Miss Universe Puerto Rico

Currently, the pageant is responsible for selecting the country’s delegates to Miss Universe. Since 2018, the organization is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, and the annual competition is broadcast on WAPA TV and WAPA América. After Hemisphere Media Group acquired the rights of the franchise, Denise Quiñones, was appointed as the director of the organization.

Traditionally, the organization begins castings of the contestants in April. The delegates of each municipality go through months of training and workshops. The pageant's preliminary and final night are held in September. The winner of the title of Miss Puerto Rico Universe goes to compete in Miss Universe, traditionally held in December.

The selection of Miss Puerto Rico commences the year before the winner advances to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. Each Puerto Rican city may choose a representative who then enters the Miss Puerto Rico finals, traditionally held at a San Juan area hotel. The winner is crowned at the conclusion of the final competition.

There have been three changes in the organization that led to modifications in the pageant's name. "Miss Puerto Rico" was held from 1952 until 1998 under the direction of Anna Santisteban, in 1996 the pageant lost the franchise for Miss Universe. From 1996 to 1998 Telemundo organized the event, under the name "Miss Universe Puerto Rico". From 1999 to 2002 TeleOnce (now Univision Puerto Rico) obtained the franchise and renamed it "Miss Puerto Rico Universe". Magali Febles organized the pageant between 2003 and 2009 and the pageant title has remained the same. In 2009, Luisito Vigoreaux and Desireé Lowry obtained the Miss Universe franchise and renamed the pageant "Miss Universe Puerto Rico".

The Miss Puerto Rico beauty pageant has now turned to technology to reach more people through the use of podcasting. Starting with the 2006 pageant, Miss Puerto Rico Universe became the first pageant of the Miss Universe franchise to have a podcast. In this, Wilton Vargas, an international multi-media and technology personality, interviews all contestants with the goal of helping people get to know them better so that they can participate in the voting process using cell phones. This podcast is published as a section in technology news and information website Tecnetico.com and various podcast directories, including iTunes.

Delegates are allowed to compete more than once at the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant, the caveat being that they are not allowed to compete again after they have won. For example, Cynthia Olavarría placed 1st runner-up in 2003 and returned in 2005, winning the title and placing 1st runner-up at Miss Universe. A number of delegates and winners have competed in the "Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico" (Miss World Puerto Rico) pageant, a preliminary to the Miss World pageant. There are frequently crossovers between the two pageants: for example Joyce Giraud was crowned Miss Puerto Rico twice by Ana Rosa Brito, first in 1994 as Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico, then in 1998 as Miss Universe Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico is one of the most successful competitors in the history of the Miss Universe pageant, having won five times. Marisol Malaret, Miss Puerto Rico 1970, was the first Puerto Rican to win the Miss Universe title. The four other Puerto Rican delegates who have won the Miss Universe title are Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985), Dayanara Torres (1993), Denise Quiñones (2001), and Zuleyka Rivera (2006).

On November 7, 2011, Miss Universe Puerto Rico selected the first woman who was not born in Puerto Rico to represent the island at Miss Universe 2012. Bodine Koehler Peña was crowned as Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2012. Koehler was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and a Dominican mother, and grew up in Puerto Rico.

On February 5, 2018, it was announced that Luisito Vigoreaux and Desiree Lowry had lost the rights to the franchise, with WME/IMG awarding rights to WAPA-TV.

On February 15, 2018, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 and Miss Universe 2001 winner Denise Quiñones was named as the pageant's national director.

Nationality of contestants

In 2011, after Bodine Koehler Peña was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2012, people started to question her nationality. Koehler Peña was born in the Netherlands, her father is Dutch and her mother is Dominican. Regarding the criticism, Koehler Peña said: "I want to clarify a point about my nationality and that is that I am Puerto Rican and I feel very proud to represent Puerto Rico. I was born in the Netherlands, but I came here when I was very little and my family is here too." After the strong criticism, the national director of the pageant at that time, Desiree Lowry, explained that the rules of the contest establish that the participants must be citizens of the country and have lived in it for a minimum of six months.

