Two weeks after Fatima Bosch‘s coronation, controversy continues to accompany the 74th edition of Miss Universe, held in November in Thailand.
Far from being diluted with the passing of the days, the debate has continued in the media and social networks, fueled by comments from figures close to the contest and testimonies about what was experienced during the training camp and the weeks leading up to the final.
One of the most outspoken voices was Lili Estefan, host of El gordo y la flaca (Univision), who did not give her opinion from a distance.
She traveled to the Asian country to accompany her daughter Lina Luaces, who represented Cuba in this edition. That is why, when addressing the controversy, she stressed that her perception is marked by what she saw and experienced in the place, not only by what is commented afterwards.
This Wednesday, Estefan spoke on her program with “total sincerity” about the controversy surrounding the contest and, above all, about how she perceives the direction the organization has taken.
What Miss Universe represented: a symbolic space of unity
In her speech, Lili recalled the value she historically saw in Miss Universe: a platform where, at least in appearance, the stage could become a neutral space for encounter.
He mentioned that he was shocked to see representatives of countries with open conflicts in the same contest.
“In one way or another, it is an organization in which I said that all the countries represented by a woman arrive here and they arrive with so much love and peace,” she said. And she gave concrete examples of what she saw: Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, and even Thailand and Cambodia, countries that, according to her reflection, can be crossed by tensions, but that in the contest coincided in a context of public coexistence. For her, this made Miss Universe a unique platform, perhaps the only one that allowed that image of unity “in a moment of love” and “peace”.
From elegance to loss of credibility
However, Estefan regretted that, in her opinion, that credibility built over decades is weakening. She recalled that this was not her first contact with Miss Universe: she said that her first experience was in 1988, when she accompanied a jury for a week, and described that contest as an “incredible” and “elegant” experience, including the way in which governments received the organization. She compared that stage with what she lived now and was blunt: “Miss Universe has become like, I don’t know, a fifth-rate contest,” she said.
The most delicate point of her testimony has to do with logistics and care for the participants. Lili affirmed that in Thailand she observed a reality that worried her as a mother: she said that the contestants were without a chaperone, without security and that they moved around without anyone to really represent the organization during certain transfers or activities.
“These girls were without a chaperone, they were without security, they were traveling without anyone representing Miss Universe,” she said. She also explained the anguish involved for families to leave a daughter competing for weeks so far away: “You arrive, deliver a daughter there and you say ok, you have to trust the organization because they spend three weeks there alone competing”.
And she added a practical element that reinforces her concern: for those traveling from the Americas, getting to Thailand takes time, and any emergency becomes more difficult to deal with: “It took you two days to get there… anything that happened to one of them took forever to get to the other side of the world”.
With this message, Estefan closed by making it clear that, in her opinion, someone needs to understand that these young women must be cared for and protected, especially in a contest of worldwide scope.
Here you can watch the video of Lili Estefan talking about her experience at Miss Universe.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
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