Miss Universe blog post on 'fun' at Gitmo vanishes

Miss Universe's blog posting about having fun at Guantanamo Bay has vanished from the pageant's Web site as embarrassed officials try to quash what they call a misunderstanding.

A flurry of critical commentary and news stories over the Venezuelan beauty queen's lighthearted post underscores that the military prison at Guantanamo remains a damaging symbol for the United States.

Dayana Mendoza's now-deleted late-March posting sounded like a note home from a spring breaker.

"We hung out with the guys from the East Coast and they showed us the boat inside and out, how they work and what they do, we took a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun!" Mendoza wrote.

"The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful!" she wrote at another point.

Those descriptions did not refer to the detention center for alleged terrorists, which occupies a sliver of the 45-square-mile (116-square-kilometer) base.

In a brief mention of the detainee camp, Mendoza said her group "saw the jails, where they shower, how they recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books." She described the prison only as "very interesting."

In place of her posting Wednesday was a statement from Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, who said Mendoza and Miss USA Crystle Stewart had gone to Guantanamo on a USO tour to boost the morale of U.S. troops.

Shugart said Mendoza, in her post about having a fun trip, was referring to "the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the U.S. military and their families."

Still, the affair angered some Venezuelans, who said Mendoza had harmed their country's image by speaking positively about Guantanamo, where 240 men remain locked up by the U.S.

The beauty queens weren't the first celebrities to go to the isolated U.S. Naval base in southeast Cuba. Country rocker Charlie Daniels was there in 2002, singing "The devil went down to Gitmo, he was looking for some Taliban" in front of cheering soldiers.

The Victoria's Secret models visited in December 2007, and participated in a Christmas parade. Portland rockers Everclear were there in 2008 and Art Alexakis, the band's leader, said "we had a great time."

Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe last year at a pageant in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

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Miss Universe Controversies Through the Years

Here are some of the controversies in the Miss Universe pageant collected to us by Joyce Lamela. This was sent to me by a reader.

Miss Universe, just like any other prestigious event and contest, is mixed with great anticipation and intrigues. Here, the author listed several controversies that happened in one of the oldest beauty pageant in the world.

MIRIAM STEVENSON OF USA (1954)-was the first Miss USA winner of the Miss Universe title in 1954. There it happen the first controversy of the pageant. Miriam tied with Miss Brazil’s Martha Rocha, the organizers decided to break the tie through the pageant’s major sponsor-the Catalina Swimwear, eventually the judging boiled down to who has the greater body. The votes favored Miriam Stevenson, because according to reports, she had the fitter hips compared to Miss Brazil.

GLADYS ZENDER OF PERU(1957)-born on October 1939, Gladys made history as the first Latin woman to win the prestigious Miss Universe title, but she was controversial because of her age. Few months after the pageant, it was revealed that the Peruvian beauty queen was only 17 years old, a year younger than the minimum age requirement of the pageant (18). The pageant organizers however was quick to defend that in Peru a person is considered one year older than their age after 6 months of their actual birthday. She was not dethroned however. She married Antonio Meier in 1965 and had 4 children together. Gladys Zender, the youngest Miss Universe winner ever, chose to live a quiet life away from the glittery world of show business.

AMPARO MUÑOZ OF SPAIN (1974)- born on June 22, 1954 in Spain, Amparo was the only Miss Universe titlist from Spain. She won the title in 1974 in Manila, Philippines. Several months after she was crowned, she gave up her title to pursue a showbiz career. She did not replace by the pageant organizer and managed to keep her crown.

MARITZA SAYALERO OF VENEZUELA (1979)- born on Feb.16,1961 in Caracas, Venezuela, Maritza became the first Venezuelan to win the Miss Unverse title. When she was named Miss Venezuela, her first runner up Maria Fernanda Ramirez refused to accept the result, Ramirez’s family confronted the jury, nevertheless the title secured by Maritza. But another unfortunate event greeted the first few hours of her reign in Perth, Australia where the pageant was held, when the live telecast was over, the stage collapsed due to the presence of so many journalists taking her photos, several contestants were injured including Miss Brazil and Miss Turkey. The audience panicked but Maritza, with her tiara and sash on, had the presence of mind to save one contestant from a hole of the stage. She then went to New York City to serve her term and responded her role with determination to help charities. She married in 1981 to a Mexican tennis player Raul Ramirez and presently lived in Mexico

IRENE SAEZ CONDE OF VENEZUELA (1981)-born in December 13, 1961 was the only Miss Universe titlist who floated to the world of politics. In early 1990’s she served a two term as mayor in the municipality of Chacao, Venezuela. Her performance as mayor gained her a nationwide popularity that in 1997 she was considered a potential presidential candidate, but in the 1998 Venezuelan national election she lost to Hugo Chavez. She regained her political career in 1999 when she won the gubernatorial race in the province of Nueva Esparta but gave up her post in the late 2000 when she got married and moved to Florida, USA.

