Miss Venezuela

Miss Venezuela

Formation	1952
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Caracas
Location	Venezuela
Membership	Miss Universe Miss Earth Miss International Miss World
Official language	Spanish
President	Osmel Sousa
Website	missvenezuela.com

Dayana Mendoza, Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008

Miss Venezuela is a national beauty pageant in Venezuela. It is responsible for selecting the country's representatives to the Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth, Miss International pageants (amongst others).

Under the direction of Osmel Sousa, Venezuela has accumulated more international pageant titles than any other country, including seven Miss Universe winners, six Miss World winners, one Miss Earth winner and seven Miss International winners.

The pageant is traditionally held in September, preceded by two or three months of preliminary events, including the awarding of corporate prizes. The final competition telecast generally lasts about four hours and is broadcast live across Latin America by Venevisión, with edited versions to the United States and Mexico on the Univision network. Since 2013, the national contest has been split into two separate pageants –

• MISS VENEZUELA (to select representatives to Miss Universe, Miss Earth and Miss International).
• MISS VENEZUELA MUNDO (to select representative to Miss World).

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, Táchira, Lara, Bolivar 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 national pageants such as Miss USA, although certain areas such as Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Capital District, Guarico and Carabobo always seem to achieve high results.

Contestants

A girl wishing to compete in the pageant starts 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. Osmel Sousa, president of the pageant, always sits on the selection panel regardless of whether 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. 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. In 2000, the casting made in Zulia State (called Miss Venezuela Zulia at that time) sent 7 girls to that year finals.

The pageant reserves the right to remove any candidate that is deemed not to be performing up to standard, so there is no guarantee that a contestant may participate on the final night of competition. However, such decisions are usually made before the delegates are convened and the various state sashes are handed out. 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 roster 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.

Reentry into the final pageant is rare, although the rules are arbitrary and not as restrictive as those in other countries. Only one contestant has ever participated in the official Miss Venezuela pageant twice: Maria Fernanda Leon, who represented Guárico in 1999 and Portuguesa in 2002, making the top 10 in her second attempt. 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 Miss Bolivarian Republic of 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. This situation was expected to be repeated during the 2007 pageant, in which some contestants were expected to compete again, though it didn't happen.

State titles

There is an unofficial formula to determine the states and regions represented in Venezuela. The base number of contestants over the last decade has been 26–28, which can be increased or decreased by pageant's management.

Official states (23)

Amazonas * Anzoátegui * Apure Aragua * Barinas ** Bolívar * Carabobo ** Cojedes Delta Amacuro Falcon * Guárico Lara ** Mérida ** Miranda Monagas * Nueva Esparta * Portuguesa ** Sucre * Táchira * Trujillo ** Vargas * Yaracuy ** Zulia *

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

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

Official regions (4)

• Costa Oriental (Eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo)
• Distrito Capital (Capital District)
• Dependencias Federales ("Federal Dependencies" Venezuelan islands)
• Peninsula Goajira (Venezuelan part of the Goajira peninsula)

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 (Federal Dependencies, representing the Venezuelan islands). If there are 28 sashes, either Canaima (a national park in Bolivar state) or Peninsula de Paraguaná (a region of Falcon state) is represented. In 2003, additional titles of Península 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. Surprisingly, in 2008 Península de Araya was used again, and there was no Miss Península Goajira or Miss Costa Oriental that year. 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. In 2009, only 20 delegates competed for the crown, the same number that competed the final night in 2003, so some "traditional" states didn't have a representative.

Regional rankings

Dayana Mendoza, Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008

State	Titles	Winning Years
Guárico	9	1963, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1985, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2014
Miranda	7	1955, 1964, 1981, 1988, 1999, 2009, 2010
Caracas		1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1968, 2001
Lara	4	1980, 1989, 2003, 2015
Carabobo		1953, 1970, 1973, 1996
Nueva Esparta		1972, 1975, 1976, 1987
Vargas		1967, 1969, 1977, 1979
Sucre	3	1958, 2005, 2011
Costa Oriental	2	1994, 2013
Trujillo		1986, 2008
Amazonas		1991, 2007
Aragua		1992, 2002
Apure		1993, 2000
Bolívar		1952, 1990
Zulia		1974, 1984
Delta Amacuro	1	1998
Táchira		1997
Yaracuy		1995
Portuguesa		1983
Monagas		1971
Anzoátegui		1962