Representatives of Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe pageant.

Key

Miss Universe Puerto Rico

In 2009, Luisito Vigoreaux and Desireé Lowry obtained the Miss Universe franchise and renamed the pageant "Miss Universe Puerto Rico". Since 2018, the organization is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, and the annual competition is broadcast on WAPA TV and WAPA América. After Hemisphere Media Group acquired the rights of the franchise, Denise Quiñones, was appointed as the organization's director. In 2022, Yizette Cifredo became the organization's national director.

Year	Municipality	Titleholder	Placement at Miss Universe	Notes
2024	TBA
2023	Patillas	Karla Inelisse Guilfú Acevedo	Top 5	Voice For Change (Gold Winner)
2022	Fajardo	Ashley Ann Cariño Barreto	Top 5
2021	Loíza	Michelle Marie Colón Ramírez	Top 10
2020	San Sebastián	Estefanía Natalia Soto Torres	Top 10	Appointed
2019	Toa Baja	Madison Sara Anderson Berríos	1st Runner-Up
2018	Rincón	Kiara Liz Ortega Delgado	Top 5
2017	San Juan	Danyeshka Hernández Valentín	Unplaced
2016	Aguadilla	Brenda Azaria Jiménez Hernández	Unplaced
	Isabela	Kristhielee Yinaira Caride Santiago	Dethroned
2015	Guaynabo	Catalina Morales Gómez	Unplaced
2014	Toa Baja	Gabriela Berríos Pagán	Unplaced	Miss Photogenic
2013	Arecibo	Monic Marie Pérez Díaz	Top 16
2012	Río Grande	Bodine Koehler Peña	Unplaced
2011	Corozal	Viviana Ortiz Pastrana	Top 16
2010	Río Grande	Mariana Paola Vicente Morales	Top 10
2009	Cabo Rojo	Mayra Matos Pérez	4th Runner-Up

Miss Puerto Rico Universe

From 1999 to 2002 TeleOnce (now Univision Puerto Rico) obtained the franchise and renamed it "Miss Puerto Rico Universe". Magali Febles organized the pageant between 2003 and 2009 and the pageant title has remained the same.

Year	Municipality	Titleholder	Placement at Miss Universe	Notes
2008	Dorado	Ingrid Marie Rivera Santos	Unplaced
2007	Guayanilla	Wilmadilis Blasini Pérez	Unplaced
2006	Salinas	Zuleyka Jerrís Rivera Mendoza	Miss Universe 2006
2005	Salinas	Cynthia Enid Olavarría Rivera	1st Runner-Up
2004	Cidra	Alba Giselle Reyes Santos	2nd Runner-Up	Miss Photogenic
2003	Vieques	Carla Tricoli Rodríguez	Unplaced	Miss Photogenic
2002	Utuado	Isis Marie Casalduc González	Unplaced	Miss Photogenic
2001	Lares	Denise Marie Quiñones August	Miss Universe 2001	Miss Photogenic
2000	Guaynabo	Zoraida Isabel Fonalledas Ferraiouli	Unplaced
1999	Lares	Brenda Liz López Ramos	Top 10	Miss Photogenic

Miss Puerto Rico

Miss Puerto Rico was held from 1952 until 1998 under the direction of Anna Santisteban.