DAYANARA TORRES OF PUERTO RICO (1993)-born on October 28,1974 in Puerto Rico, Dayanara’s victory in the Miss Universe tilt attracted controversy because she did not win any of the 3 major categories in that pageant held in Mexico. She placed 4th in the question & answer portion, fifth in both swimsuit and evening gown competition, nevertheless, Dayanara proved her worth on the crown, during her reign, she worked endlessly on various charities, she became an ambassador of UNICEF helping underprivileged children through out the world. After her reign, she established a foundation which provided scholarships to children. She lived for five years in the Philippines where she became a well-known TV host, actress and model. After her stint in Philippine television, she moved to Puerto Rico and to the US and started a singing and acting career, she married Latin singer Marc Anthony on May 9, 2000 where she had 2 sons, but on October 2003, they announced the sad news of separation and divorced a year after. Currently, Dayanara is dating American actor Amaury Nolasco. Her ex-husband Marc Anthony married Jennifer Lopez whom he had twins.

SUSHMITA SEN OF INDIA (1994)- born on November 19, 1975 in West Bengal, India, is the daughter of Indian Air force wing commander Shubeer Sen and Subhra Sen, a fashion artist and jewelry designer. In May 10, 1994, Sushmita became the first Indian to win the Miss Unverse title in Manila, Philippnes. The pageant result at first, did not suits well to the fame craze Pinoy audience who favored the Venezuelan bet Minorka Mercado, a towering 6’2 varsity player in volleyball. Sushmita, who was a dark horse during the contest, did not win the crowd’s admiration with her not-so elegant gown and appearance, even in the fearless forecast before the actual show she failed to capture the public’s fantasy, whose favorites were Kristelle Rolandt of Belgium, Areeya Chumsai of Thailand, Minorka Mercado of Venezuela and the home bet Charlene Gonzales. Sushmita only emerged 3rd during the interview portion and fourth on the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. But she impressed the 8 panel of judges, including the hairstylist of Princess Diana- Richard Dalton, with her unique poise, grace and intellect, her winning answer to the final question “What is the essence of being a woman” was inspiring that it became a household quotes among the Filipinos, she said: “A woman is a gift and it should be appreciated, she is the origin of life, therefore should be treated not as a mere sexual object but as an important human being”. After her reign, she joined Bollywood showbiz in India and became a famous actress. At 34, Sushmita Sen, however, is still single but adopted a girl in 2000 whom she named Renee.

ALICIA MACHADO OF VENEZUELA (1996)-born on December 6, 1976 in Maracay, Venezuela, Alicia almost lost her title when she gained too much weight during her reign. As Miss Universe, she was expected to stay fit and trim as she would represent the Miss Universe Organization with glamour and grace. Though Alicia is one of the most beautiful Miss Universe winners ever, she looked haggard and worn out when she ballooned beyond limit. The Miss Universe organization was considering of replacing her with her first runner up Taryn Mansell of Aruba, Alicia, pressured by her title and responsibilities tried hard to loss weight. In the end, she managed to shed off extra pounds and kept her crown. The pageant owner, American billionaire Donald Trump, slighted her with the dismissive title “an eating machine” in the 1997 promotion of the next Miss Universe pageant. After her reign, she made showbiz her lifetime career, debuting on Venezuelan soap opera as “Samantha”, the telenovela, which was shown in Philippine television GMA channel in 2000, was an instant hit. In February 2006, Alicia generated another controversy when she appeared in the Mexican issue of Playboy magazine as centerfold, making her as the only Miss Universe titlist to pose nude for playboy. She got married and gave birth to a daughter last June 2008.

DENISE MARIE QUIÑONEZ OF PUERTO RICO (2001)-born on September 9, 1980 at Ponce, Puerto Rico. She was the first Miss Universe winner to win at home, which gave rise to rumors “ home court decision”. In Miss Universe history, no pageant host country wins the title. Denise bested more than 80 delegates including the crowd favorite (and my favorite too) Greek model Evelina Papantoniou whom journalists regarded as a deserving winner. Denise pursued a movie career after her term.

OXANA FEDOROVA OF RUSSIA (2002)- born on December 17, 1977 in Russia, Oxana is the daughter of a Russian nuclear physicist whom she did not meet, her parents separated when she was 3 years old and she never heard from her father since then. Oxana became the first Russian to be crowned Miss Universe in the 2002 pageant held in Puerto Rico. She graduated from Russia’s Police Academy and became a police officer, later on, she enrolled at the Russian Ministry of Internal affairs University to become an investigator, she also worked as a fashion model. In 2001 she easily won the Miss Russia title but declined to represent Russia in Miss Universe 2001 for unknown reasons, but in 2002 she went on to join the pageant, her glamorous physique made her an event favorite and scored high in three major categories, according to the official tally of scores, she earned an almost perfect score of 9.88 in the swimsuit portion, making her as the only candidate with a highest score for that event in the history of the pageant. But several months after her victory, Oxana was dethroned by Miss Universe organizers for her failures to function on her responsibilities as Miss Universe. In her interview, she denied rumors of pregnancy. She was the only official title holder of Miss Universe who was dethroned and the organization did not recognized her as “former Miss Universe winner”, she was replaced by her first runner up, Justine Pasek of Panama.