• Venezuela's international titleholders represented the following states during their Miss Venezuela competition (indicates year of international victory): Miss Universe: Vargas Department (1979), Miranda (1981), Trujillo (1986; 2009), Yaracuy (1996), Amazonas (2008) and Guarico (2013); Miss World: Miranda (1955; 1984), Aragua (1981), Zulia (1991), Nueva Esparta (1995) and Amazonas (2011); and Miss International: Monagas (1985), Miranda (1997), Costa Oriental (2000), Carabobo (2003), Barinas (2006), Trujillo (2010) and Anzoátegui (2015) . Miss Earth: Falcon (2013)

Training

Once a candidate is shortlisted for the pageant, she begins an intensive training program which can last for six months. She receives coaching in speech, physical fitness, make-up, modelling, and all the other skills required for the competition. Plastic surgery and cosmetic dentistry are optional, and some delegates elect to use padding. As the Miss Venezuela broadcast lasts up to four hours long, with countless musical numbers and dances, rehearsals require weeks of preparation. Contestants also participate in official photoshoots (lately done by Iván Dumont, after several years by Daniel Alonso) and also 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, Jose María Almeida, and Gionni Stracia 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 María Almeida designs the dress for Miss Mérida 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. For the first time, in 2008, a "best evening gown" prize was given to a designer; the winner was Gionni Stracia for Miss Monagas' dress. He also made the gown for Dayana Mendoza in the Miss Universe finals.

The winners chosen to represent Venezuela in the major pageants undergo continuous preparation before they compete internationally. These efforts are funded by corporate sponsors like Pepsi Cola, Palmolive, Colgate, Ebel and Lux who were attracted to the pageant by its high ratings.

Participation in international pageants

Between 1983 and 2003, Miss Venezuela placed into the Miss Universe semi-finals each consecutive year, and placed in the top six or higher every year from 1991 to 2003. This streak was ended in 2004 when Ana Karina Áñez was not chosen as a semi-finalist at Miss Universe 2004. Venezuela has also held the Miss Universe and Miss World titles simultaneously: in 1981 with Irene Saez (Miss Universe) and Pilin Leon (Miss World).In total, Venezuela has won over seventy international crowns under the guidance of the pageant, and the country's representatives have won at least one international title each year. It was said that Osmel Sousa would have retired from his two decades of directing the pageant after seeing a Venezuelan crown another Venezuelan as Miss Universe. Until recently, when Venezuelan Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008, crowned her compatriot Stefania Fernandez as Miss Universe 2009, no country had ever won in this pageant on consecutive years (Three countries have done it in Miss World: Sweden, United Kingdom and India). Venezuela also has the record of more Continental Queen Awards: 12. Another impressive record is having a crown of one of three major pageants during consecutive years: World-International-Universe (1984, 85, 86) World-Universe-International (1995,96,97) and Universe-Universe-International-World (2008, 09,10, 11). Pageant committees from Venezuela meticulously choose best representative for international beauty pageants. It is a real fact that this country has a strong potential to compete different prestigious beauty pageants.

In 2013 Venezuela has also held the Miss Universe and Miss Earth titles simultaneously Gabriela Isler (Miss Universe) and Alyz Henrich (Earth). Simultaneous titles of Big 4 pageants in the same year hadn't occurred since 1981. By winning Miss Earth 2013, put Venezuela in the map of pageantry as the first country to win all the Big Four international beauty pageants more than once.

Success in other fields

Alexandra Braun, Miss Earth 2005

Competing in the pageant can get a contestant noticed and launched 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 and Wendy Medina, have repeatedly been rejected by Miss Venezuela; on the other hand, Goizeder Azua and Desiree Pallotta, 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, from Venezuela, include Ruddy Rodríguez, Catherine Fulop, Carolina Perpetuo, Norkys Batista, Daniela Kosán, Viviana Gibelli, Marjorie de Sousa, Chiquinquirá Delgado, Alicia Machado and Natalia Streignard. Two of the Latin world's best known people, supermodel Patricia Velásquez and singer/actress María Conchita Alonso, also participated, in 1989 and 1975, respectively. Miss Universe 1981, Irene Sáez, is perhaps most famous as the beauty queen who became mayor of Chacao part of metropolitan Caracas, governor of Nueva Esparta State, and then a candidate in Venezuelan presidential election, 1998.The Times of London ranked her 83rd in its list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.

