Luz Marina Zuluaga
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Born | Luz Marina Zuluaga October 31, 1938 Pereira, Colombia |
|---|---|
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Title(s) | Miss Pereira 1957 Miss Caldas 1957 Miss Colombia 1957 Miss Universe 1958 |
| Major competition(s) |
Miss Colombia 1957 (1st runner-up) Miss Universe 1958 |
Luz Marina Zuluaga (born October 31, 1938) is a Colombian beauty pageant winner and Miss Universe 1958. She is the only Colombian in history to hold the Miss Universe title.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Zuluaga was born in Pereira to an impoverished family. She moved to Manizales, (Department of Caldas) as a small child and grew up there. She applied for the Miss Caldas contest, and she won 1957. After her election, controversy arose as many residents of the state thought she shouldn't represent Caldas because she had been born in Pereira, which is in the department of Risaralda. However, Zuluaga went on with her training towards the Miss Colombia contest and arrived in Cartagena, hoping to win the Miss Colombia title.
[edit] Miss Colombia 1957
Zuluaga did not win the contest, finishing First Runner-up instead. However, before the Miss Universe pageant, Miss Colombia 1957, Doris Gil Santamaria, got married. As one of the rules of the Miss Universe worldwide franchises is that no candidate can be married before the final contest itself, Santamaria had to abdicate the title, making Zuluaga Miss Colombia by default.
[edit] Miss Universe
The contest took place in Long Beach, California, on July 25, 1958. After Zuluaga was announced as winner and new Miss Universe, most television and radio stations in Colombia (as much as seventy-three) stopped their regular programming to report the breaking news.
Zuluaga was not immediately able to return to her country, as Miss Universe personnel feared for her security because at the time Colombia was going through a period of extreme political volatility. When she eventually returned home, she was welcomed by large crowds both at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá and at Manizales airport.
By now, the citizens of Manizales had accepted her as if she had been a native of the area. Learning that her family was not well off economically, many citizens collected money, which was used to build a better house for Zuluaga and her family.
[edit] Life After Titleholding
After years outside the spotlight, Zuluaga made headlines again when she married a medical doctor and moved to the United States. In 1966, she returned to Manizales and became involved with the city council as well as with the state's institute of tourism, of which she eventually became director.
Zuluaga has three sons and a daughter.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Colombia.com
| Preceded by Doris Gil Santamaría |
Miss Colombia 1958 -1959 |
Succeeded by Stella Márquez Zawadski |
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