Location and date
On 3 August 1971, the Miss Universe Organization and the Government Economic Development Administrator of Puerto Rico signed a contract to bring Miss Universe and Miss USA to San Juan from 1972 to 1976. [1] However, the Puerto Rican government canceled the agreement in February 1973 because, according to Puerto Rican government officials, the agreement was allegedly illegal. [2] On 31 December 1974, Miss Universe Inc. president Harold Glasser announced that the Miss Universe 1975 pageant would be held in San Salvador, El Salvador on 19 July 1975. [3]
On the day of the competition, several groups of armed soldiers with submachine guns surrounded the competition site to stop student demonstrations protesting the El Salvadoran government's spending of $1 million on the competition. [4] Hours before the competition, a bomb exploded in the center of San Salvador in protest against the Miss Universe pageant, injuring a civilian, and damaging the National Tourist Office of El Salvador, which organized the pageant. [5]
According to the New York Times, August 5, "while a worldwide television audience saw El Salvador’s sunny beaches before the “Miss Universe” finals July 19, off-camera heavily armed troops were called out to halt demonstrations by students protesting the Government's expenditure of $1-million on the contest." Protests took place in Santa Ana and San Salvador, resulting in a student massacre with far-reaching consequences for the country. Again, from the NY Times: "According to the military Government, which contended that the march was part of a “Communist plot”, one person was killed, five wounded, and 11 arrested. But according to the students, at least 12 persons were killed, 20 wounded, and 40 arrested". [6]
