Miss América Latina or Miss América Latina del Mundo, known in English as Miss Latin America or Miss Latin America of the World, is an international beauty contest held annually. It is organized by the Miss América Latina Organization. Despite its name, the contest is not restricted to only Latin American nations. It is designed for women of Latina descent around the globe. There is an average of about 20 contestants every year. It has two sister pageants: Miss Latina US (which selects the US delegate to Miss América Latina) and Miss Teen US Latina.
The Miss América Latina pageant was founded in the early 1980s. The first edition was held in 1981, when it was open to only Latina contestants in Miami, Florida, United States. In 1983, the contest went international.[1]
* The first two Miss Latin America contests were only open to women living in Miami.[1] Although the winners of both contests are regarded as official Miss Latin America titleholders, their wins do not appear in the United States' tally.
^The 1988 event was postponed until 1989 because of the Mexican presidential inauguration, and thus Lorenia Burruel was named Miss América Latina 1987-88
^The 1995 event was canceled due to a national crisis in the host city. Priscila Furlan was then named Miss América Latina 1994-95.
^The 1997 event was postponed for unknown reasons. Thus, Jeannette Chávez's title was extended to Miss América Latina 1996-97
^The 1999 event was renamed to Miss América Latina 2000 in order to post-date the titles. Aline Resende's title was changed to Miss América Latina 1998-99.