Miss Venezuela and other countries

Some delegates in the pageant have been able to use their training to achieve success in other national pageants. Natascha Börger became the first Venezuelan to switch countries, when she won the Miss Deutschland title in 2002 after placing 14th at Miss Venezuela 2000. She went on to place sixth at Miss Universe 2002 behind Miss Venezuela Cynthia Lander. Miss Trujillo 2005 Angelika Hernandez Dorendorf also ended 3rd finalist at Miss Deutschland 2007 and cancelled her participation at the Miss Intercontinental of that same year in order to continue her master's degree. In 2006, Francys Sudnicka, who placed in the top 10 representing Trujillo in Miss Venezuela 2003, won the Miss Poland Universe title. She represented Poland at Miss Universe 2006,and later represented Poland in Miss Earth 2006, taking a place in Top 8. Three Venezuelans who have won the Miss Italia nel Mondo (Miss Italy in the World) pageant 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). Patruno, though born Venezuelan, represented the United States.

Other countries such as Colombia, Philippines, and Brazil have sent their titleholders to be trained by Osmel Sousa and the Venezuela pageant organization. In 2003, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic received training from them before going on to win the Miss Universe pageant; Mariangel Ruiz, Miss Venezuela 2002 placed second behind her.

In recent years the pageant organization has begun to "import" expatriates who have been working as international models. Miami has produced Valentina Patruno (Miss World Venezuela 2003), Andrea Gómez (Miss International Venezuela 2004), Mónica Spear (Miss Venezuela 2004), Ileana Jiménez (Miss Portuguesa 2005), and María Alessandra Villegas (Miss Península de Paraguaná 2008).

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 Venezuelan Ninibeth Leal, whom had lost the Miss Venezuela 1991 title to Carolina.

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.

Stefanía Fernández, Miss Venezuela 2008 and Miss Universe 2009

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 runners-up, then Miss Venezuela to Miss International, Miss Venezuela to Miss World, and Miss Venezuela to Miss Universe. Since 2010, yet another new system has been introduced, with the fifth-place finisher as the 1st. runner-up, fourth place being designated as a "representative" to Miss Earth, the third place as a "representative" to Miss International and two 'equal' crowned winners—Miss Venezuela World and Miss Venezuela 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->Universe->World in rising order of importance (although they are also emphasized as "equals").

Milka Chulina, Miss Venezuela 1992 and 2nd runner up in Miss Universe 1993.

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. Incidentally in 2006 the Miss World pageant shifted its pageant date from its usual November–December timeframe to September when the organization announced Poland as the competition venue. Due to the change in dates; it resulted to a timing conflict with the Miss Venezuela pageant. The Miss Venezuela organization decided to hold a snap pageant called "Miss Venezuela Mundo" to elect a representative for Miss World 2006. The said competition was composed of former Miss Venezuela contestants from previous editions. At the end of the night Federica Guzman who represented the state of Miranda in 2001 was the winner. Thus, all four winners, Miss Earth Venezuela, Miss Venezuela International, Miss Venezuela World and Miss Venezuela Universe now compete in the year after their 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 Christina 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 or 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 semi-finalists and other non-finalists) from the previous five years. The winner, Claudia Moreno, had placed as seventh in the semi-finals 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 Brook 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. In general, all the times Venezuela has won the Miss Universe Pageant, it's Miss Universe herself who returns to crown the new Miss Venezuela, not Miss World Venezuela from the previous year or another finalist.

From 2013 and forward the Miss World delegate is no longer crowned at the Miss Venezuela final but is crowned in a separate Miss Venezuela World pageant, and competes in the same year of her coronation. In 2014, Maira Alexandra Rodriguez was crowned as Miss Earth Venezuela to compete in the 2015 edition, but due to the destitution of her predecessor, Stephanie de Zorzi, she was sent to Miss Earth 2014, in which she ended as Miss Water (2nd. runner-up). So, from 2015, Miss Earth Venezuela will compete in the same year of her coronation.

