Meet the judges and host for the Miss Universe Cuba, set to take place in Miami

After 57 years without participating in Miss Universe, Cubans are closer to meeting the beauty queen who will represent them against candidates from 120 countries at this year’s pageant in Mexico.

Miss Universe Cuba will take place Sept. 15 in Miami, and three media personalities will join the 20 contestants, said Prince Julio César, director of Miss Universe Cuba at a June 17 press conference.

Cuban television presenter and model Sissi Fleitas and Venezuelan television presenter and actress Alicia Machado, Miss Universe 1996, are two of the judges who will choose the winner. The contest will be broadcast on Mega TV.

Cuban writer, speaker and presenter Ismael Cala will host the pageant, which will be preceded by two Mega TV specials documenting the journey of the 20 candidates who will compete for Miss Universe Cuba.

César, who is a Venezuelan designer and announced the Miss Universe Cuba franchise in April, told el Nuevo Herald the candidates for the Miss Universe Cuba crown must have been born on the island or be the daughters of Cubans and prove it with legal documents.

Looking for Miss Universe Cuba

Fleitas’ ideal Cuban queen must be more than a pretty face; she should also be civically engaged and involved in volunteer work.

“I would like to look for a beautiful Cuban woman with a striking physical beauty who can compete with other contestants and surpass them so that she wins the crown that we deserve,” said Fleitas.

“I would like her to speak several languages, because she is going to travel the world representing us; to know our culture, our roots and our traditions, and I would like her to have philanthropic objectives,” added the model, who is an ambassador for the Florida Grand Opera in Miami and a member of the board of directors of Casita María, a non-profit organization that helps children in South Bronx.

Fleitas has been both a judge and a contestant, so she knows these pageants from the inside. Her career on television began in Cuba in the 1990s, when she won a beauty contest on the most popular program at the time, “Sábado conmigo” (“Saturday with Me”). After winning, she made her debut hosting at the age of 15 alongside presenter Carlos Otero.

The most important thing is confidence, says Fleitas. Success, she says, is where preparation meets opportunity.

“You must be prepared to conquer the world, but first, you have to believe that you are a queen, walk with flawless confidence so that they see you as a queen. If you don’t believe it, no one is going to believe you,” says Fleitas.

She says of fellow judge Machado: “Alicia is divine; a beautiful, intelligent woman who knows what she wants. She is a beauty queen,” she says.

The third judge and the venue have yet to be selected.

Auditions for Miss Universe Cuba began in May, and more than 1,000 candidates showed up. So far, 100 candidates have been chosen, and the public can help choose the 20 finalists via Miss Universe Cuba’s social media, said César.

Fleitas is excited about the return of Cuban queens to the stage after almost six decades.

“It’s incredible to me that the beauty of the Cuban woman is finally going out into the universe,” she says. “It’s a right that we have, which until now we had not been able to exercise”