Miss Grand Cuba

For the most recent edition, see Miss Grand Cuba 2023.

Miss Grand Cuba

Formation	2023
Founder	Daryanne Lees
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Palm Beach
Location	United States
Membership	Miss Grand International
Official language	English Spanish
National director	Cristian Aguiar
Website	MissGrandCuba.com

Miss Grand Cuba is a national title given to a woman chosen to represent Cuba at the Miss Grand International pageant.^[1][2][3] The first titleholder was a Mexican-Cuban model from Sinaloa, Jamillette Gaxiola, who was appointed by the Miss Cuba organization to compete at the inaugural edition of the mentioned international contest in Thailand,^[4] where she was ranked in the final 10.^[5] Since then, Cuba has always sent their representatives to compete every year; however, most of them were appointed to the position without organizing the respective pageant until 2022,^[6][7][8] when a Miami-based Cuban pageant, Miss y Mister Cuba, acquired the license and the Miss Grand Cuba titleholder was elected through such a contest.^[9]

The first stand-alone contest of Miss Grand Cuba happened in mid-2023 in Tampa, Florida, organized by former Miss Grand International 2014, Daryanne Lees, after she took over the franchise from the Miss y Mister Cuba organization,^[10]

History

Cuba has usually been sending their representatives to compete at the Miss Grand International since 2013,^[4] and won the contest once in 2014 by a Cuban-Puerto Rican, Daryanne Lees,^[11] who later became the director of the Miss Grand Cuba pageant in 2023.^[10] From 2013 to 2020, the license belonged to a Miami-based pageant organizer chaired by Noemi Meléndez, Miss Cuba.^[1][2][12] However, no national contests were organized for Miss Grand International; Cuban representatives for the mentioned period were all appointed.^[3][13]

In 2021, the license was taken over by another group of Cuban Americans, Vicar Abel and Miledy de los Santos, and was then transferred to Julio César Cruz and Faddya Halabi in 2022, when Miss Grand Cuba was one of the main titles in their national pageant, Miss y Mister Cuba.^[9] However, Daryanne Lees, with a former licensee, Noemi Meléndez, as chief financial officer, took the license back in 2023 and organized the first contest of Miss Grand Cuba in Tampa, Florida, in mid-2023, to select the country representative for the 2023 edition of Miss Grand International.^[10] The license was then transferred to a Florida-based Cuban photographer, Cristian Aguiar, the following year.

Edition

The following are the details of the Miss Grand Cuba edition, which was held as a stand-alone pageant only once in 2023.

Edition	Date	Final venue	Entrants	Result				Ref.
				Winner	1st runner-up	2nd runner-up	3rd runner-up
1st	20 August 2023	Tampa Marriott Westshore, Tampa, Florida, United States	5	Sofia Acosta	Lourdes Feliu	Maria Vilches	Yamislaidy García	[14]

International competition

The following is a list of Cuban representatives at the Miss Grand International contest.

Color keys

•   : Declared as the winner
•   : Ended as a runner-up (Top 5)
•   : Ended as a finalist (Top 10)
•   : Ended as a semifinalist (Top 20/21)
•   : Ended as special awards winner

Year	Miss Grand Cuba	Title	Placement[15]	Special Awards	National Director
2024	Lourdes Feliu[16]	1st runner-up Miss Grand Cuba 2023	Unplaced		Cristian Aguiar
2023	Sofia Acosta[14]	Miss Grand Cuba 2023	Unplaced		Daryanne Lees
2022	Daniela Espinosa[9]	Miss Grand Cuba 2022	Resigned		Julio César Cruz & Faddya Halabi
	Fabién Laurencio[17]	1st runner-up Nuestra Belleza Latina 2021	Unplaced
2021	Geysel Valliant[13]	Appointed	Unplaced		Vicar Abel & Miledy de los Santos
2020	Geysel Vailant[8]	Appointed	Resigned		Noemi Meléndez
	Jennifer Sánchez	Appointed	Unplaced
2019	Elaine González[7]	Appointed	Unplaced
2018	Gladys Carredeguas[6]	Appointed	Top 20	Best in Swimsuit
2017	Rachel Vazquez	Appointed	Resigned
	Yvette Blaess[12]	Finalist Miss World America 2016	Resigned
	Lisandra Delgado[3]	Appointed	Unplaced
2016	Merys Navarro[2]	Appointed	Top 20
2015	María Manzo[1]	Appointed	Unplaced
2014	Daryanne Lees[11]	1st Runner-up Miss Earth USA 2014	Winner
2013	Jamillette Gaxiola[4]	2nd runner-up Senorita Republica Deportiva	Top 10