Year	City	Titleholder	Placement at Miss Universe	Notes
1998	Aguas Buenas	Joyce Marie Giraud Mojica	2nd Runner-Up
1997	San Juan	Ana Rosa Brito Suárez	Top 10
1996	Toa Alta	Sarybel Velilla Cabeza	Unplaced
1995	Corozal	Desirée Lowry Rodríguez	Top 6
1994	Isabela	Brenda Esther Robles Cortés	Unplaced
1993	Toa Alta	Dayanara Torres Delgado	Miss Universe 1993
1992	Bayamón	Daisy García Rodríguez	Unplaced
1991	Toa Alta	Lizzette Marie Bouret Echevarría	Unplaced
1990	Guaynabo	Maria Luisa Fortuño Cosimi	Unplaced
1989	Salinas	Catalina María Villar Ruiz	Unplaced
1988	Guaynabo	Isabel Maria Pardo Cubeñas	Unplaced
1987	San Juan	Laurie Tamara Simpson Rivera	4th Runner-Up
1986	San Germán	Elizabeth Robison Latalladi	Top 10
1985	San Juan	Deborah Fátima Carthy-Deu	Miss Universe 1985
1984	Mayagüez	Sandra Beauchamp Roche	Unplaced
1983	Trujillo Alto	Carmen Batíz Vergara	Unplaced
1982	Juncos	Lourdes Milagros Mantero Hormazábal	Unplaced
1981	Guaynabo	Carmen Lotti Rodríguez	Unplaced
1980	Caguas	Agnes Tañón Correa	Top 12
1979	Mayagüez	Teresa "Tere" López Hernández	Unplaced
1978	San Juan	Ada Cecille Perkins Flores	Unplaced
1977	Ponce	Maria Del Mar Rivera Veglio	Unplaced
1976	Salinas	Elizabeth Zayas Ortiz	Unplaced
1975	San Germán	Lorell Del Carmen Carmona Juan	Unplaced
1974	San Juan	Sonia María Stege Chardón	Top 12
1973	Orocovis	Gladys Vanessa Colón Díaz	Unplaced
1972	Santurce	Bárbara Torres Viñolo	Unplaced
1971	San Juan	Idalia Margarita "Beba" Franco Cantino	3rd Runner-Up
1970	Santurce	Marisol Malaret Contreras	Miss Universe 1970
1969	Río Piedras	Aida Betancourt	Unplaced
1968	Santurce	Marylene Carrasquillo	Unplaced
1967	Fajardo	Ivonne Coll Mendoza	Unplaced
1966	Santurce	Carol Bajandas	Unplaced
1965	Caguas	Gloria Cobián Díaz	Unplaced
1964	San Juan	Yolanda Rodríguez Machín	Unplaced
1963	Ponce	Jeanette Biascoechea	Unplaced
1962	San Juan	Ana Celia Sosa	Unplaced
1961	San Juan	Enid Del Valle	Unplaced
1957	Ponce	Mapita Mercado Cordero	Unplaced	Miss Congeniality
1956	San Lorenzo	Paquita Vivo	Unplaced
1955	Trujillo Alto	Carmen Laura Betancourt	Unplaced
1954	San Juan	Lucy Santiago	Unplaced
1953	San Juan	Wanda Irizarry	Unplaced
1952	Lares	Marilia Levy Bernal	Unplaced

Placements at Miss Universe

Cities with most titleholders

City	Title	Year
San Juan	12	1953, 1954, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1978, 1985, 1987, 1997, 2017
Guaynabo	5	1981, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2015
Salinas	4	1976, 1989, 2005, 2006
Santurce		1966, 1968, 1970, 1972
Lares	3	1952, 1999, 2001
Toa Alta		1991, 1993, 1996
Ponce		1957, 1963, 1977
Fajardo	2	1967, 2022
Toa Baja		2014, 2019
Isabela		1994, 2016*
Río Grande		2010, 2012
Corozal		1995, 2011
San Germán		1975, 1986
Mayagüez		1979, 1984
Trujillo Alto		1955, 1983
Caguas		1965, 1980
Patillas	1	2023
Loíza		2021
San Sebastián		2020
Rincón		2018
Aguadilla		2016*
Arecibo		2013
Cabo Rojo		2009
Dorado		2008
Guayanilla		2007
Cidra		2004
Vieques		2003
Utuado		2002
Aguas Buenas		1998
Bayamón		1992
Juncos		1982
Orocovis		1973
Río Piedras		1969
San Lorenzo		1956

•  
  Ivonne Coll, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1967
•  
  Dayanara Torres, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1993 and Miss Universe 1993
•  
  Joyce Giraud, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 1998
•  
  Denise Quiñones, Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 and Miss Universe 2001
•  
  Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Puerto Rico 2006 and Miss Universe 2006
•  
  Ingrid Marie Rivera, Miss Puerto Rico 2008

• Miss Puerto Rico