Titleholders

Main article: List of Miss Venezuela titleholders

The following women have been crowned Miss Venezuela:

Year	Miss Venezuela	State	Venue
1952	Sofía Silva Inserri†	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	Caracas	Hotel Tamanaco, Caracas
1957	Consuelo Leticia Nouel Gómez	Caracas	Hotel Tamanaco, Caracas
1958–59	Ida Margarita Pieri	Sucre	Hotel Ávila, Caracas
1960	Gladys "Laly" Ascanio Arredondo	Caracas	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†	Caracas	Teatro del Círculo Militar, Caracas
1966	Magaly Beatriz Castro Egui	Guárico	Teatro del Este, Caracas
1967	Mariela Pérez Branger	Vargas	Teatro de la Escuela Militar, Caracas
1968	Peggy Kopp Arenas	Caracas	Teatro Altamira, Caracas
1969	María José de las Mercedes Yellici Sánchez (Resigned)	Aragua	Teatro París, Caracas
	Marzia Rita Gisela Piazza Suprani	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 Prisco	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, Caracas
1976	Elluz Coromoto Peraza González (Resigned)	Guárico	Teatro París, Caracas
	Judith Josefina Castillo Uribe	Nueva Esparta
1977	Cristal del Mar Montañez Arocha	Vargas	Teatro París, Caracas
1978	Marisol Alfonzo Marcano	Guárico	Teatro del Club de Sub-Oficiales, Caracas
1979	Maritza Sayalero Fernández	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, Caracas
1990	Andreína Katarina Goetz Blohm	Bolívar	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
1991	Carolina Eva Izsak Kemenify	Amazonas	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
1992	Milka Yelisava Chulina Urbanich	Aragua	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
1993	Minorka Marisela Mercado Carrero	Apure	Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, Caracas
1994	Denyse del Carmen Floreano Camargo	Zulia	Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, Caracas
1995	Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo	Yaracuy	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
1996	Marena Josefina Bencomo Giménez	Carabobo	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
1997	Veruska Tatiana Ramírez	Táchira	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
1998	Lucbel Carolina Indriago Pinto	Delta Amacuro	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
1999	Martina Thorogood Heemsen	Miranda	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2000	Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson†	Apure	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2001	Cynthia Cristina Lander Zamora	Caracas	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2002	Mariángel Ruiz Torrealba	Aragua	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2003	Ana Karina Áñez Delgado	Lara	Estudio 1, Venevisión, Caracas
2004	Mónica Spear Mootz†	Guárico	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2005	Jictzad Nakarhyt Viña Carreño	Sucre	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2006	Lidymar Carolina "Ly" Jonaitis Escalona	Guárico	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2007	Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada	Amazonas	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2008	Stefanía Fernández Krupij	Trujillo	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2009	Marelisa Gibson Villegas	Miranda	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2010	Vanessa Andrea Gonçalves Gómez	Miranda	Palacios de Eventos, Maracaibo
2011	Irene Sofía Esser Quintero	Sucre	Estudio 1, Venevisión, Caracas
2012	María Gabriela de Jesús Isler Morales	Guárico	Salón Naiguatá, Hotel Tamanaco Intercontinental, Caracas
2013	Migbelis Lynette Castellanos Romero	Costa Oriental	Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas
2014	Mariana Coromoto Jiménez Martínez	Guárico	Estudio 1, Venevisión, Caracas
2015	Mariam Habach Santucci	Lara	Estudio 1, Venevisión, Caracas
2016	TBA	TBA	TBA

Venezuelan representatives to International pageants

The following women have represented Venezuela in international pageants:

Miss Universe Venezuela

Color Key

•      Declared as Winner
•      Ended as Runner-up
•      Ended as one of the Finalists or Semi-finalists

