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 May 26. The National Costume contest came
and went, but the controversies surrounding the costumes still echo. To start
with, the host delegate came under fire when the planned costume would depict
a clerical revolution in 1920s and would feature scenes of hanging as well as
additional bullets in the belt area. The costume was ditched after critics labeled
it as a costume with bad taste. The new costume featured all that is good of Mexico
including large ears of maize.
Miss Australia
also came under criticism for using a lifeguard costume. Back home Down
Under, fashion critics issued not-so-appealing comments about the rather
bulky swimsuit. Miss Australia
defended the costume saying it celebrates the centenary of lifeguard
organization in her country. She added that it truly represents what Australia is
all about and fired back that surely it is a much better option than say a
convict garb.
This year’s costumes ranged from skimpy ones to the outrageously
enormous. However, South
Africa’s rendition of a traditional
costume fused with modern elements gained our nod. (photo: ho/Miss Universe
L.P. LLP)
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 May 24. Top fifteen now selected! It all started
with closed door interviews followed by the gown and swimsuit competition in the
full-packed Auditorio Nacional.
Reports came in that Misses Korea, Puerto Rico,
Venezuela and Dominican Republic
gave a strong performance. Mixed reactions went to Miss Japan as well as Miss Slovak
Republic. Check out our
predictions section to see our full commentaries as well as our opinionated
reports at the buzz section.
Miss Puerto Rico Uma (photo ho/Miss
Universe L.P./LLP) came out strongly in gown and
swimsuit and caught the attention of the critics. Her strong appeal
especially her leggy physique became her forte. As to whether a Puerto Rican
will eventually crown another Puerto Rican remains to be seen.
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  May 22. Miss Universe 2007 will have two
former crown holders as judges. Justine Pasek of Panama who became the
de facto Miss Universe after of Russia was stripped of her title
in 2002, will sit in the panel of judges at the preliminaries. She will be
joined by Vietnam-born talent agent Thuy Tran,
publicist Leigh Rossini, hairstylist Adel Chabbi, artist manager Fred Howard and advertising expert Dimitris Margetas.
Come the finals night, Puerto
Rican beauty Danayara Torres will be part of the
panel that will eventually choose the new Miss Universe. Dayanara
won the title when the pageant was last held in Mexico in 1993. Other members of
the panel will include fashion designer Marc Bouwer,
Deal or No Deal’s (American Edition) Lindsay Clubine,
Elle’s Nina Garcia, ice skater Michelle Kwan, actor James Lee, singer Dave
Navarro and American football player Tony Romo
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