Gallery

• 
  Miss Grand Cuba 2014
  Daryanne Lees
• 
  Miss Grand Cuba 2015
  María Manzo
• 
  Miss Grand Cuba 2021
  Geysel Vailant
• 
  Miss Grand Cuba 2023
  Sofía Acosta
• 
  Miss Grand Cuba 2024
  Lourdes Feliu

References

1. Alejandro Martínez (15 September 2015). "Modelo cubana Maria Elena Manzo representa a Cuba en Miss Grand International 2015". Dev.cubaenmiami.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
2. "Merys Navarro crowned as Miss Grand Cuba 2016". Times of India. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
3. "Cubana Lisandra Delgado revela qué pasó con Vin Diesel durante rodaje de "Rápido y Furioso 8" en La Habana" (in Spanish). CiberCuba. 23 April 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
4. "Esta es Jamillette Gaxiola, la representante de Cuba en Miss Universo". www.radiotelevisionmarti.com. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
5. Harry Rodríguez (18 November 2013). "Janelee Chaparro se corona Miss Grand International 2013". www.metro.pr (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
6. "Gladys Carredeguas crowned Miss Grand Cuba 2018". Times of India. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
7. Lulú Rivera (30 June 2019). "¿Quién es Elaine González, la Miss Grand Cuba 2019?". www.cubatel.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
8. "Representante de Cuba en Miss Grand International sufre caída en la pasarela" (in Spanish). Periódico Cubano. 21 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
9. Deneb González (20 June 2022). "Tres jóvenes representarán a Cuba en concursos internacionales de belleza". CiberCuba Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
10. "Miss Grand Cuba". Miss Grand Cuba. 2023. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
11. "Gana cubana concurso Miss Grand International". www.radiotelevisionmarti.com (in Spanish). 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
12. Phi Yen (2017). "Vietnamese designer to help Cuban beauty shine on world stage". Thời Đại. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
13. "Miss Grand International 2021: conoce el día, hora, participantes y cómo ver EN VIVO el certamen internacional" (in Spanish). La República. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
14. "Nhan sắc nóng bỏng của người đẹp Cuba sang Việt Nam thi Hoa hậu Hòa bình" (in Vietnamese). Tiền Phong. 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
15. • For the 2013 competition result, see: Harry Rodríguez (18 November 2013). "Janelee Chaparro se corona Miss Grand International 2013". www.metro.pr (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
    • For the 2014 competition result, see: Arvin Ello (6 October 2014). "Miss Cuba is Miss Grand International 2014". www.vintersections.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    • For the 2015 competition result, see: "Lệ Quyên bất ngờ "trắng tay" tại Miss Grand International 2015". Dantri.com.vn (in Vietnamese). 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    • For 2016 competition result, see: "Nguyen Thi Loan in final top 20 Miss Grand International 2016". Vietnam Television. 26 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
    • For the 2017 competition result, see: "Ngắm Top 20 Miss Grand International 2017 nóng bỏng với phần thi bikini" (in Vietnamese). Voice of Vietnam. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
    • For the 2018 competition result, see: "Meenakshi Chaudhary from India wins 1st runner-up title at Miss Grand International 2018". Times of India. 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
    • For the 2019 competition result, see: อีจัน Oline Team (26 October 2019). "สาว "เวเนซุเอลา" คว้ามง Miss grand international 2019". www.ejan.co (in Thai). Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    • For the 2020 competition result, see: "Samantha Bernardo makes it to Top 20 of Miss Grand International!". GMA Network. 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
    • For the 2021 competition result, see: "Introducing the Top 20 of Miss Grand International 2021". Times of India. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
    • For the 2022 competition result, see: María Fernanda Cedeño (25 October 2022). "Miss Grand International 2022 Isabella Novaes Menin de Brasil, ganadora del certámen". Colombia.as.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
    • For the 2023 competition result, see:"Peru wins Miss Grand International 2023; PH makes early exit". ABS-CBN. 25 October 2023. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
    • For the 2024 competition result, see:Josiah Antonio (25 October 2024). "India wins Miss Grand International 2024; PH bet CJ Opiaza is 1st runner-up". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
16. "Người mẫu đăng quang Hoa hậu Hòa bình Cuba 2024" (in Spanish). Tiền Phong. 2 June 2024. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
17. "Faby Laurencio representa a Cuba en el concurso Miss Grand Internacional" (in Spanish). Periódico Cubano. 8 October 2022. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

External links

• Media related to Miss Grand Cuba at Wikimedia Commons
• Miss Grand Cuba official website