Critical Beauty

  This group chat was conducted via Zoom on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 10:00 PM EST. My guests include Lenka Vomocil, Mrs. National Universe 2022; Emma and Guru of the Pageant Gurus; Wilfredo Lopez, runway coach and pageant mentor; Melvyn Noronha, costume designer; Ed Dominguez, formerly of Global Beauties; George of the Pageant Empress; and Noemi Melendez, national director of Miss International Cuba and co-director of Miss Grand Cuba.

  Andrea Rubio , 24, of Venezuela has been crowned Miss International 2023 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan on October 26. The first runner-up is Sofia Osío of Colombia, second runner-up is Camila Diaz of Peru, third runner-up is Nicole Borromeo of the Philippines and fourth runner-up is Vanessa Hayes of Bolivia. Completing the top 7 were Supaporn Ritthipruek of Thailand and Itzia Garcia of Mexico. Completing the top 15 were the delegates from Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Panama, Puerto Rico and Vietnam. Rubio’s victory marks the ninth crown for Venezuela which has won in 1985, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2018. I only saw the last two hours of the live stream because when it started, I was still in bed. After I showered, the top 15 had still not been selected. Despite promises by the organization to produce a “better” show, I found it dull and dragging. Having the girls crowd the small stage in their national costu

  Luciana Fuster , 24, of Peru was crowned Miss Grand International 2023 on October 25 at the Phú Thọ Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She is the second Peruvian woman to win the crown after Maria José Lora won in 2017. Fuster was one of the front runners in this year’s contest. She has over four million followers on her Instagram account, and she embodies the four B’s that the organization is looking for: beauty, brains, body and business (she is a brand ambassador for Adidas, Samsung Peru and Olimpo Bet). Completing the top five are first runner-up Ni Ni Lin Eain of Myanmar, second runner-up Maria Alejandra Lopez of Colombia, third runner-up Sthephanie Miranda of USA, and fourth runner-up Lê Hoàng Phương of Vietnam. Rounding up the top ten and crowned fifth runners-up are Eugénia das Neves of Angola, Melissa Bottema of the Netherlands, Skarxi Marte of the Dominican Republic, Ritassya Wellgreat of Indonesia and Thaweeporn Phingchamrat of Thailand. Joining the top we are th

This group chat was conducted via Zoom on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 10:00 PM EST (Thursday, October 19 at 9:00 AM Vietnam) My guests include George of Pageant Empress, Brian Javier, Gautam and Emma of The Pageant Gurus, Lenka Vomocil, Ed Dominguez (formerly of Global Beauties), Antonio Rivadeneira, and Noemi Melendez.

             Noelia Voigt , a 23-year-old interior design student and a published children's book author from Park City, Utah was crowned Miss USA 2023 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on September 29, 2023. Voight's victory marks the second time Utah has won the coveted title, which does not count Charlotte Sheffield's promotion to Miss USA 1957 after the original winner, Leona Gage of Maryland, was dethroned for being married with children. In 1960, Utah's Linda Bement won Miss USA and was crowned later as Miss Universe. Voigt also makes history by being the first Venezuelan-American to win the title.        Voigt's  court includes 1st runner-up  Savannah Gankiewicz  of Hawaii, 2nd runner-up  Alexis Loomans  of Wisconsin, 3rd runner-up  Jasmine Daniels  of Pennsylvania and 4th runner-up  Lluvia Alzate  of Texas.      Rounding up the top 2 0 were the contestants from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, M