caracas
1993	Minorka Marisela Mercado Carrero	Apure	Sala Ríos Reyna, Complejo Cultural "Teresa Carreño", Caracas
1994	Denyse del Carmen Floreano Camargo	Costa Oriental	Sala Ríos Reyna, Complejo Cultural "Teresa Carreño", Caracas
1995	Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo	Yaracuy	Poliedro de Caracas
1996	Marena Josefina Bencomo Giménez	Carabobo	Poliedro de Caracas
1997	Veruska Tatiana Ramírez	Táchira	Poliedro de Caracas
1998	Lucbel Carolina Indriago Pinto	Delta Amacuro	Poliedro de Caracas
1999	Martina Thorogood Heemsen	Miranda	Poliedro de Caracas
2000	Eva Anna Mónica Ekvall Johnson	Apure	Poliedro de Caracas
2001	Cynthia Cristina Lander Zamora	Distrito Capital	Poliedro de Caracas
2002	Mariángel Ruiz Torrealba	Aragua	Poliedro de Caracas
2003	Ana Karina Áñez Delgado	Lara	Estudio 1, Venevisión
2004	Mónica Spear Mootz	Guárico	Poliedro de Caracas
2005	Jictzad Nacarid Viña Carreño	Sucre	Poliedro de Caracas
2006	Lydimar Carolina Jonaitis Escalona	Guárico	Poliedro de Caracas

