Another “first time” will be present in the next edition of Miss Universe, which has the final scheduled for November 16th. This time, the person making history is model Logina Salah, 34, who became the first woman with vitiligo to join the cast of the beauty pageant, after being elected Miss Egypt 2024.
Crowned in early October, she declared in a press interview that she feels very proud to represent a minority. “I’m excited to represent Egypt, women with vitiligo and anyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong,” she said.
“My mission is to empower those who feel marginalized, making them aware that they are not alone. I want to make a significant impact on the global stage of Miss Universe”, added the Miss, who is a single mother of a 10-year-old girl.
Logina has lived with vitiligo since childhood, a condition that causes loss of pigment in areas of the skin – at the age of 8, she was diagnosed with lupus, which led to her having psoriasis and vitiligo. The model also revealed that it took her 15 years to have self-love and overcome a series of bullying situations she went through.
The new Miss Egypt began her career in the fashion world as a makeup artist in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It didn’t take long for her to become a content creator on social media and, subsequently, stand out for her looks and confidence – which opened the doors to start modeling.
Today she has partnerships with famous brands and countless covers of industry magazines. As a result, he has accumulated great visibility on social media and today has a legion of 1.8 million followers, just on his Instagram profile.
Logina competed for the Egyptian crown with 12 other finalists, in an event held in Cairo, the country’s capital, and broadcast live on YouTube. Among the traditional classification stages were, in addition to parades in swimwear and formalwear, the dreaded preliminary interviews with the judges and live responses on the final stage. The person who said goodbye to the title on that occasion was Mohra Tantawy, the 2023 holder.
OTHER FIRST TIMES
Alongside Logina, other misses have gained the spotlight recently by breaking old Miss Universe standards and entering the race for the crown. Among them is model Mia Le Roux, 28, who is the first deaf Miss to win Miss South Africa and represent the country in a global contest.
In September, senior South Korean model Choi Soon-hwa, who is a mother and grandmother and is 80 years old, became the oldest woman in one of the stages of the contest. Despite all her appeal, however, she was a finalist but did not win the Miss Universe Korea crown.
Another novelty is that, for the first time, the World Cup will have two Brazilians competing. This is because in addition to Luana Cavalcante from Pernambuco representing Brazil, we will also have Glelany Cavalcante, 30, from Bahia, who won the title of Miss Italy 2024.
The changes to the contest regulations came in an unprecedented context for the brand, which has never been so close to the themes of diversity and inclusion. The main driver of this disruption was the purchase of the contest, just over two years ago, by Thai businesswoman Anne Jakrajutatip, who is a transgender woman.
In fact, the last edition of Miss Universe, in November 2023, was considered the most “plural” held to date, since in addition to two transgender women (Misses Portugal and Holland), it had among its candidates a plus-size model (Miss Nepal) and two mothers (the Misses Colombia and Guatemala).
It’s worth remembering, in addition to Logina being the first woman with vitiligo in the contest, she also falls under the recent new Miss Universe rules, which now allow mothers and women of any age to apply. The novelty is historic, as this had never happened in more than 70 years of the competition’s existence, created in 1952, and came into effect from January 2024. Before that, only misses between 18 and 28 could be in the competition. years.
Logina currently lives in Dubai and is preparing to defend Egypt at Miss Universe 2024, which will take place in Mexico City, the Mexican capital, and will kick off in early November. The 73rd edition of the World Cup is expected to break a record with around 130 candidates. The winner of the crown is Nicaraguan Sheynnis Palacios, winner of the last edition, in El Salvador.
Source: Folha
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