Miss Universe

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic:  Newly crowned Miss  Universe Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic was the toast of her Caribbean nation on Wednesday, with President Hipolito Mejia leading the cheers for the 18-year-old beauty.

Vega, a 6-foot high school student and daughter of a former Miss Dominican Republic, won the pageant on Tuesday in Panama City. “I followed all of this incredible event, which is a great plus for the Dominican Republic,” Mejia told reporters on Wednesday. “She’s beautiful and intelligent and a national pride,” Mejia said, adding that Vega, the first Miss Universe from the Dominican Republic, would probably boost tourism, a critical industry in the country of 8 million people. Vega beat out 70 other women for the title. As soon as her name was announced, people in Santo Domingo began to party on the streets, driving around and waving national flags and posters of their pageant queen.

For some, the win was viewed as a consolation for a country that was hit last month by a banking scandal that saw the collapse of a leading private bank with losses estimated at more than $2 billion. “Amelia’s win is a balm for all the sorrows our country has been going through,” said Teresa Medrano, manager of the Miss Dominican Republic contest. Miss Universe, jointly owned by property tycoon Donald Trump and NBC Television and launched by a swimsuit company 52 years ago, draws a global television audience estimated by organisers at 600 million people in 176 countries.