Andreina Martinez is the Dominican representative to the Miss Universe to be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on 14 January 2023. Diario Libre reports on the typical costume she will wear at the contest. The Cigua Palmera, the tiny national bird of the Dominican Republic, inspires the costume.
The costume is a call to take care of biodiversity and birds in danger of extinction. The costume features golden feathers made from recycled material.
The cigua palmera costume was designed and made by Leonel Lirio, and carries a message of overcoming difficulties, transformation, perseverance, joy and love, and is a call to take care of the birds. He was responsible for the attire of Amelia Vega, the Dominican Republic’s only Miss Universe, when she won in Panama in 2003.
“Today we present the sketch of our National costume that @_andreinamart will wear to @missuniverse on 14 January to New Orleans. Cigua Palmera, National Bird,” the organizers of Miss Universe in the Dominican Republic published in Instagram.
“The dreams of being known in the Universe inspire our national bird, the Cigua Palmera to dress up and paint its feathers with gold in recyclable material, to fly together with the illusions of our Miss RDU Andreina Martinez and tell why we are the First of America,” state the organizers.
Andreína Martínez was born and raised in Santiago. She attended primary school at the Politécnico Femenino Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in Santiago and later emigrated to the United States with her family. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in Psychology and Latin American Studies from the City College of New York.
She has participated in the New York City Fashion Week, the NYFW, has been the image of campaigns for brands such as Missoni, Nars cosmetics and Sephora. At the end of 2020 she participated and won her first beauty contest ‘Misses of Dominican Republic’, contest held in the city of NY, becoming the representative of the Dominican Diaspora in the United States, being the first time that a representative of the Dominican community in the USA wins. This victory allowed her to participate in the Miss Dominican Republic Universe, where she won.
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Diario Libre
21 December 2022