Miss Grand Cuba

Last updated

Miss Grand Cuba
Formation2023
Founder Daryanne Lees
TypeBeauty pageant
Headquarters Tampa
Location
  • United States
Membership
Miss Grand International
Official language
  • English
  • Spanish
National director
Cristian Aguiar
Website MissGrandCuba.com

Miss Grand Cuba is a national title given to a woman chosen to represent Cuba at the Miss Grand International pageant. [1] [2] [3] The first titleholder was a Mexican-Cuban model from Sinaloa, Jamillette Gaxiola, who was appointed by the Miss Cuba organization to compete at the inaugural edition of the mentioned international contest in Thailand, [4] where she was ranked in the final 10. [5] Since then, Cuba has always sent their representatives to compete every year; however, most of them were appointed to the position without organizing the respective pageant until 2022, [6] [7] [8] when a Miami-based Cuban pageant, Miss y Mister Cuba, acquired the license and the Miss Grand Cuba titleholder was elected through such a contest. [9]

Contents

The first stand-alone contest of Miss Grand Cuba happened in mid-2023 in Tampa, Florida, organized by former Miss Grand International 2014, Daryanne Lees, after she took over the franchise from the Miss y Mister Cuba organization, [10]

History

Cuba has usually been sending their representatives to compete at the Miss Grand International since 2013, [4] and won the contest once in 2014 by a Cuban-Puerto Rican, Daryanne Lees, [11] who later became the director of the Miss Grand Cuba pageant in 2023. [10] From 2013 to 2020, the license belonged to a Miami-based pageant organizer chaired by Noemi Meléndez, Miss Cuba. [1] [2] [12] However, no national contests were organized for Miss Grand International; Cuban representatives for the mentioned period were all appointed. [3] [13]

In 2021, the license was taken over by another group of Cuban Americans, Vicar Abel and Miledy de los Santos, and was then transferred to Julio César Cruz and Faddya Halabi in 2022, when Miss Grand Cuba was one of the main titles in their national pageant, Miss y Mister Cuba. [9] However, Daryanne Lees, with a former licensee, Noemi Meléndez, as chief financial officer, took the license back in 2023 and organized the first contest of Miss Grand Cuba in Tampa, Florida, in mid-2023, to select the country representative for the 2023 edition of Miss Grand International. [10] The license was then transferred to a Florida-based Cuban photographer, Cristian Aguiar, the following year.

Edition

The following are the details of the Miss Grand Cuba edition, which was held as a stand-alone pageant only once in 2023.

EditionDateFinal venueEntrantsResultRef.
Winner1st runner-up2nd runner-up3rd runner-up
1st August 20, 2023 Tampa Marriott Westshore, Tampa, Florida, United States5Sofia AcostaLourdes FeliuMaria VilchesYamislaidy García [14]

International Contest

The following is a list of Cuban representatives at the Miss Grand International contest.

YearDelegateNational TitleCompetition Performance [15] National director(s)Ref.
PlacementsOther Award(s)
2013 Jamillette Gaxiola 2nd runner-up Senorita Republica DeportivaTop 10Noemi Meléndez [4]
2014 Daryanne Lees Runner-up Miss Earth USA 2014 Winner [11]
2015 María ManzoAppointedUnplaced [1]
2016 Merys NavarroAppointedTop 20 [2]
2017 Rachel VazquezAppointedResigned
Yvette Blaess Miss World America 2016 FinalistResigned [12]
Lisandra DelgadoAppointedUnplaced [3]
2018 Gladys CarredeguasAppointedTop 20Best in Swimsuit [6]
2019 Elaine GonzálezAppointedUnplaced [7]
2020 Geysel VailantAppointedResigned [8]
Jennifer SánchezAppointedUnplaced
2021 Geysel ValliantAppointedUnplaced
  • Vicar Abel
  • Miledy de los Santos
[13]
2022 Daniela EspinosaMiss Grand Cuba 2022Resigned
  • Julio César Cruz
  • Faddya Halabi
[9]
Fabién LaurencioNuestra Belleza Latina 2021 – 1st runner upUnplaced [16]
2023 Sofia Acosta Miss Grand Cuba 2023 Unplaced Daryanne Lees [14]
2024 Lourdes Feliu1st runner-up Miss Grand Cuba 2023 Cristian Aguiar [17]
Color keys for the Placements at Miss Grand International
  Declared as the winner
  Ended as a runner-up (Top 5)
  Ended as a finalist (Top 10)
  Ended as a semi-finalist (Top 20/21)

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 "Merys Navarro crowned as Miss Grand Cuba 2016". Times of India. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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  14. 1 2 "Nhan sắc nóng bỏng của người đẹp Cuba sang Việt Nam thi Hoa hậu Hòa bình" (in Vietnamese). Tiền Phong. 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
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  16. "Người mẫu đăng quang Hoa hậu Hòa bình Cuba 2024" (in Spanish). Tiền Phong. 2 June 2024. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.