Born in the municipality of Caguas, the 28-year-old Estefanía Soto has had an incredible journey so far. From winning the Erasmus Mundus graduate study scholarship to completing an interdisciplinary master’s degree in intercultural mediation with a sociological, anthropological and gender perspective, Soto has a long list of achievements to boast about.

As Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2020, Estefanía is all set to serve as the ambassador for her island and there is no doubt she is going to do that with equal grit and determination. In a recent interview, Soto talked about how beauty queens serve as the ambassadors for their countries. She said, “Beyond being beauty ambassadors... this message has been inserted beyond the superficial, beyond modeling, beyond how you look physically. We are going to an international competition and they are looking for a leader who can carry a message and who has something to say that interests the public that follows the contests and perhaps those who do not see the contests, but who can attract their attention with that message.”

As the representative of Puerto Rico, Soto wants everyone to learn that Puerto Rico is resilient amid adversity and the people reinvent themselves. She also wants to advocate breaking cultural barriers and admiring other lifestyles.

“One [message] that I really like is the importance of existing outside our little bubble and understanding that parallel to our lives there are many other lifestyles that are equally legitimate to ours. The important thing is to gain some perspective to understand the differences, where they come from and make an effort to step out of the comfort zone and expose ourselves to situations, knowledge and people that make us feel uncomfortable, because I believe we can gain much from that”, she said.

It will be awe-inspiring to see her perform at the upcoming edition of Miss Universe as she has been taking makeup and self-styling lessons, practicing her runway walk and training on her Q/A portions.