The Miss U.S. Latina Pageant will return to the Dominican Republic for its 26th edition, this time to take place at the Barceló Bavaro Beach Resort in Punta Cana. The finals and coronation will be held on August 30 at the Gran Teatro Bavaro. The event itself will begin on August 24 with the arrival of the contestants for the week-long schedule of preliminary competitions, rehearsals and other pageant and fun activities.
“We are thrilled to return to this amazing resort which hosted our world finals in 2011 that was an incredibly wonderful experience for all,” said pageant president and founder Acirema Alayeto. “This is our 15th anniversary with Barcelo Hotels & Resorts and we could not celebrate it at a better location than this one, where the first Barceló hotel in Latin America was built in 1985.”
Ms. Alayeto went on to note that Barcelo Hotels & Resorts continuously play an important role in the travel & tourism industries’ worldwide environmental efforts. In 2014 Barceló Bavaro Beach Adults Only received the national award Check Safety First for its operations’ high quality standards and also received the International award competing with 28 countries.
Ashley Garner of El Paso, Texas is the current Miss U.S. Latina titleholder and she will be crowning her successor in Punta Cana. Ashley, who is of Mexican and Afro-American heritage, was crowned last summer at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico. She went on to win third runner-up at the world finals last year.
Barcelo Hotels & Resorts, www.barcelo.com