Year	Delegate	State	Placement
1952	Sofía Silva†	Bolívar
1953	Gisela Bolaños	Carabobo
1955	Susana Duijm	Miranda	Top 15
1956	Blanca Heredia	Distrito Federal	Top 15
1957	Consuelo Nouel	Caracas
1958	Ida Margarita Pieri	Sucre
1960	Mary Quiroz Delgado†	Yaracuy
1961	Ana Griselda Vegas	Caracas
1962	Virginia Elizabeth Bailey Lázzari	Nueva Esparta
1963	Irene Amelia Morales Machado	Guarico
1964	Mercedes Revenga	Miranda	Top 15
1965	María de las Casas†	Caracas
1966	Magaly Castro Egui	Guarico
1967	Mariela Pérez Branger	Vargas	1st Runner-Up
1968	Peggy Kopp	Caracas	3rd Runner-Up
1969	María José Yéllici	Aragua
1970	Bella La Rosa	Carabobo	Top 15
1971	Jeannette Donzella	Monagas
1972	María Antonietta Cámpoli Prisco	Nueva Esparta	2nd Runner-Up
1973	Desireé Rolando	Carabobo
1974	Neyla Moronta	Zulia
1975	Maritza Pineda	Nueva Esparta
1976	Judith Castillo	Nueva Esparta	1st Runner-Up
1977	Cristal Montañez	Vargas	Top 12
1978	Marisol Alfonzo	Guarico
1979	Maritza Sayalero	Vargas	Miss Universe 1979
1980	Maye Brandt†	Lara
1981	Irene Sáez	Miranda	Miss Universe 1981
1982	Ana Teresa Oropeza	Guarico
1983	Paola Ruggeri	Portuguesa	Top 12
1984	Carmen María Montiel	Zulia	2nd Runner-Up
1985	Silvia Martínez	Guarico	3rd Runner-Up
1986	Bárbara Palacios	Trujillo	Miss Universe 1986
1987	Inés María Calero	Nueva Esparta	3rd Runner-Up
1988	Yajaira Cristina Vera Roldán	Miranda	Top 10
1989	Eva Lisa Ljung	Lara	Top 10
1990	Andreína Goetz	Bolívar	Top 10
1991	Jackeline Rodríguez (elected by the organization)	Miranda	Top 6
1992	Carolina Izsak	Amazonas	Top 6
1993	Milka Chulina	Aragua	2nd Runner-Up
1994	Minorka Mercado	Apure	2nd Runner-Up
1995	Denyse Floreano	Zulia	Top 6
1996	Alicia Machado	Yaracuy	Miss Universe 1996
1997	Marena Bencomo	Carabobo	1st Runner-Up
1998	Veruska Ramírez	Táchira	1st Runner-Up
1999	Carolina Indriago	Delta Amacuro	Top 5
2000	Claudia Moreno	Caracas	1st Runner-Up
2001	Eva Ekvall†	Apure	3rd Runner-Up
2002	Cynthia Lander Zamora	Caracas	4th Runner-Up
2003	Mariangel Ruiz	Aragua	1st Runner-up
2004	Ana Karina Áñez	Lara
2005	Mónica Spear†	Guarico	4th Runner-Up
2006	Jictzad Viña	Sucre
2007	Ly Jonaitis	Guarico	2nd Runner-Up
2008	Dayana Mendoza	Amazonas	Miss Universe 2008
2009	Stefanía Fernández	Trujillo	Miss Universe 2009
2010	Marelisa Gibson	Miranda
2011	Vanessa Gonçalves	Miranda	Top 16
2012	Irene Esser	Sucre	2nd Runner-Up
2013	Gabriela Isler	Guárico	Miss Universe 2013
2014	Migbelis Castellanos	Zulia	Top 10
2015	Mariana Jimenez	Guárico	Top 10
2016	Mariam Habach	Lara	TBA

Miss World Venezuela

From 2013 and forward the Miss World delegate is crowned by the separate Miss Venezuela World pageant.

Color Key

•      Declared as Winner
•      Ended as Runner-up
•      Ended as one of the Finalists or Semi-finalists

