Colombians Celebrate With Miss Universe 2015 Pauline Vega

By Maria Slither - 28 Jan '15 09:27AM
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Miss Universe 2015, Pauline Vega has brought immense pride not only to her country but also to her hometown, the port city of Barranquilla on Colombia's Gulf Coast which greets her victory with carnivals on Monday hours after she was proclaimed winner of the prestigious pageant.

In a report originally from the Associated Press, President Juan Manuel Santos congratulated the 22-year old Latina for winning the crown.

This demonstrates that in Colombia we have women who are intelligent, hard-working and perseverant in the face of obstacles. They're also very pretty," the President said.

Coveting the crown is said to be a 'historic' even since Colombians in the Miss Universe pageants always ended up being one of the runner-ups. Since 1992, the country has landed four times on the runner-ups place 1992, according to US News.

Vega's victory also made Colombians look back to the first Miss Colombia, 76-year-old Luz Marina Zuluaga, who got the Miss Universe crown way back in 1958.

"Like everyone else I'm very happy that a Colombian has finally won," the former beauty queen said. Further, in the interview, Zuluaga expressed his opinion how the pageant has changed in the last decades particularly the wearing of bikinis in the competition, the presence of beauty schools and the issue on plastic surgery to achieve perfect beauty.

Meanwhile, Pauline Vega's win also prompted questions as to the next host country of the next Miss Universe competition.

A report from Inquirer.net said that Donald Trump, co-owner with NBC Universal of the Miss Universe pageant, said that the committee is considering Doral city in Colombia as their next host. However, Beijing, China is also one of their possible options. This has been announced during a press conference on Sunday night.

Trump also disclosed other possible host cities for the competition including the Miami area, according to the Miami Herald.

"We have about 18 places that want it," Trump said.

Doral Councilwoman Ana Maria Rodriguez was also ecstatic about Doral being chosen as the host city.

I don't even think we were prepared for a windfall of people wanting to learn about our city. The telecast made everybody feel like: 'Where's Doral? Where is this place? How do I get there?' And that was our initial desire; it was to bring positive exposure to our city. It was phenomenal, ," Rodriguez said during the press conference.

The Miss Universe 2015 is said to have the highest ratings since the 2006 pageant with at least 7.6 million viewers in the US. Audiences between 18-49 are said to be the top viewers who made it the most-watched show on Sunday when it took place.

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