The contest, which will be held in Miami on September 15, adheres to the new standards that govern the miss Universe: without restriction on age, marital status, height or perfect measurements.
The requirement to participate was to have been born in Cuba or to Cuban parents in exile. The candidatures came from Spain, Dubai, Miami and other cities in the United States, even from the island, said the national director of Miss Universe CubaPrince Julius Caesar, who has more than two decades of experience in the world of Beauty contests.
The ages of the candidates to compete range between 19 and 55 years old.
The jury of the contest will be made up of the Cuban Sissi Fleitas and the Venezuelan Alicia Machado.
Of the 20 candidates, one will be chosen by the audience through social networks in the coming weeks.
There will be 20 official candidates for Miss Cuba heading to Miss Universe, then there will be 10 semi-finalists, who will parade in a swimsuit. Then five finalists will go to a round of questions. And then we will go to a top two and from there the new Miss Cuba will emerge, the director indicated about the format of the final night of the pageant.
Regarding the pre-selection process of the contestants, he commented:
With the first 100 we have an interview at the Miss Cuba offices. We want to interact with them to evaluate how they speak, how they think, we are going to see them in swimsuits. And from that first group there will be 40 left that we will bring to 20. Of the 40, we want the organization to elect 19 and for the public, through their vote on social networks, to say who will be the 20th candidate to integrate the ranks of Miss Cuba.
The winner of the Miss Universe Cuba crown will be advised in several areas such as catwalk, makeup, protocol and public speaking, to compete in Miss Universe 2024, which will be held in November in Mexico City.
The preparation of these 20 women will be in the spaces of Miss Universe Cuba in Miami, where they will take classes in public speaking, catwalk, makeup and hairdressing, social project, especially public speaking in English and Spanish, because there are many girls who have no knowledge in that field. rea, said the Venezuelan.
Why a Miss Universe Cuba?
Regarding what has been the motivation for Cuban women to be shown again in an international beauty pageant, he stated that the Miss Universe organization expanded its vision of the pageant and he took his proposal to the board, which entrusted him with the task of carry out the task of searching from Miami for the first Miss Cuba in almost six decades. The last time Cuba participated in Miss Universe was in 1968, nine years after the Castro dictatorship was installed in Havana.
It was from both sides. I presented the project, the concern and I never thought they would say yes to me. And I received the call. This year the organization opened the doors to another vision. They want all women in the world to participate in the universal beauty contest. In fact, this year there will be 120 women who will compete in Miss Universe, he said.
They decided that Cuba would be there and I received the nomination from the Miss Universe organization. They told me that I was the right person to take the Miss Cuba pageant to Miami, because that is where the largest bastion of Cubans is. The Cubans have built this city, he added.
The role of beauty pageants
Regarding the relevance of a beauty contest in the midst of the deep crisis that is plaguing the Cuban people, she recalled that these types of contests, although they may seem superficial, aim to empower women, as well as promote the social work that the candidates perform. . In addition, the exposure that the winner achieves helps her achieve her professional goals.
I am convinced that the Miss Universe platform is a platform that empowers women, which brings them many benefits. When they have the opportunity to be there, they have the opportunity to change their lives for the better. They become public figures, television entertainers, actresses or philanthropists. I think that the mission of Miss Universe is very beautiful. She is an ambassador of good will, she develops social causes, she is a spokesperson who has a function, a mission and an objective, and is something positive in the growth of society. So, how can all this so positive that the contest has not be good for any country?, he expressed.
Our mission is not only to choose a beauty queen, but a woman who is an ambassador for social causes. I have a motto in my life: beauty pageants have no meaning without a social function, because then we would remain in that stigma or in that concept that people have that it is simply about seeing pretty girls on television with well-made up. , well combed and with dresses. We are no longer interested in that, because that would be something empty, he assured.
A controversy arises
But in the midst of the task, which represents a historic return of Cuba to beauty pageants, questions arose in the media about the source of financing for Miss Universe Cuba that link the contestant to the person who appears as the owner of Globovisin, Ral Gorrín, a lawyer. and Venezuelan businessman residing in Coral Gables who was prosecuted by the US government in 2018 for corrupt practices abroad, according to legal documents.
When asked if there is any link between the contest board and Gorrn, Prince Julio Cesar answered:
I pay my franchise through the international organization and through my advertisers who are powerful brands known in the country. I’ve been doing it for seven years now and they still believe in my project. I do impeccable, beautiful work loaded with a lot of responsibility and professionalism. So, wanting to associate myself with this type of thing seems absurd to me.
It is an attack that we are receiving I don’t know from what sector, nor do I know with what objective. I imagine that they do not want Cuba to participate in Miss Universe and remain in the shadows. The fact that I worked or worked on a private television channel in my native Venezuela does not mean that I have anything to do with what the owners of that channel do. I am an employee, I am not on the board of directors nor am I the owner. And the fact that I broadcast a beauty contest on that signal does not link me to anything, because I pay for that space in my contest. It seems grotesque and disrespectful to my professionalism of 22 years of career. They wanted to do the same with the Tsar of Beauty, Osmel Sousa, that everything was a falsehood. I don’t understand why they want to harm the success of those of us who have worked hard and sweat. If I got to see him (Gorrn) once in my life it was a lot. And excuse me for the word, but I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
