José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and the 58th president of Nicaragua since 10 January 2007. Previously, he was leader of Nicaragua from 18 July 1979 to 25 April 1990, first as Coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction from 19 July 1979 to 10 January 1985, and then as the 54th president from 10 January 1985 to 25 April 1990. During his first term, he implemented policies to achieve leftist reforms across Nicaragua. In later years, Ortega's left-wing radical politics cooled significantly, leading him to pursue pro-business policies and even rapprochement with the Catholic Church. However, in 2022, Ortega resumed repression of the Church, and has imprisoned prelate Rolando José Álvarez Lagos.
Denise Marie Quiñones August is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2001. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of Lares in the Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 pageant.
Carlos Mejía Godoy is a Nicaraguan musician, composer and singer-songwriter and one of the main representatives of the testimonial song or new song of his country.
General Humberto Ortega Saavedra was a Nicaraguan revolutionary, military leader, writer and businessman. One of the nine members of the National Directorate of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, he co-founded the Tercerista tendency and was the "major theorist" of the urban insurrection strategy that toppled the Somoza family dictatorship. A four-star general, Ortega was minister of defense from 1980 to 1995, between the victory of the Sandinista revolution in 1979 under the National Reconstruction Government, through the first presidency of his brother Daniel Ortega, and into the presidency of Violeta Chamorro who defeated Daniel Ortega in 1990. He was also chief of the army, overseeing its transformation from the partisan Sandinista Popular Army (EPS) to the professionalized Nicaraguan Armed Forces under civilian control. Later in life he spoke out against repression by his brother's government. Hours after a May 2024 interview in which he sharply criticized his brother, Humberto Ortega was placed under house arrest. The following month, he was transferred to a military hospital where he died in September 2024.
Miss Universe 2007 was the 56th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, Mexico on 28 May 2007.
Rosa María Ojeda Cuen is a Mexican model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the title Miss Mexico 2006. She also represented Mexico at the 56th annual Miss Universe 2007 pageant held at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, Mexico.
Dora María Téllez Argüello is a Nicaraguan historian known for her involvement in the Nicaraguan Revolution. As a young university medical student in León in the 1970s, Téllez was recruited by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). Téllez went on to become a comandante and fought alongside later president Daniel Ortega in the revolution that ousted dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979. In the subsequent FSLN government, she served as Health Minister under Ortega and has also been an advocate for women's rights. She ultimately became a critic of repression and corruption under President Ortega and left the FSLN in 1995 to found the party Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS), later renamed Unamos. Along with several other opposition figures, she was arrested in June 2021 by the Ortega government.
Miss Nicaragua was a Nicaraguan beauty pageant. It was held from 1955 until 2023, when the organization cancelled it for political reasons.
Rosario María Murillo Zambrana is a Nicaraguan politician and poet who is the Vice President of Nicaragua, the country's second highest office, since January 2017 and First Lady of Nicaragua since 2007 and from 1985 to 1990 as the wife of President Daniel Ortega. Murillo has served as the Nicaraguan government's lead spokesperson, government minister, head of the Sandinista Association of Cultural Workers, and Communications Coordinator of the Council on Communication and Citizenry. She was sworn in as vice president of Nicaragua on 10 January 2017. In August 2021, she was personally sanctioned by the European Union, over alleged human rights violations.
The Señorita Panamá is a national beauty pageant in Panama. As of the 2024 edition, Señorita Panamá winners represent Panamá in Miss Universe. The Miss Panama brand started in 1952, when the Panamanian Institute of Tourism received an invitation from Miss Universe to send a representative. In 1975, the Señorita Panamá name was used for the first time, reverting to Miss Panama in 1976. In 1982, Señorita Panamá was created by RPC Channel 4 as an alternative to send its winners to the Miss World contest in London. These pageants, along with smaller pageants such as Miss International Panamá and Miss World Panamá celebrated to select delegates for international representations.
The Miss Nicaragua 2008 pageant was held on February 23, 2008 in Managua, after weeks of events. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Thelma Rodríguez won the title of Miss Nicaragua Universe. She represented Nicaragua at Miss Universe 2008 held later in the year in Vietnam. The rest of the finalists would enter in different pageants.
The Miss Nicaragua 2009 pageant, was held on March 7, 2009 in Managua, after weeks of events. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Indiana Sánchez won the title of Miss Universe Nicaragua 2009. She represented Nicaragua at Miss Universe 2009, held in the Bahamas later that year. The rest of the finalists would enter different pageants.
Berenice Xuyami Quezada Herrera is a Nicaraguan model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Nicaragua 2017 and represented Nicaragua at the Miss Universe 2017 pageant.
Adriana María Paniagua Cabrera is a Nicaraguan model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the Miss Nicaragua 2018 and competed at Miss Universe 2018 pageant.
Berta Valle is a Nicaraguan television presenter and human rights activist. She is the wife of former 2021 presidential pre-candidate Félix Maradiaga, who was detained by the government of Daniel Ortega on June 8, 2021.
Sheynnis Alondra Palacios Cornejo is a Nicaraguan model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe 2023. Having previously won Miss Nicaragua 2023, she is the first Nicaraguan to win Miss Universe.
The following lists events in the year 2023 in Nicaragua.
Ana Quirós Víquez is a Costa Rican feminist and LGBT+ rights activist who worked in Nicaragua. She is the director of the non-governmental organization Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud (CISAS).
Miss Universe Nicaragua (MUNIC) is a beauty pageant and organization that selects the Nicaraguan's official representative to Miss Universe —one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
