Tidbits about Miss Universe 2011

Wanna know what’s going on the backstage of Miss Universe 2011? Here are some exclusive tidbits…

- The first Miss Universe held in Brazil has been receiving fair coverage in the media, especially by major internet portals, such as UOL, Terra, G1, and R7, and weekly magazines like Caras and Contigo. All that, in addition to special reports on Band tv’s news and entertainment shows. However, none of them has published or mentioned lists of “favorites”.

- For this reason, it’s funny to see publications in countries like Puerto Rico, Panama and Peru, claiming that their representatives are favorites among the Brazilian press. Honestly: said who?

- So far, only two Brazilian tv personalities mentioned their own favorites: Adriane Galisteu, who will comment the pageant for Brazilian viewers on Band TV, said that she believes Miss Brazil has it all to win the crown, but not without facing some heavy competition from Miss China, who the Brazilian television presenter believes to be “absolutely stunning”. Former Miss Brazil and sports’ tv commentator Renata Fan sees 5 strong delegates this year: Italy, Ukraine, Venezuela, Aruba, and of course, Brazil.

- Catalina Robayo, Miss Colombia, is among the most photographed candidates in Brazil, especially after a photo of her, supposedly wearing no panties and revealing more than the expected, stamped the cover of “Agora“, a newspaper from São Paulo. About the incident, the Colombian beauty said: “It was an accident. It was not the first, nor the last time it happens to me. There are other things that are more important in this competition though, so it did not affect me”. Then she complemented saying with sense of humor: “At least I learned how to sit properly in Brazil!”.

- Miss Venezuela, Vanessa Gonçalves, said in her biography that being the daughter of a Portuguese, she spoke fluent Portuguese. However, it’s not the case. The few times she tried to say something in Portuguese, Brazilians had to make an effort to understand her. Miss Bolivia, Olivia Pinheiro, on the other hand, speaks Portuguese very well: her father is Brazilian.

- Speaking of girls who learned some of the local language, Costa Rica is the one who impressed the most: with two months of Portuguese classes, she’s been able to communicate really well in Brazil’s official language. Johanna Solano also showed a lot of talent playing soccer, and has been collecting fans and admirers in Brazil

- Miss Brazil, Priscila Machado, has been a fair hostess. Nevertheless, she is not an unanimity among Brazilian fans. After winning the Brazilian crown without being not even one of the 10 favorites, naked photos of her followed by non-convincing explanations inundated the internet. Although the pageant rules were clearly broken, Brazilian organizers decided that she was to keep the title, and mysteriously, the MUO accepted her participation as well. For some, that was just the beginning, and Priscila, although again not a favorite for the crown, shall walk away with the Miss Universe crown and sash on September 12. Could that be??

- Another “conspiracy theory” involves Miss China, Zilin Luo. The Chinese beauty has been the most photographed and interviewed candidate in Brazil, with articles published in main magazines and papers, like Veja and O Estado de São Paulo. A special lunch was recently offered to her and her national director by the Garnero family. Soon after that, Alvaro Garnero was announced as a preliminary judge at missuniverse.com. National directors and fans complained, and his name had to be removed from the list. One thing is for sure: if Miss China wins, at least she will be able to say that she was always a favorite, even before stepping on Brazilian soil.

- Miss France, Laury Thilleman, has been conquering everyone around her with her magnetic personality and natural beauty. She told the press that she is “100% real”, and that in France plastic surgeries are not allowed among beauty contestants. France has won the Miss Universe title back in 1953, and ever since, has never again reached the Top 5 (or Top 4?). Can Laury change break the spell?

- Speaking of ‘top 5′ or ‘top 4′, Miss Universe won’t announce changes in the pageant’s format until the very final show! When asked about it, organizers responded: “You will have to watch and see it on September 12″.

- Miss Italy’s two-day hospitalization raised a lot of speculation. A local newspaper declared that she had been operated to remove a vagina gland. Others said she was going to return home. Whatever the case was, Elisa Torrina recently told UOL that she is fine, and will remain in São Paulo until the end.

- Miss India, Vasuki Sunkavalli, has been accused of stealing tweets originally published by a newspaper columnist, in which she offered a summary of an Indian proposal for an anti-corruption ombudsman: ”Only in India can you lead a movement to add an extra layer of unweildy [sic] regulation to fix a problem caused by too much unweildy [sic] regulation.” The tweet seemed familiar to Wall Street Journal columnist Sadanand Dhume - who published that exact tweet earlier that day, and it was enough to raise a controversy in the internet. Miss India explained she was “new to the twitterverse” and was unaware of the etiquette of “retweeting”. Dhume later calmed down and described the online battle as a “tempest in a teapot” – admitting Ms Sunkavalli looked better than he did in a swimsuit. Tweet Peace!

- Like every year, Miss Universe 2011 has its celebrities look-alikes, as for example the striking resemblance between… Miss Australia, Scherri-Lee Biggs, and American actress Reese Whiterspoon; Miss Cayman Islands, Cristin Alexander and Brazilian actress Camila Pitanga; Miss Romania, Larisa Poper, and actress Geena Davis; Miss Nicaragua, Adriana Dorn, and model and former Miss World Maria Julia Mantilla; Miss Philippines, Shamcey Supsup, and television presenter and former Miss Universe, Brook Lee; Miss Spain, Paula Guilló, and actress Eva Mendes; Miss Israel, Kim Edri, and Bollywood star and former Miss World, Ashwarya Rai. Any others? You tell us!

- Although most delegates claim they’ve been having a great time in São Paulo, some complaints are general (and justifiable): first, the weather – São Paulo can have heat and sunshine in the morning, cold and rain in the afternoon, so they never know exactly what to wear! (It’s fair to say, though, that overall the weather has been mostly pleasant). Another common remark is on the city’s heavy traffic jam – they’ve spent quite a long time on the bus, going for a place to the other! Finally, some of them expected to see world-famous and stunning city Rio de Janeiro, which will not happen…

- Tickets for the final show are SOLD OUT! We’ve been told that only 400 tickets were put for sale. All others were reserved for Band, the local organizer tv station, and 2000 of them, for a single sponsor! Most fans will have to watch the show on tv, from the comfort of their homes…

Special thanks to Global Beauties