Estefanía Natalia Soto Torres, who was adjudged as the first runner-up at Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2019, was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico on 24th September 2020. She succeeded Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2019 Madison Anderson Berrios who was adjudged as the first runner-up at Miss Universe 2019. The 2020 edition of Miss Universe Puerto Rico was canceled due to the pandemic scare in the country.
Hailing from Caguas, Estefania is 28-years-old and stands 180 cm tall and has obtained her bachelor degree in foreign languages with a concentration in French from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. Estefania was inspired by the movie, ‘The Interpreter’ and was discovered her passion for foreign languages and multiculturalism thus, prompting her to participate in a student exchange at the University of Québec in Montréal before taking up a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages. Between 2015 and 2017, she lived and studied in France, Belgium, and Mexico; plus, she completed an interdisciplinary Master’s degree in intercultural mediation with a sociological, anthropological and gender perspective.
In her thesis entitled ‘Made in La Ciudadela: Community-building and placemaking practices among Indigenous Triqui Migrants in a Handcrafts Market in Mexico City’, she wrote about the migratory trajectory of the indigenous Triqui from the state of Oaxaca and their community building strategies in the market. After earning her master’s degree, the diva developed her professional career working for the international organization Eurocities in Brussels, the French Embassy in Washington DC and at the European Patent Organization in The Hague.
The diva was involved in the beauty pageant world when she was young as her parents wanted her to get involved in some hobby and she chose modeling, showcasing an early interest in fashion, artistry, and aesthetics. Her parents enrolled her in a modeling academy, where she developed herself in the field and even modeled professionally in Puerto Rico some years later working for the island’s top fashion editorials. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and recently reached intermediate level in the Dutch language.
After being crowned as Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2020, Estefania took to her social media to thank everyone, she stated, “I am humbled by the opportunity of carrying this golden emerald crown. Representing my country and my people on a platform with great potential to further social change is a responsibility I cherish with all my heart.” During one of her live sessions, the diva spoke about how 2020 has helped her to reflect upon her growth and she had the opportunity to write all of it down for a local newspaper. The diva also mentioned about a book she came across, ‘Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man’; which is about having difficult conversations about racial and cultural differences that needs attention.
Estefania spoke about a recent forum she watched and shared that in that forum or group discussion, the different candidates of Miss Universe 2020 shared intimate stories that defended the ‘ideal’ Miss Universe. The discussion included themes like bullying, self-acceptance, self-respect, body shaming, harassment, sensibility and how being sensitivity is not a sign of weakness but strength. The main theme was leadership and being a Miss Universe candidate herself, the diva spoke highly for the divas who were a part of the discussion as they included every single factor that needed the attention. You can listen to her live here:
The diva is confident, determined, and focused towards performing her best at Miss Universe 2020 takes makeup and self-styling lessons, practices her runway walk and trains on how to answer the judges’ questions, the latter of which she deemed the most nerve-wracking part of the event. 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.
She understands that beauty queens serve as ambassadors for their countries. “Definitely. They even call us beauty ambassadors. 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,” she stated.
Estefanía Natalia Soto Torres is all set to represent Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 2020 and with her strong, confident, and focus towards goal, she is one of the strongest contenders and favorite for the title.