Venezuela is the country with the biggest number of international beauty awards: five Miss Worlds and four Miss Universes, among dozens of other victories that no-one counts anymore....

"That mythical beauty is put to trial everywhere in the Venezuelan social space. We elect beauty queens everywhere: so-called “god-mothers” of baseball, football and basketball teams. There are beauty queens in village holidays, harvests, companies, the Carnival. They’re everywhere: in grade schools, in high-schools, in corporations, in sports. Even in prisons they crown beautiful convicted women.....

by Roberto Hernández Montoya
Caracas, January 31^st 1999 First version, in French, August 28^th 1998
Revised on 11th August 2001 En français: La vénuslatrie vénézuélienne

"They are called the “Generation of 1928,” and they were the forgers of the prior political régime we are trying to reform. "It is true that they had camouflaged their protests in the context of Carnival, in which beauty queens are considered normal. But it is significant that their rally revolved around a beauty queen and not around a clown, which is also considered normal in Carnival. They were not far from the natural Venezuelan drolleries, especially among students. It is because in Venezuela beauty queens inspire a liturgical respect. They radiate a freshness that purifies everything over which they preside."

Venezuela has enjoyed an unparalleled record at winning international contests, which has made Miss Venezuela the world's most successful national beauty title.

Venezuela, a highly multiracial and diverse country, is the world's largest consumer of cosmetics on a per-capita basis, and the culture of beauty runs deep as thousands of entrants apply for the pageant each year. Some young women would try for up to five or six years consecutively trying to get one of the 26 to 32 titles that will enable them to compete in the final pageant.

The Miss Venezuela also (infamously) employs a number of official plastic surgeons and cosmetic dentists, a source of unending criticism from many quarters, in particular rival Latin American pageants. As the Miss Venezuela broadcast lasts up to four hours long, with countless musical numbers and dances, rehearsals alone require weeks of preparation on the part of the contestants.

As of 2003, when the current system was put into place, the winners of the Miss Venezuela title (who goes to Miss Universe) and Miss World Venezuela are equal in rank. Nevertheless, the representative to Miss Universe is still announced last, and she is still considered the holder of the one single Miss Venezuela title. Nowadays, the final five finalists are announced during the telecast, followed by the elimination of the second and first runner-ups, then Miss Venezuela to Miss International, Miss Venezuela to Miss World, and Miss Venezuela to Miss Universe.

The International Stage

Throughout the 1990s, the emergence of Miss India as a strong contender has posed a serious challenge to Venezuela's long string of wins; other contestants that have traditionally challenged Miss Venezuela predominance in international pageants are Miss Puerto Rico [see below for 2006 tie-breaking info] and Miss Dominican Republic. The pageant is broadcast live across Latin America by enevision

Venezulea and the Island of Trinidad share many things besides the Gulf of Paria and oil fields. Citizens of Trinidad &
Tobago also revere beauty Queens and contests as much as their Venezuelan neighbors

The ideal measurements for a contestant in Miss Venezuela are 90-60-90. Officially a minimum height of 5'7" is required, but winners are most often at least 5'9" and actually average 5'11" in height.

While few black women have historically participated in the Miss Venezuela pageant, this has been changing in recent years. Recent success stories include Carolina Indriago (winner, 1998); Angélica Guvernez (fourth, 1998); Dayra Lambis (fifth, 1998); Aineta Stephens (fourth, 2000); and Stephanie Thomas (fourth, 2004); Susan Carizzo (second 2005), and Jictzad Vina (first 2005).