Just coincidence that the candidate in the country where the contest was held won the crown? I'd bet the judges, like those who selected Dumbya, were very influenced by bribes from special interests in the area.

*****

Saturday May 12 12:48 PM ET

Miss Universe Sets Off a Party in Puerto Rico

By Frances Kerry

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Honking car horns and waving flags, Puerto Ricans celebrated late into the night after their own Miss Puerto Rico, Denise Quinones, was crowned Miss Universe 2001 before a delirious home crowd.

San Juan's streets were lined with people stopping their cars to cheer as Quinones, a 20-year-old student with a dazzling smile and a mane of brown hair, was driven on Friday night from the pageant venue to a beachfront hotel for her ``coronation ball.''

Quinones, who told reporters that the enthusiastic home crowd boosted her confidence, swept away contestants from 76 other countries to become the 50th Miss Universe.

``I always dreamed about and visualized winning,'' Quinones told reporters after the pageant to hoops of joy from local journalists. ``Thank God it happened. I was very confident in myself.''

Quinones' winning smile adorned the front page of local newspapers as Puerto Rico reveled in its fourth Miss Universe title and its latest home-grown celebrity. The Caribbean island of 3.8 million people is a U.S. territory with a strong sense of its own identity.

Miss Greece, Evelina Papantoniou, was second and Miss USA, Kandace Krueger, was third at the end of a two-hour extravaganza that organizers said was televised in 130 countries.

The San Juan crowd, which had cheered their favorite every time she appeared on stage, went wild as the 5-foot-10 inch Quinones, who has studied singing and dancing, was crowned by last year's winner, Lara Dutta of India.

NOT MUCH TIME FOR BEAUTY SLEEP

Quinones, who says she would like to be a singer and create her own television show, was whisked away on Friday night first to her coronation ball and then on to more parties.

The Puerto Rican was set for precious little beauty sleep before heading into her new life as Miss Universe.

Theresa Beyer, vice president of marketing with the Miss Universe Organization, said Quinones would spend Saturday holding talks with the Miss Universe organization, giving interviews and attending photo sessions and then fly to New York on Sunday.

The competition, launched in Long Beach, California, in 1952 by a swimsuit company, is run by the Miss Universe Organization, jointly owned by property tycoon Donald Trump and CBS Television.

The new Miss Universe gets to live for a year rent-free in a luxury apartment in a Trump building in New York City and receives a salary and clothes allowance. In exchange, she does promotional and charity work and travels around the world.

``Denise is still a student but she will put her studies on hold for a year,'' Beyer said. ``Her new life starts tomorrow.''

The contest is called Miss Universe but it is followed with more or less interest by countries around the world.

Latin nations are among the most enthusiastic, but this year was similar to other years in that large parts of the globe, such as China and many African and Arab nations, did not send contestants.

All 77 contestants were on show at the start of Friday's pageant but 67 of them were eliminated earlier in the week after a swimsuit and evening attire parade on Sunday and interviews during the week.

The lucky 10 remaining contestants were announced as the evening got started. After the swimsuit and evening gown parades, those 10 were pared down again to five women: Miss India, Celina Jaitly, Miss Venezuela, Eva Ekvall, and Quinones, Papantoniou and Krueger.

Then the final placing was decided on questions from the judges. Quinones sailed through her questions, confidently pronouncing that she had no regrets in her short life and noting that real beauty is more than skin deep.

Also making Friday's show a night for the island to celebrate was Puerto Rican Ricky Martin, who has been one of the stars in the worldwide Latin music boom in recent years.

Martin, who lives in the United States, came home to perform on the island for the first time in nearly two years. He drove the crowd wild with two numbers from his latest album, ``Sound Loaded.''

Another Puerto Rican with worldwide appeal, singer Marc Anthony, was one of the eight judges, along with his wife, Dayanara Torres, who was Miss Universe in

-- got money? (you can be @ anything. you want!), May 12, 2001

Answers

All contestants are medically examined to assure that their hymens are intact and their breasts are real. BJs do not qualify as a "talent".

Miss Universe

-- (MissUniverse@Planet.of_the_Apes), May 12, 2001.

Those are all so political. The year of or following the OK city bombing, guess who won the Miss America crown?

You guessed it.

I can usually pick them from the beginning

-- (fyi@fyi.fyi), May 12, 2001.

Miss U,

Obviously, you've never had a REAL one. Oh, yeahhhh, it's a talent all right.

Dan V.

-- Jimmy Splinters (jsplinters@earthlink.net), May 14, 2001.

Jimmy, you are a sexist, misogynist Neanderthal.

-- (MissUniverse@BertPark's.grave), May 14, 2001.

I have consulted with the Miss Universe Foundation. They confirmed that BJs do not qualify as a judgeable talent.

However, they are very important in judging congeniality.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), May 14, 2001.