10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Meet some of the candidates who will compete in Miss Universe Cuba this year
Miss Universe Cuba now has its 20 official candidates who will compete in Hialeah this summer to see who goes to the Miss Universe pageant in Thailand in November.
The winner will also receive another title this year: Queen of the 100th Anniversary of the City of Hialeah. Last year, Hialeah hosted the first Miss Universe Cuba contest with Marianela Ancheta winning the crown.
The search for the most beautiful Cuban woman began in January, with 250 applicants. Twenty-five finalists were selected, and on Thursday, the finalists were narrowed down to 20 after three in-person auditions, the last held on April 30 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Doral. This year's contestants features a mix of well-known faces and social media darlings. In addition to charm and communication skills, Miss Universe Cuba contestants must either have been born on the island or have one parent that is Cuban.
Daughter of a Cuban celebrity in Miss Universe
The judges this year included last year's Miss Universe Cuba, Marianela Ancheta; stylist Carlos Sigas; Gallia Vega, a fitness model and candidate for Miss Universe Cuba in 2024; Miguel Ángel García, official makeup artist for Miss Venezuela; Tenay Rodríguez, influencer, businesswoman, and television presenter, who was part of the panel of judges that selected Miss Universe Cuba last year; makeup artist Eugenio Rodríguez; and photographer Michel Milian, who took the photos of Ancheta wearing the Ochún-themed outfit she wore on the preliminary night of the Miss Universe pageant.
'Congratulations to each and every one of you, the new Miss Universe Cuba 2025 candidates,' said Ancheta at the Thursday event, dressed in a black skirt with matching floral details and a white blouse. 'I celebrate and embrace you, because I know what you're feeling today… the nerves, the excitement, the dreams. Cuba deserves to shine, and together we can make its light reach further than ever.'
Lina Luaces, daughter of Lili Estefan, host of Univision's El Gordo y la Flaca, and businessman Lorenzo Luaces, was one of the finalists who caused a buzz. Luaces works as a model and has done runway shows in New York Fashion Week and other cities such as her native Miami.
'My mom and I spent weeks preparing for this casting. I'm very excited, and it's an honor because Cuba is part of my roots,' said Luaces, who said she preferred competing to represent Cuba instead of the United States, where she was born.
'I didn't even think about it. I wanted it to be Cuba to honor my family and my roots,' Lina said, according to Hola. 'I have always said I feel more Cuban than American, because that's how I grew up, with the values I have, the food I eat.'
Miss Universe candidate criticizes the Cuban regime
Another contender is social media star Mia Dio, a gorgeous blonde with one million of followers who come to her for funny content. She recently announced that she was a candidate for the crown in one of her posts.
'I have a confession to make. My name is Mia Angelina Donadio Cancio, and my mother is Cuban. I am currently a preselected candidate for Miss Universe Cuba 2025,' she said, before strongly condemning the Cuban regime for the inequality that plagues the country, especially against women, who lack laws to protect them from violence and femicide.
'I don't want to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but the one who says it the loudest—I want to tell you what is happening in Cuba,' Donadio said in the post.
'It is a communist country, and you would think that means equality, especially for women. Free education, free healthcare, and half of Parliament being made up of women. Does that seem progressive? But this is what they don't show you; there is no national law against gender violence, the government doesn't have a hotline to report these cases, and right now, a very serious situation is happening that no one is talking about. In 2023, at least 83 women died at the hands of their partners or ex-partners,' she denounced in English.
Donadio also participated in the Univision pageant show, Nuestra Belleza Latina in 2021.
The influencer and comedian, who performs her stand-up routine in English, has Latin American heritage from both parents. Her father, born in Argentina, was a cameraman for Univision for many years.
'He inspired me to start creating content when I was 14,' said Donadio, who addressed Cuban women directly. 'Sisters, visibility is power, and if the Cuban government isn't going to say your names, I will,' she said in a video on her Instagram profile, concluding with the phrase that led Cubans to protest on July 11, 2021, 'Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life.)'
Miami mother and businesswoman to compete
Indiana Williams is another candidate for the crown. She is a mother and entrepreneur who founded an event planning company more than a decade ago.
'In my skin and in my heart I carry the history, strength, and passion of my homeland. Representing my country at Miss Universe Cuba is not just an honor, it's a mission. It's time to raise our voices, to show that Cuba has beauty, intelligence, elegance, and an unstoppable spirit,' Williams said.
'A new story begins… and I promise to live it with the strength of a woman, the tenderness of a mother, and the fire of a dreamer who never gave up,' she said about her journey to the Miss Universe Cuba finals.
Official Miss Universe Cuba Candidates
Also included in this group of 20 young women born in Cuba or with Cuban roots are: Anabella Urquiola; Angelica Roque, Ariday Villar, Claudia Ramos, Claudia Fernández, Deneb Morales, Emely Artabe, Glenda Verdecia, Katherine Núñez; Lianet Aguilera Sarmiento; Linnet Mustafat Arcial; Lisbeth Fernández; María Díaz; Romy Alvarez; Sheila Laza; Stefany Parli; and Vanessa García.
