On April 23rd, the country of Venezuela made history as the first country to have a back-to-back victory in the Miss Universe pageant. Outgoing Miss Universe (and Venezuelan) Dayana Sabrina Mendoza, crowned MISS VENEZUELA 2009, Stefania Fernandez as Miss Universe 2009, leaving first runner up, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC'S Ada De La Cruz as the ultimate clapper. Was I surprised? Yes! Was I happy? 100%Although I wasn't too crazy about her evening gown choice, I thought that Stefania had that special spark on stage that won over the judges. During the final question segment, her fierceness came across as a strong, confident, young woman, and I think that is what ultimately won her the title.
Her other runner ups were, KOSOVO'S Gona Dragusha, AUSTRALIA's Rachael Finch and PUERTO RICO'S Mayra Matos. The remainder of the top 15 were:
FRANCE-Chloe Mortaud
SOUTH AFRICA-Tatum Keshwar
USA-Kristen Dalton
CZECH REPUBLIC-Iveta Lutovska
SWITZERLAND-Whitney Toyloy
SWEDEN-Renate Cerljen
CROATIA-Sarah Cosic
ICELAND-Ingebjorg Egilsdottir
ALBANIA-Hasna Xhukici
BELGIUM-Zeynep Sever
The surprise twist of the evening was that NO ASIANS made the cut. Big favorites such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Japan, failed to impress the Donald, and a huge backlash had arisen from that. In all honesty, the only Asian contender I saw was Pamela Bianca Manalo, Miss Philippines. She delivered a flawless preliminary swimsuit competition, and carried herself elegantly during the prelim evening gown section.
I have to say that the most gorgeous evening gown of Miss Universe 2009 and possibly pageant history was that of, Gona Dragusha, Miss Kosovo. She carried herself gorgeously, and she channeled the elegance of silver screen legend, Audrey Hepburn.
In the end, the right girl won. It's funny because after Stefania's well deserved victory, many people started to accuse the Miss Universe organization for fixing the pageant. As other believed that Stefania was a deserving winner, most people started to question the fairness of the top 15 selection process. Personally, I think that Stefania is gorgeous! She was my choice for the Miss Venezuela title, and although she was not my ultimate favorite for the crown, her victory was well deserved, no matter what ANYONE says!
