Miss Mexicana Universal Andrea Meza was crown-ed Miss Universe 2021 on Sunday a year after the 2020 pageant was cancelled due to the cor-onav!rus pa-ndem*c.
The 26-year-old model-software engineer – who was crown-ed by 2019 titleholder Zozibini Tunzi – reacted to her triumph on Instagram: ‘MISS UNIVERSE IS MÉXICO!’
For the grand finale, Andrea dazzled in a flaming red-fringed gown designed by Ivis Lenin to accept the ho-n-or onstage Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.
Meza – who has 40 cousins – is reportedly the third Mexican woman to ever win the cr*wn, following Lupita Jones and Ximena Navarrete.
The Autonomous University of Chihuahua grad managed to beat out 74 other contestants for the title of Miss Universe at the 69th annual beauty competition.
The FYI-br-oadc-ast ceremony was hosted by 2012 titleholder Olivia Culpo and Saved by the Bell star Mario Lopez, and it featured a special performance by Luis Fonsi.
During the Q&A round with four other contestants, Andrea was asked about beauty standards in the fast-evolving age of technology.
‘We live in a society that more and more is more advanced and as we have advanced as a society, we have advanced with stereotypes,’ Meza explained through a translator.
‘Nowadays, beauty is not only the way we look. For me, beauty radiates not only in our spirits, but in our hearts and the way we conduct ourselves. Never permit someone to tell you that you are not valu-able.’
The 6ft vegan – who reportedly has Chinese ancestry – also explained how she would have handled the co-ronav!rus pa-ndem*c.
‘I believe that what I would have done was create the lockdown even before everything was that big,’ Andrea stated.
‘Because we lost so many lives and we cannot afford that. We have to take care of our people. That’s why I would have taken care of them since the beginning.’
And while Miss America ditch*d their swimsuit competition in 2018, the women competing for Miss Universe were still required to strut their st*** in a bikini.
Meza donned three very different dresses throughout the competition including a hot-pink mini and a beige halter gown with a thigh-high sl-it.
Miss Mexico 2017 also represented her country by wearing a national costume of an Aztec dragon featuring thousands of beads and colorful feathers.
Other contestants standing out in their national costumes included Singapore’s Bernadette Belle Ong who wore a cape emblazoned with ‘Stop Asian Ha-te.’
Also sending a message was Uruguay’s Lola de los Santos Biccò, who fanned out her rainbow-colored cape to reveal the phrase: ‘No more hate, violence, rejection, d*scrim-inat!on.’
Myanmar’s Thuzar Wint Lwin literally held a sign up asking for ‘Prayers for Myanmar’ in re-action to the unrest in the Asian nation since the military carried out a p*tsch on February 1.