A 25-year-old model, Gabriela Clesca Vallejo, was crowned Miss Universe Haiti 2019 during the Miss Haiti 2019 pageant held on Thursday, July 18 at the El Rancho hotel in Pétion Ville, Port-au-Prince.

The Bachelor of Civil Law and International Development graduate beat 12 other contestants to win the coveted national title.

Gabriela succeeded last year’s winner, Samantha Colas. She will now prepare to represent her country at the Miss Universe 2019 pageant.

Also crowned during the competition is Miss International Haiti 2019, Lory-Anne Charles. The 20-year-old economics student and model will compete in the Miss International 2019 pageant in Tokyo, Japan next November.

Regine Amanda Metayer, Pascale Bélony, and Eden Berandoive were the first, second, and third runners-up, respectively.

It was the 7th edition of the Miss Haiti pageant. Hosted by Stanley Figaro, the competition was aired live on Ayizan TV and Facebook.

Haiti is yet to win Miss Universe and Miss International crowns. The country only came so close to winning Miss Universe twice when Gerthie David (1975) and Raquel Pélissier (2016) finished as 1st runner-up.

At Miss International, Haiti’s highest placement was Top 15 in 2012 with Anedie Azael. It was also the year when the country first joined the competition.

Photos: Miss Haiti Org