[edit] Venezuelan representatives to International pageants

	Representatives to Miss Universe	Representatives to Miss World	Representatives to Miss International
1952	Sofia Silva Inserry
1953	Gisela Bolaños Scarton
1954	No Representative
1955	Carmen Susana Duijm Zubillaga	Carmen Susana Duijm Zubillaga
1956	Blanca Heredia Osio	Celsa Drucila Pieri
1957	Consuelo Leticia Nouel Gomez	Consuelo Leticia Nouel Gómez
1958	Ida Margarita Pieri	Ida Margarita Pieri
1959	No Representative	No Representative
1960	Mary Quiroz Delgado (appointment)	Miriam Estevez Acevedo	Gladys (Laly) Ascanio Arredondo
1961	Ana Griselda Vegas Albornoz	Bexy Romero Tosta	Gloria Lilué Chaljub
1962	Virginia Elizabeth Bailey Lázzari	Betzabeth Franco Blanco	Olga Antonetti Nuñez
1963	Irene Amelia Morales Machado	Milagros Galíndez Castillo	Norah Luisa Duarte Rojas
1964	Mercedes Revenga de la Rosa	Mercedes Hernández Nieves	Lisla Silva Negrón
1965	María Auxiliadora de las Casas McGill	Nancy Elizabeth González Aceituno	Thamara Josefina Leal
1966	Magaly Beatriz Castro Egui	Jeanette Kopp Arenas	No Pageant
1967	Mariela Pérez Branger	Irene Böttger Herrera	Cecilia Picón-Febres
1968	Peggy Kopp Arenas	María Dolores (Cherry) Nuñez Rodríguez	Jovan Navas Ravelo
1969	María José Yellici Sánchez	Marzia Rita Gisela Piazza Suprani	Cristina Keusch Pérez
1970	Bella Mercedes La Rosa de la Rosa	Tomasita Nina de Las Casas	Marzia Rita Gisela Piazza Suprani
1971	Jeanette Amelia Donzella Sánchez	Ana María Padrón Ibarranda	Sonia Zaya Ledezma Corvo
1972	María Antonieta Cámpoli Prisco	Amalia Heller Gómez	Marilyn Plessman Martínez
1973	Desirée Facchinei Rolando	Edicta de los Angeles García Oporto	Hilda Elvira Carrero García
1974	Neyla Chiquinquirá Moronta Sangronis	Alicia Rivas Serrano	Marisela Carderera Marturet
1975	Maritza Pineda Montoya	María Conchita Alonso Bustillos	Maria del Carmen Yamel Díaz Rodríguez
1976	Judith Josefina Castillo Uribe*	Maria Genoveva Rivero Giménez	Betzabeth Ayala
1977	Cristal del Mar Montañez Arocha	Jackeline van den Branden	Betty Paredes
1978	Marisol Alfonzo Marcano	Katty Patricia Tóffoli Andrade	Doris Beatriz Fueyo Moreno
1979	Maritza Sayalero Fernández	Tatiana Capote Abdel	Nilza Josefina Moronta Sangronis
1980	María Xavier (Maye) Brandt Angulo	Hilda Astrid Abrahamz Navarro	Graciela Lucía Rosanna La Rosa Guarneri
1981	Irene Lailín Sáez Conde	Carmen Josefina (Pilín) León Crespo	Miriam Quintana
1982	Ana Teresa Oropeza Villavicencio	Michelle Marie Shoda Belloso	Amaury Martínez Macero
1983	Paola Laura Ruggeri Ghigo	Carolina del Valle Cerruti Duijm	Donna Bottone Tiranti
1984	Carmen María Montiel Avila	Astrid Carolina Herrera Irazábal	Miriam Leyderman Eppel
1985	Silvia Cristina Martínez Stapulionis	Ruddy Rosario Rodríguez de Lucía	Nina Sicilia
1986	Bárbara Palacios Teyde	Maria Begoña Juaristi Matteo	Nancy Josefina Gallardo Quiñones
1987	Inés Maria Calero Rodríguez	Albany Josefina Lozada Jiménez	Vicky García
1988	Yajaira Cristina Vera Roldán	Emma Irmgard Marina Rabbe Ramírez	Maria Eugenia Duarte Lugo
1989	Eva Lisa Larsdottir Ljung	Fabiola Chiara Candosín Marchetti	Beatriz Carolina Omaña Trujillo
1990	Andreína Katarina Goetz Blohm	Sharon Raquel Luengo González	Vanessa Cristina Holler Noel
1991	Jackeline Rodriguez Strefezza (appointment)	Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jiménez	Niurka Auristela Acevedo
1992	Carolina Eva Izsak Kemenyfy	Francis del Valle Gago Aponte	Maria Eugenia Rodríguez Noguera
1993	Milka Yelisava Chulina Urbanich	Mónica Lei Scaccia	Rina Faviola Mónica Spitale Baiamonte
1994	Minorka Marisela Mercado Carrero	Irene Esther Ferreira Izquierdo	Milka Yelisava Chulina Urbanich
1995	Denyse del Carmen Floreano Camargo	Jacqueline María Aguilera Marcano	Ana Maria Amorer Guerrero
1996	Joseph Alicia Machado Fajardo	Anna Cepinska Miszak	Carla Andreína Steinkopf Struve
1997	Marena Josefina Bencomo Giménez	Christina Dieckmann Jimenez	Consuelo Adler Hernández
1998	Veruska Tatiana Ramírez	Veronica Schneider Rodriguez	Daniela Kosán Montcourt
1999	Lucbel Carolina Indriago Pinto	Martina Thorogood Heemsen	Andreína Mercedes Llamozas González
2000	Claudia Cristina Moreno González**	Vanessa Maria Cárdenas Bravo	Vivian Ines Urdaneta Rincón
2001	Eva Anna Mónica Ekvall Johnson	Andreina del Carmen Prieto Rincón	Aura Consuelo Zambrano Alejos
2002	Cynthia Cristina Lander Zamora	Goizeder Victoria Azúa Barrios	Cynthia Cristina Lander Zamora
2003	Mariangel Ruiz Torrealba	Valentina Patruno Macero	Goizeder Victoria Azúa Barrios
2004	Ana Karina Áñez Delgado	Andrea Maria Milroy Diaz	Eleidy María Aparicio Serrano
2005	Mónica Spear Mootz	Berliz Susan Carrizo Escandela	María Andrea Gómez Vasquez
2006	Jictzad Nacarid Viña Carreño	Alexandra Federica Guzmán Diamante****	Daniela Anette di Giacomo di Giovanni
2007	Lydimar Carolina Jonaitis Escalona	Claudia Paola Suárez Fernández	Vanessa Jackeline Gómez Peretti

      The contestant won the title

Notes:

• * Barely thirty-six (36) hours after being crowned Miss Venezuela 1976, Elluz Peraza gave up her title to get married and was succeeded by Judith Castillo.

• ** In 2000, the Miss Universe Organization refused the entry of Martina Thorogood, Miss Venezuela 1999 after placing second at Miss World 1999 and as well as that of her first runner-up Norkys Batista to the 2000 Miss Universe contest. The move forced the Miss Venezuela Organization to hold a snap pageant called Miss Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela (composed of former Miss Venezuela contestants from previous years) to select Venezuela's delegate to that year's pageant held in Nicosia, Cyprus.

• *** In 1991, Jackeline Rodriguez of the state of Miranda was hand-picked by Osmel Sousa to represent Venezuela in the Miss Universe pageant that year because the 1991 Miss Venezuela pageant was moved to September.

• **** The Miss World Organization announced that Miss World 2006 would be held in Poland on September 30, three months ahead of schedule. The Miss Venezuela Org. decided to return to the "emergency" system used in 2000-01 and hold a special pageant, Miss World Venezuela 2006. The winner was Federica Guzmán, selected to represent Venezuela in Miss World 2006.

Information courtesy of www.pageantopolis.com

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Belleza Venezolana
• Bellas Venezolanas

[edit] See Also

• Mister Venezuela