Nicaragua wins its first Miss Universe crown

Sheynnis Palacios, representative of Nicaragua, is Miss Universe 2023. This is the first time that the Central American country has won the title in the world’s most prominent beauty pageant. The first runner-up was Thailand's Anntonia Porsild and second place went to Australia's Moraya Wilson. The event took place at the José Adolfo Pineda Arena in El Salvador.

The last two finalists were from Puerto Rico and Colombia. It was an unprecedented edition in which a trans person also qualified for the first time in the group of 15 semifinalists: Marian Machete, from Portugal. In this pageant, two countries were represented by biological men as representatives, with Machete and Rikkie Valerie Kollé from the Netherlands.

In addition, for the first time in the history of the contest, this year candidates who were married, divorced, pregnant or with children were allowed to participate. It was also the time for a plus-size woman to compete.

Who is Sheynnis Palacios, the new Miss Universe?

The new Miss Universe, 23 years old, is a model and journalist. She studied at the Central American University and obtained a degree in social communication. At the same time, she also played volleyball during her college years.

"Sheynnis Palacio is an 23-year-old mental health activist and audiovisual producer from Managua, Nicaragua. She usually prefers to be behind the camera, but she’s come out of the wings because she believes in finding solutions for as many of the world’s problems as she can," the official Miss Universe account wrote to describe its new champion.

The pageant detailed that "her cause this year will be mental health, which stems from her own experiences with anxiety. Coming from a country where this issue is rarely addressed."