Year	Delegate	State	Placement
1955	Susana Duijm	Miranda	Miss World 1955
1956	Celsa Drucila Pieri Pérez	Sucre
1957	Consuelo Nouel	Caracas
1958	Ida Margarita Pieri	Sucre
1960	Miriam Maritza Estévez Acevedo	Caracas
1961	Bexi Cecilia Romero Tosta	Aragua
1962	Betzabé Franco Blanco	Aragua	Top 15
1963	Milagros Galíndez Castillo	Miranda
1964	Mercedes Hernández Nieves†	Portuguesa	Top 16
1965	Nancy Elizabeth González Aceituno†	Anzoátegui
1966	Jeannette Kopp Arenas	Caracas
1967	Irene Margarita Böttger González	Bolívar
1968	María Dolores (Cherry) Núñez Rodríguez	Miranda
1969	Marzia Piazza	Nueva Esparta	4th Runner-Up
1970	Tomasa Nina (Tomasita) de las Casas Mata	Miranda
1971	Ana María Padrón Ibarrondo	Carabobo	Top 15
1972	Amalia del Carmen Heller Gómez	Sucre
1973	Edicta de los Angeles García Oporto	Zulia
1974	Alicia Rivas Serrano	Vargas
1975	María Conchita Alonso	Caracas	6th Runner-Up
1976	Maria Genoveva Rivero Giménez	Lara	Top 15
1977	Jacqueline van den Branden	Caracas
1978	Patricia Tóffoli	Falcón	Top 15
1979	Tatiana Capote	Barinas	Disqualified
1980	Hilda Abrahamz	Vargas	Top 15
1981	Pilin Leon	Aragua	Miss World 1981
1982	Michelle Shoda	Falcón
1983	Carolina Cerruti	Apure
1984	Astrid Carolina Herrera	Miranda	Miss World 1984
1985	Ruddy Rodríguez	Anzoátegui	3rd Runner-Up
1986	María Begoña Juaristi	Zulia	4th Runner-Up
1987	Albany Lozada	Portuguesa	1st Runner-Up
1988	Emma Rabbe	Caracas	3rd Runner-Up
1989	Fabiola Candosin	Caracas
1990	Sharon Luengo	Zulia	2nd Runner-Up
1991	Ninibeth Leal	Zulia	Miss World 1991
1992	Francis Gago	Bolívar	2nd Runner-Up
1993	Mónica Lei Scaccia	Caracas	4th Runner-Up
1994	Irene Ferreira	Miranda	2nd Runner-Up
1995	Jacqueline Aguilera	Nueva Esparta	Miss World 1995
1996	Ana Cepinzka Miszak		4th Runner-Up
1997	Christina Dieckmann	Nueva Esparta
1998	Veronica Schneider	Monagas
1999	Martina Thorogood	Miranda	1st Runner-Up
2000	Vanessa Cárdenas	Zulia
2001	Andreína Prieto	Zulia
2002	Goizeder Azua	Carabobo	Top 10
2003	Valentina Patruno	Miranda	Top 20
2004	Andrea Milroy	Trujillo
2005	Susan Carrizo	Zulia
2006	Federica Guzmán	Miranda	Top 17
2007	Claudia Paola Suárez Fernández	Mérida	Top 16
2008	Hannelly Quintero	Cojedes	Top 15
2009	Maria Milagros Veliz	Anzoátegui
2010	Adriana Vasini	Zulia	2nd Runner-Up
2011	Ivian Sarcos	Amazonas	Miss World 2011
2012	Gabriella Ferrari	Caracas
2013	Karen Soto	Zulia
2014	Debora Menicucci	Amazonas
2015	Anyela Galante	Portuguesa
2016	TBA	TBA	TBA

Representatives to Miss International

Color Key

•      Declared as Winner
•      Ended as Runner-up
•      Ended as one of the Finalists or Semi-finalists

