By NEIL RAMOS
Andrea Meza from Mexico was adjudged most beautiful at this year’s Miss Universe.
She was crowned at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on May 17, by Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi.
Meza bested 73 other beauties from all over the world, including our own Rabiya Mateo, for the title.
The dusky beauty from Iloilo bowed out of the competition as one of the Top 21 finalists.
Named first runner-up was Brazil’s Julia Gama. Second runner-up was Peru’s Janick Maceta, while India’s Adline Castelino and Dominican Republic’s Kimberly Perez were third and fourth runners-up, respectively.
Meza wowed pageant fans during the final Q&A, where she was asked: “If you were the leader of your country. How would you have handled COVID-19 pandemic?”
She answered: “I believe there’s not a perfect way to handle this for situations, such as COVID-19. However, I believe that what I would have done was create a lockdown even before everything was that big. Because we lost so many lives and we cannot afford that. We have to take care of our people. That’s why I would have taken care of them since the beginning.”
