Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008

Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008
Ingrid Marie Rivera Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008
Date	November 23, 2007
Presenters	Desiree Lowry, Osvaldo Ríos
Venue	Centro de Bellas Artes, Santurce, San Juan
Broadcaster	Telemundo
Entrants	30
Placements	13
Winner	Ingrid Marie Rivera Dorado
Congeniality	Letty Perez Canóvanas
Photogenic	Ingrid Marie Rivera Dorado

Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008, The annual competition was held at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Santurce, televised live by Telemundo Puerto Rico. It was presented by Desirée Lowry and Osvaldo Ríos. Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2007, Uma Blasini of Guayanilla was succeeded by Ingrid Marie Rivera, from Dorado who won the Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008 title on November 23, 2007. Music was performed by Puerto Rican singer Kany García. Rivera represented Puerto Rico at the Miss Universe 2008 contest in Nha Trang, Vietnam, but did not reach the semifinals.

Placements

Final Results	Contestant
Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008	Dorado - Ingrid Marie Rivera Santos
1st Runner-up	Santurce - Claudia Alejandra Cruz
2nd Runner-up	Trujillo Alto - Kristina Ruisánchez Torreszayas
3rd Runner-up	Utuado - Maribel Montalvo
4th Runner-up	Isabela - Amanda Díaz Torres
5th Runner-up	Bayamón - Ivelisse Del Valle
Top 13	Caguas - Melissa Marty Comerio - Cristina Torres Guayama - María Noelis Rosario Guaynabo - Francoise Mugnano Rosado Ponce - Mónica Alvarado San Sebastián - Cristina Mariel Larregui Vega Alta - Elisa Acevedo

Awards

• Miss Photogenic: Ingrid Rivera (Dorado)
• Most Beautiful Face: Ingrid Rivera (Dorado)
• Inner Beauty: Ingrid Rivera (Dorado)
• Miss Congeniality: Letty Perez (Canóvanas)
• Best National Costume: Lees Darian (Com. Puertoriqueña EU)
• Best Legs: Maribel Montalvo (Utuado)
• Best Skin: Melissa Marty (Caguas)
• Best Hair: Kristina Ruisánchez (Trujillo Alto)
• Miss Sprint (People's Choice): Ivelisse Del Valle (Bayamón

Contestants

The 30 contestants who participated in the pageant in alphabetical order by city.

Aguadilla - Elisabeth Rivera Arecibo - Delorean Torres Barceloneta - Jedith Marie Crespo Barranquitas - Celia Colón Bayamón - Ivelisse Del Valle Caguas - Melissa Marty Canóvanas - Letty Pérez Carolina - Yaritza Montalvo Comerio - Cristina Paola Torres Comunidad PR En Estados Unidos - Lees Darian García Corozal - Sandybell de Jesús Agosto Dorado - Ingrid Marie Rivera Fajardo - Bianca Castro Guayama - María Noelis Rosario Guaynabo - Francoise Mugnano

Gurabo - Nicole Vega Hatillo - Jennifer M. Sánchez Isabela - Amanda Díaz Juana Díaz - Vanessa Méndez Lares - Luz Iraida Morales Ponce - Mónica Alvarado Salinas - Nathalie Cuevas San Juan - Mayra Griselle Iglesias San Sebastián - Cristina Mariel Larregui Santurce - Claudia Alejandra Cruz Trujillo Alto - Kristina Ruisánchez Utuado - Maribel Montalvo Vega Alta - Elisa Acevedo Villalba - Marjorie Crystal Castillo Yauco - Dayline Caraballo

Controversy

Conflict between the candidates and Pageant officials began when it was revealed that Ingrid Marie Rivera would be a candidate at this year's pageant. Prior to the Miss Puerto Rico Universe competition, Rivera had participated in several major beauty pageants. In 2005 she won the title of Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico (Miss Puerto Rico World) following her win she competed at the Miss World pageant placing 2nd runner-up and obtained the title of Miss Caribbean World. In 2003, she also held the title of Miss Global Queen. Rivera was also a judge at last year's Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant won by Uma Blasini. Candidates were concerned about Rivera, they felt as if she should not be allowed to compete and feared that Rivera's previous pageant experience would favor her in the competition and help her win the pageant.

Pageant night

Rivera was booed by some members of the crowd in her swimsuit, evening gown and final question competitions. Despite it all Rivera won the title, although her victory is portrayed as an unfair win. Three days after the pageant was over an even bigger controversy arouse when it was revealed Rivera's belongings had been stolen while the competition was undergoing. Also Rivera's gown and makeup had been coated with pepper spray, causing redness and itchiness in her skin during the pageant. This incident has made headlines nationwide and is now being investigated by officers to determine who is responsible for this.

Evidence

At first police said tests showed no traces of capsicum, the pepper spray's active ingredient, disproving the alleged sabotage of Rivera's clothing during the competition. Police are now investigating and questioning if the alleged sabotage against Rivera is a true story or a publicity stunt. Rivera, pageant officials, and even Magali Febles who is the owner of the Miss Puerto Rico Universe organization could possibly be submitted to a lie detector test. The investigation continued for the next couple of weeks. None of the participants have publicly admitted seeing Rivera with any type of reaction during the competition nor seeing anyone with a suspicious behavior that could lead to a suspect. The delegates from the towns of Santurce, Guaynabo, Bayamón, Salinas, Fajardo and Utuado appeared on national television, on shows like "The Tyra Banks Show" and "The Today Show" saying they were skeptical about the veracity of this incident since none of them knew anything about it until days after the pageant was over. After a few weeks during the investigation, a swimsuit and a second gown were tested, and pepper spray was found.

Notes

• Ingrid Rivera (Miss Dorado) previously held the title of Miss World Puerto Rico. Ingrid also placed 2nd Runner-up at the Miss World 2005 pageant where she obtained the title of Miss Caribbean.
• Maribel Montalvo (Miss Utuado) later placed 2nd Runner-up at the Miss World Puerto Rico 2008 pageant.
• Melissa Marty (Miss Caguas) later became Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008.
• Kristina Ruisánchez (Miss Trujillo Alto) later became Miss Puerto Rico Continente Americano 2008 and placed 1st Runner-up at the Miss Continente Americano 2008 pageant.

References

Puerto Rico portal

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• Interviews in the miss universe 2008
• Miss Puerto Rico Official message board