2019 was a successful year for the delegates who represented Puerto Rico at international beauty pageants. The delegates showcased not only their confident and strong performances but also their true culture, values and traditions which helped them to land at the top positions of the pageants.

The gorgeous delegates have shown immense confidence and determination to be a successful role model for the youth and do their bit to change the world. They have been advocating their advocacies till now and its very heart-filling to see how successful and empowering these women are.

Let’s look at the delegates of Puerto Rico who represented the country at international pageant:

Madison Sara Anderson Berríos was adjudged as the first runner-up at Miss Universe 2019 on 8th December 2019 at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Madison is a Puerto Rican-American model who began studying fashion design and textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Anderson began her pageantry career as a teenager, placing as the 4th Runner-Up at Miss Florida Teen USA 2014. From her rising success in the world of pageantry to being questioned whether she’s Puerto Rican or Latina “enough,”, she’s seen quite a bit throughout this journey. But Anderson Berrios is much more than just what meets the eye.

Madison explains that her interest in pageantry was developed because of her mother and grandmother. She explained that her mother had won two titles and she has always been her inspiration for being a beauty queen. Madison is an advocate for women who has suffered domestic violence and would like to work as much as she can for them. She is working with women and children at San Jorge Woman and Children Hospital as well as doing talks in schools to stop bullying and domestic violence." Her triumph, however, had a bittersweet flavour for those present at the ceremony as she was booed and applauded for her lack of command of the Spanish language but she was very confident with her performance and has always stayed positive with her body language. She believes in the advice of her mother, “She tells me to be myself, that no one else is Madison, and I have to show the world who I really am. So, I try to convey that in everything that I do." With her successful performance on-stage of Miss Universe 2020, Madison was placed as the 1st runner-up of the competition.

Daniella Rodríguez was crowned Miss Mundo Puerto Rico 2019 and got her chance to represent the country at Miss World 2019 pageant. She was placed at Top 40 of the competition but was highly applauded for her strong and confident stage presence. Daniella has a charming personality and prepossessing beauty with enchanting features such as a pair of beautiful big almond-shaped eyes, Greek nose and accentuated cheekbones. During the competition, the diva explained that she is working for betterment of paediatric cancer patients, because the diva herself was a cancer survivor. Her aim is to share her story with the other cancer patients, in order to give them hope and to see them being a little motivated by just hearing one story. With this, she thought she could do more, and then the diva worked with different entities in Puerto Rico, to help these patients, to give them free services and to their caregivers as well. The diva also joined forces to the new hospital that is going to be built by year 2023, which will be called as ‘Stevens Anthony children hospital’ and the great thing about this hospital, according to the diva is that, it’s going to be built in the south as there are only 3 hospitals which are located in the north side of Puerto Rico. And by this hospital the biggest necessity which is of the cancer patients in the South would also be fulfilled.

Ivana Carolina Irizarry was crowned Miss International Puerto Rico 2019 at the grand coronation of Nuestra Belleza Puerto Rico 2019 at Tapia Theatre of Old San Juan. She represented her country at Miss International 2019 and was placed at Top 15 by the end of the competition. She impressed everyone with her outstanding performance and was one of the crowd’s favourite. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it to top position but is regarded as one of the strong contenders in Miss International 2019 competition. She is an educator, business owners and a successful entrepreneur in Puerto Rico. She is very grateful for the opportunities she has achieved till now and will work hard to be on the top.

Nellys Pimentel was crowned Miss Earth 2019 on 26th October 2019 in Cove Manila at Okada Manila, Philippines. Nellys is 22 years of age and stands 173 cm tall. She is a BS Psychology student pursuing a second course in Marketing. Nellys is not only the first Puerto Rican to win the title the but also the first Caribbean woman to win the Miss Earth crown in its 19-year history. She edged out 84 candidates in the international competition that focuses on environmental care and protection. Miss Earth 2019 had a theme of ‘The Earth smiles in Flowers’.  The diva participated in three crucial preliminaries; the Intelligence, Face and Poise and Figure and Form. She was part of the Water Group and joined activities with other candidates who arrived in Manila, activities included tree planting and TV guesting.  During the final top 3 question and answer round, the diva was asked “There are many people, including notable international leaders, who do not believe in climate change. How would you convince them of the seriousness of this problem?” Nellys answered the question very impressively “I would have to say that addressing this issue of people not believing in climate change is more of a matter of lack of education and not only a lack of education but also the ignorance and not wanting to inform themselves of the fact that we are living in a planet that is our biggest home, and we have taken advantage of it instead of putting back what it is giving to us.” For Nellys, becoming Miss Earth 2019 means gaining a bigger voice to address environmental issues in a way that create change. It means becoming the first of her country to have won this pageant and make Puerto Rico proud and the first country to own all crowns of the grand slam. Nellys will now spend her year traveling and working for the cause of the Miss Earth organization which is to protect and preserve our planet. Nellys is not new to pageantry as she has won the title of Miss Earth Puerto Rico 2019 where she won Miss Photogenic too.

Shaleyka Cristine Vélez was crowned Miss Supranational Puerto Rico 2019 and earned her chance to represent Puerto Rico at Miss Supranational 2019 and was placed at Top 25 by the end of the event. She is currently a Business Administration student, with a concentration in Office Systems at the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus. During the competition, she was asked about how she feels to be representing her country, she stated, “It is wonderful to have this unique opportunity to represent my land in such a complete and modern competition. The mere fact of carrying the Puerto Rican band on my chest already makes me feel a winner and at the same time reminds me of the great responsibility I have with each Puerto Rican. However, I feel very safe in my work and at the same time confident in the support of my people”. She works to create an organization that protects and fosters the importance of the environment and all that we receive from the earth.

Hazel Ortiz Méndez was crowned Miss Grand Puerto Rico 2019 and represented the country at Miss Grand International 2019. She was placed at Top 10 by the end of the event and was highly applauded for her excellent performance during the competition. She has pursued a degree in Public Relations and Advertising from the University of Central Florida. Hazel was very blessed and grateful that she was able to represent her country at an international platform. She works as a Co-Host Despierta in Orlando and a professional model as well. She is beautiful, kind, positive and compassionate soul.

Daileen Vega was crowned Miss Intercontinental Puerto Rico 2019 which gave her a chance to represent her country at Miss Intercontinental 2019. She was thrilled to be representing Puerto Rico at Miss Intercontinental as she is very close to her culture and traditions. She stated, “I want to show the world what we are made of and how amazing Puerto Ricans are.” She is intelligent, smart, kind and very positive towards the opportunities that come her way. Even though she wasn’t placed during the pageant, she was applauded for her immense confidence with which she had performed on-stage.

Yuanilie Alvarado who was crowned Reina Hispanoamericana Puerto Rico 2019 was adjudged as the 2nd runner-up of the Reina Hispanoamericana 2019. The curly headed beauty queen was highly appreciated for her excellent skills during the pageant and thus landed as the 2nd runner-up for the competition. She has always felt gratitude towards the people who have helped her during the journey and she never fails to thank them. She wants to be a role model especially for young women who have the power to dream and work hard towards their goal. She was one of the fan’s favourites during the competition and her bewitching smile isn’t something you can miss out on.