Miss Latina US
Miss Latina US, formerly known as Miss Latina USA, is an American beauty pageant exclusively for Latina women in the United States. It is open to those born in Latin American or Iberian countries, or descended from them. Titles are available for all states, but typically those with larger Latin populations compete every year (such as Texas, California, Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, etc.). Women may also represent their country of birth or those of their parents or grandparents. It was held for the first time as an official national preliminary to the Miss Latin America pageant in 1986. It is also a sister pageant to the Miss Teen US Latina pageant. All three pageants are owned and operated by Miss Latin America Organization, similar to the way the Miss Universe Organization operates the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.
The current titleholder is Sasha Zacarias of New York.
History
Originally, the Miss Latin America pageant was founded to provide scholarships for Latin American women living in the Miami, Florida region. Only five women participated in the original pageant, held in 1981. In 1982, the number expanded. In 1983, it went international, but individual states were represented at that pageant. As a matter of fact, Cira Sanchez of Texas was the second runner-up, while the representatives from Florida, Arizona and California were top ten finalists (Nevada also competed.) In 1984, ten state representatives participated at the Miss Latin America 1984 pageant, held in Miami Beach, with Florida's representative, Yolanda Fernandez, placing as the first runner-up to Venezuela's Mirla Ochoa. Florida again placed as first runner-up in 1985, and Arizona was third runner-up. In 1986, a separate pageant was founded, the Miss Latina USA contest. The winner went on to represent the United States at Miss Latin America. This has happened every year since. In 2001, as per agreement with the Miss Universe Organization, who owns the rights to the Miss USA title, the pageant changed its name from Miss Latina USA to Miss Latina US. Additionally, Miss Latin America became post-dated in 1999, changing the contest from Miss Latin America 1999 to Miss Latin America 2000. However, Miss Latina US had not, so Miss Latina USA 1999 went to Miss Latin America 2000. This was corrected in 2008, when the Miss Latina US Pageant held in September 2008 was post-dated and became Miss Latina US 2009, with the winner competing at Miss Latin America 2009. The international pageant was renamed Miss Latin America of the World in 2008 because of the rule changes allowing participation of Latin heritage delegates from around the globe that had begun in 2002.
Miss Latina US 2014
The Miss Latina US 2014 contest was held August 31, 2012 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Dominican-born Sasha Zacarias of New York was crowned Miss Latina US 2012 by outgoing titleholder Marice Morales of Utah. The runners-up were Ivet Garcia (Minnesota), Leyla Dabdoub (US-Mexico), Ana Valencia (California) and Izabelle Streetmaker (Oklahoma).
Winners
| Year | USA Representatives | State Represented | Placement | Special Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States 1981 | Lesley Quintanilla | Florida | Winner | |
| United States 1982 | Martha Álvarez | California | Winner | |
| United States 1983 | Gloria Flores | Nevada | ||
| United States 1983 | Elvira Castro | Florida | Top 10 | |
| United States 1983 | Verónica Sosa | Arizona | Top 10 | |
| United States 1983 | Rosita Ojedo | California | Top 10 | |
| United States 1983 | Cira Sánchez | Texas | 2nd Runner-up | Best National Costume |
| United States 1984 | Teresa Fernández | Florida | 1st Runner-up | |
| United States 1984 | María Elena Verdugo | Arizona | ||
| United States 1984 | Carmen Camarena | California | ||
| United States 1984 | Angelita Pagán | Illinois | ||
| United States 1984 | Elsie Rivera | Indiana | ||
| United States 1984 | Margarita Veloz | Nevada | ||
| United States 1984 | María da Conceição | New Jersey | ||
| United States 1984 | Deborah de Castro | New York | ||
| United States 1984 | Rachel Martínez | Texas | ||
| United States 1984 | Eloisa Serna | New Mexico | ||
| United States 1985 | Lourdes Guevara | Arizona | Top 05 | |
| United States 1985 | Beatriz Hernández | Florida | 1st Runner-up | |
| United States 1985 | Marielena González | Texas | ||
| United States 1985 | Jocelyn Aronzon | Louisiana | ||
| United States 1985 | Monica Jiménez | California | ||
| United States 1985 | Ruth Fernandez | Nevada | ||
| United States 1985 | Angelie Silva | Illinois | ||
| United States 1985 | Erika Loriet | Massachusetts | ||
| United States 1985 | Ofelia Cobián | New York | ||
| Costa Rica 1986 | Sandra Cedillos | Texas | ||
| Bolivia 1987 | Sdenka Dobronec |  District of Columbia |
||
| Mexico 1989 | Hany Valdés | Florida | ||
| El Salvador 1990 | Carola Garfias | Arizona | ||
| Argentina 1991 | Yvette Gonzalez | New York | ||
| Ecuador 1992 | Carla Morales | Rhode Island | ||
| Guatemala 1993 | Daylin García | Florida | ||
| Ecuador 1994 | Joanne George | Florida | ||
| Peru 1996 | Iris Almario | New York | ||
| El Salvador 1998 | Katherine Rodríguez | Florida | ||
| Guatemala 1999 | Dilania Inoa De Baez | Rhode Island | ||
| Nicaragua 2000 | Katherine González | New York | Top 07 | |
| Dominican Republic 2001 | Karla Vargas | California | ||
| Costa Rica 2002 | Soraya Valdés | Utah | ||
| Mexico 2003 | Lydia Acuña | Utah | ||
| Dominican Republic 2004 | Graciela Stanley | Kansas | 1st Runner-up | |
| Mexico 2006 | Melissa Quesada | New York | Winner | North America Queen |
| Mexico 2007 | Yalena Matos | Oregon | North America Queen | |
| Dominican Republic 2008 | Fatima Leonardo | Rhode Island | ||
| Dominican Republic 2009 | Diana França | Utah | 1st Runner-up | North America Queen |
| Dominican Republic 2010 | Elizabeth Robaina | Texas | 4th Runner-up | North America Queen |
| Dominican Republic 2011 | Marice Morales | Utah | ||
| Mexico 2012 | Sasha Zacarías | New York | Top 12 | North America Queen |
| Mexico 2013 | Ashley Garner | Texas | 3rd Runner-up | |
| Dominican Republic 2014 | Karla Ferrari | Oklahoma | Top 12 | North America Queen |
| Dominican Republic 2015 | Karla Monje | Texas | Winner | North America Queen |
- Declared as Winner
- Ended as Runner-up
- Ended as one of the Semi-finalists
Winners by State
| Wins | State | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Florida | 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998 |
| 7 | Texas | 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2010, 2013, 2015 |
| 7 | New York | 1984, 1985, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2012 |
| 5 | California | 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2001 |
| 4 | Utah | 2002, 2003, 2009, 2011 |
| 4 | Arizona | 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1992, 1999, 2008 |
| 3 | Nevada | 1983, 1984, 1985 |
| 2 | Illinois | 1984, 1985 |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 2014 |
| Oregon | 2007 | |
| Kansas | 2004 | |
| District of Columbia |
1987 | |
| Louisiana | 1985 | |
| Massachusetts | 1985 | |
| Indiana | 1984 | |
| New Jersey | 1984 | |
| New Mexico | 1984 |