Mariangel Ruiz - Rebel Beauty

Mariangel Ruiz and Miss Universe 2003

One of the more publicized Miss Venezuelas in the recent years has been Mariangel Ruiz , who has been compared to Alicia Machado (Miss Universe 1996). Like Alicia, she came from the city of Maracay, won her national title against every prediction (in a contest where the results are almost never a surprise) and was considered a "rebel" Miss Venezuela. Also, like Alicia, she turned in a spectacular performance at Miss Universe, in comparison to more "conventional" titleholders, and overcame a number of major odds both within and outside her control.

Mariangel Ruiz actually tried twice for the Miss Venezuela title, the first time in 1998 when she did not even place into the top 120 candidates. In 2002, she won the preliminary casting in Maracay, becoming Miss Aragua 2002. Although the 2002 class was perhaps the weakest of the last five years, she was not a favorite and considered finalist material at best. Big favorites were Aida Yespica (Amazonas) and Maria Fernanda Leon (Portuguesa), the only candidates to ever compete twice in Miss Venezuela history (not including Miss Republica Bolivariana Venezuela 2000), as well as Vanessa Fanesi (Yaracuy), Amara Barroeta (Distrito. Capital), Solsiret Herrera (Monagas), and Driva Cedeño (Nueva Esparta). However, when Goizeder Azua of Carabobo was elected Miss World Venezuela and swept the Gala de Belleza preliminary show, a gigantic surprise, it was thought that for this year and for once, all bets would be off.

During the final Miss Venezuela 2002 competition, Gilberto Correa accidentally called out the wrong state (Apure) when Mariangel came onstage for the evening gown segment. Against all prognostications, Mariangel won the pageant, which for the first time was judged entirely by former Miss Venezuelas; her victory was completely unexpected by the contestants, who had thought the crown would go to Melissa Wolf of Miranda or Vanessa Fanesi of Yaracuy, and also by the press and the organization. However, Osmel considered her "rebellious" and threatened to send Amara Barroeta, her first runner-up, to Miss Universe if she did not stop her weight gain and focus on her training. Soon after, a hugely publicized "crisis" emerged in which it was claimed that the Organizacion Miss Venezuela did not have enough hard currency, due to President Chavez's government foreign exchange controls, to pay the franchise fee and send its delegate. At the same time, Osmel Sousa agreed to train Amelia Vega, Miss Dominican Republic, for a week in Caracas while Mariangel was placed on "standby".

When Miss Universe 2003 began, news changed nightly as to whether Venezuela would participate. After weeks of back-and-forth wrangling, including an intervention by the President of Panama, the Cisneros Organization was able to fund Mariangel's travel and she arrived late at Miss Universe 2003, nearly missing the deadline to register. Her semifinal performance was met with mixed reviews, with some critics believing that she might be the first Miss Venezuela in two decades to miss the semifinals (which would eventually happen the following year) and others predicting that her controversies would bring her the crown.

On the final night of Miss Universe 2003, Mariangel broke two conventions: first, she wore her hair down and little makeup, against Osmel's suggestions, and second, she wore a spectacular skin-tight Angel Sanchez crimson gown, becoming the first Miss Venezuela in a decade to not compete in a white, metallic, or light-toned dress. It was a winning combination, and she came off as one of the freshest contestants in history from Venezuela. However, once again the announcers called out the wrong title when she appeared onstage: the order of the contestants was messed up backstage for the swimsuit contest and Mariangel appeared when Cindy Nell of South Africa should have come onstage. Daisy Fuentes then called South Africa twice, to which Mariangel made an infamous (and hilarious) expression of confusion, but her training as Miss Venezuela kicked in and she took the stage with a spectacular performance. The scoring was not affected and Daisy corrected herself as Mariangel left the stage. During the interviews, another kicker arrived when Billy Bush asked Mariangel about her supposed favorite pastime, rappelling and extreme sports. The producers must have gotten confused, as Mariangel does not practice either, and she told Billy so with the comment "I love my life and protect it 100%" rather than lie in front of an international audience of 160 million people. Despite an excellent performance, Amelia Vega was unbeatable and Mariangel came in first runner-up to Dominican Republic, still the best outcome in the last three years for Venezuela. Although Amelia only received a few days of preparation in Venezuela, the executives of Venevision were furious that the winner of the Miss Universe contest had been groomed by their company while their own representative was on "standby" and moreover came in second to her, and banned the Miss Venezuela Organization from training other nations' contestants.