She made ‘herstory’.
On Sunday, November 19 (Philippine time), the grand coronation night of the 72nd Miss Universe took place in El Salvador, central America.
During the night, the 84 contestants in this edition were cut down to 20, then to ten, five, and three, before the new Miss Universe was crowned.
After all the competition, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua emerged as the victor. This, as she was crowned by her predecessor, Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel of the USA.
The 23-year-old is no stranger to beauty pageants, having been her country’s representative to the 2021 Miss World, where she finished in the Top 40.
This year, she tried her luck anew by competing for Miss Nicaragua, where she of course, won the title and became the contender for the 72nd Miss Universe pageant.
Her win is significant for the central American nation, as Palacios is the first-ever beauty queen from the country to win the Miss U crown. Moreover, the first in what are considered to be the big 4 pageants, which also include the Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth pageants.
Since first joining MU in 1955, Nicaragua had only been able to place four times, with the latest being in 2020.
In the lead-up to the finals, Palacios was also predicted by pageantry site Missosology as the possible winner, which turned out be correct.
The Miss Universe Organization has also shared her official portrait as the reigning queen.
Congratulations, Sheynnis!