Year	Delegate	State	Placement
1960	Gladys Ascanio Arredondo	Caracas
1961	Gloria Lilué Chaljub	Caracas
1962	Olga Antonetti Nuñez†	Anzoátegui	Top 15
1963	Norah Luisa Duarte Rojas	Carabobo
1964	Lisla Vilia Silva Negrón	Zulia	Top 15
1965	Thamara Josefina Leal	Zulia
1967	Cecilia Picón-Febres	Mérida
1968	Jovann Navas Ravelo	Aragua
1969	Cristina Mercedes Keusch Pérez	Miranda	Top 15
1970	Marzia Rita Gisela Piazza Suprani	Nueva Esparta
1971	Sonia Zaya Ledezma Corvo	Monagas
1972	Marilyn Plessmann Martínez	Guarico	Top 15
1973	Hilda Elvira Carrero García†	Táchira	Top 15
1974	Marisela Carderera Marturet	Caracas
1975	María del Carmen Yamel Díaz Rodríguez†	Carabobo
1976	Betzabeth Ayala	Miranda	Top 15
1977	Betty Paredes	Lara
1978	Dora Maria Fueyo Moreno	Anzoátegui
1979	Nilza Josefina Moronta Sangronis	Zulia
1980	Graciela Lucía Rosanna La Rosa Guarneri	Amazonas	Top 10
1981	Miriam Quintana	Caracas	Top 15
1982	Amaury Martínez Macero	Amazonas
1983	Donnatella Bottone Tiranti	Miranda
1984	Miriam Leyderman Eppel	Nueva Esparta	1st Runner-Up
1985	Alejandrina "Nina" Sicilia Hernandez	Monagas	Miss International 1985
1986	Nancy Josefina Gallardo Quiñones	Portuguesa	Top 15
1987	Begoña Victoria García Varas	Municipio Libertador	Top 15
1988	María Eugenia Duarte Lugo	Peninsula Goajira
1989	Beatriz Carolina Omaña Trujillo	Nueva Esparta	2nd Runner-Up
1990	Vanessa Cristina Holler Noel	Portuguesa	Top 15
1991	Niurka Auristela Acevedo	Monagas
1992	Maria Eugenia Rodríguez Noguera	Portuguesa	Top 15
1993	Rina Faviola Mónica Spitale Baiamonte	Yaracuy	Top 15
1994	Milka Yelisava Chulina Urbanich	Aragua	Top 15
1995	Ana Maria Amorer Guerrero	Apure	1st Runner-Up
1996	Carla Andreína Steinkopf Struve	Costa Oriental	Top 15
1997	Consuelo Adler Hernández	Miranda	Miss International 1997
1998	Daniela Kosán Montcourt	Aragua	1st Runner-up
1999	Andreína Mercedes Llamozas González	Vargas	Top 15
2000	Vivian Ines Urdaneta Rincón	Costa Oriental	Miss International 2000
2001	Aura Consuelo Zambrano Alejos	Táchira	1st Runner-Up
2002	Cynthia Cristina Lander Zamora	Caracas
2003	Goizeder Victoria Azua Barrios	Carabobo	Miss International 2003
2004	Eleidy María Aparicio Serrano	Costa Oriental
2005	María Andrea Gómez Vásquez	Caracas	Top 12
2006	Daniela Anette di Giacomo di Giovanni	Barinas	Miss International 2006
2007	Vanessa Jacqueline Gómez Peretti	Sucre	Top 15
2008	Dayana Carolina Colmenares Bocchieri	Carabobo	Top 12
2009	Laksmi Rodríguez de la Sierra Solórzano	Monagas	Top 15
2010	Ana Elizabeth Mosquera Gómez	Trujillo	Miss International 2010
2011	Jessica Cristina Barboza Schmidt	Caracas	1st Runner-up
2012	Blanca Cristina Aljibes Gallardo	Guarico	Top 15
2013	Nicelín Elián Herrera Vásquez	Aragua
2014	Michelle Marie Bertolini Araque	Guarico
2015	Edymar Martínez Blanco	Anzoátegui	Miss International 2015
2016	Jessica María Duarte Volweider	Trujillo	TBA

Representatives to Miss Earth

Prior 2010, Miss Earth Venezuela was chosen by the Sambil organization from 2005—2009, and the first organization that held Miss Earth Venezuela was Miss Global Beauty Venezuela.

Color Key

•      Declared as Winner
•      Ended as Runner-up
•      Ended as one of the Finalists or Semi-finalists

Year	Delegate	State	Placement
2001	Lirigmel Gabriela Ramos Salazar	Caracas
2002	Dagmar Catalina Votterl Peláez	Caracas
2003	Driva Ysabella Cedeño Salazar	Nueva Esparta
2004	Enid Solsiret Herrera Ramírez	Monagas	Did not compete
2005	Alexandra Braun Waldeck	Nueva Esparta	Miss Earth 2005
2006	Marianne Pasqualina Puglia Martinez	Aragua	3rd Runner-Up
2007	Silvana Santaella Arellano	Falcón	2nd Runner-Up
2008	María Daniela Torrealba Pacheco	Trujillo	Top 8
2009	Jessica Cristina Barboza Schmidt	Caracas	2nd Runner-Up
2010	Mariángela Haydée Manuela Bonanni Randazzo	Táchira	Top 7
2011	Caroline Gabriela Medina Peschiutta	Aragua	3rd Runner-Up
2012	Osmariel Maholi Villalobos Atencio	Yaracuy	2nd Runner-Up
2013	Alyz Sabimar Henrich Ocando	Falcón	Miss Earth 2013
2014	Maira Alexandra Rodríguez Herrera	Amazonas	2nd Runner-Up
2015	Andrea Carolina Rosales Castillejos	Amazonas	Top 8
2016	TBA	TBA	TBA

See also

• Mister Venezuela
• List of Miss Venezuela contestants
• Miss Earth
• Big Four international beauty pageants
• List of beauty contests

External links

• Miss Venezuela Official Website
• Miss Venezuela La Nueva Era MB
• Belleza Venezolana
• Pageantopolis