Speaking in a timid voice early Tuesday shortly after
taking the crown in South America's largest city, the 25-year-old Lopes
said that "as Miss Angola I've already done a lot to help my people."
"I've
worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the
fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do
everything that my country needs," she said. "I think now as Miss
Universe I will be able to do much more."
Responding to questions,
Lopes said that she has never had cosmetic surgery of any kind and that
her three tips for beauty were to get a lot of sleep, use sun block
even when it's not sunny and to drink lots of water. She said her smile
was her best weapon in the competition.
Asked about racism in
light of the fact that she's one of the few blacks ever crowned Miss
Universe, Lopes said that "any racist needs to seek help. It's not
normal in the 21st century to think in that way."
Lopes is
Angola's first winner. She beat out 88 other competitors to win the
title during the 60th anniversary of the world's biggest beauty pageant.
She replaces last year's winner, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico.
She
deftly handled the interview question that is asked of the remaining top
five contestants. She was questioned about what physical trait she
would change if she could.
"Thank God I'm very satisfied with the
way God created me and I wouldn't change a thing," Lopes said. "I
consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many
wonderful principles from my family and I intend to follow these for the
rest of my life."
The first runner-up was 23-year-old Olesia
Stefanko of Ukraine and the second runner-up was Priscila Machado of
Brazil. The third was Miss Philippines and the fourth Miss China.
Contestants
spent the past three weeks in Sao Paulo, trying to learn samba dance
steps, visiting impoverished children and kicking a football around for
cameras as the Miss Universe pageant came to Brazil for the first time.
Despite
battling against a home country favorite, Lopes won over the audience,
speaking in the shared language of Portuguese. Angola, like Brazil, is a
former Portuguese colony.
"She captivated the crowd and we were
all behind her," said Brazilian Natalie Bursztyn, 20, who was in the
crowd inside Credicard Hall where the event took place. "It was great
that the judges also saw what the fans saw and gave her the crown. Her
dress was beautiful and she knew exactly what to say when they asked her
the question about her looks."
Another fan in the audience,
Carolina Rocha, said Lopes' win was "well deserved, we were cheering for
her all along. Her smile and her friendliness was what set her apart
from the others. She also answered her question very well, that likely
helped her a lot."
U.S. broadcast journalist Connie Chung was one
of the celebrity judges, and said before the competition that she was
taking the contest seriously.
"I know my job and I'll be tough,
but fair," Chung said. "You have to keep in mind that these women are
not objects just to be looked at. They're to be taken seriously. I want
to choose somebody I take seriously and the world takes seriously, too."
Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe organization, was hyped for the night.
"It's
our 60th anniversary, it's a very big show," she said. "We're
anticipating close to a billion viewers from around the world."
Shugart
said it was fitting the globe's biggest beauty pageant be held in
Brazil at this time, as the nation prepares to host some major events in
the coming years.
"I don't think there is any doubt in the rest
of the world's mind that Brazil is the place, between hosting the
Olympics and hosting the World Cup," she said. "I love the fact we're
going to kick it off. I always say we're the 'World Cup' of beauty."
The
contestants must never have been married or had children and must be at
least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by Feb. 1 of the
competition year.
The pageant, hosted by NBC "Today" anchor
Natalie Morales and the Bravo network's Andy Cohen, was broadcastr live
on NBC and distributed to about 170 countries. The contest is co-owned
by Donald Trump and NBC, and the celebrity judges included Chung and two
prominent Brazilians, supermodel Isabeli Fontana and Indy race car
driver Helio Castroneves.
Morales, who is half Brazilian, said that "what's most important is for the women to be beautiful inside and out."
For Cohen, the task of hosting was an easy one.
"It's a fun job. All I have to do is stand there, smile and scream the names of countries," he said.
Sharply
dressed women and men jostled for chances to have their photos taken
with stars on the red carpet. Some traveled from across the globe to
support contestants.
Jehona Dreshaj, 17, arrived from Kosovo to cheer on her sister, Aferdita Dreshaj, who is representing the European country.
"It
doesn't really matter the outcome, she is already a winner in our eye
and we are so proud of her," she said. "This has been an incredible
experience for her and for all of us. It's great for her to be
representing our country in an event like this"
There have been no
headline-grabbing gaffes going into this year's competition, as opposed
to past years that have seen controversies of various stripes. The show
itself went off without a hitch.
Some of the contestants have
complained to the local news media about the size of bikinis used in
some photo shoots, with Miss Mexico Karin Ontiveros saying they were
"very small."
That was enough to draw chuckles in Brazil, where
women from all walks of life, not just beauty queens, sport barely there
swimwear on beaches throughout the country.
Miss USA Alyssa
Campanella, from California, failed to end a long losing spell for the
U.S. in the competition. An American has not been named Miss Universe
since Brook Lee won the title in 1997.
The pageant started as a local bathing suit revue in Long Beach, California, organized by a swimwear company.
Source: AP Associated PressCongratulations Leila Lopes, we at celebrity angle wishes you a peaceful and joyful reign.....
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