CAMBODIA - Manita Hang. She has a gorgeous face that led many pageant fans and pundits to dub her the best Cambodian representative to this pageant thus far and are bullish on her prospects pulling forth her country's breakthrough. In many ways she does deliver on the hype, but the question is, with a stratified batch like this one, did she perform so unimpeachably to guarantee that breakthrough? In my reckoning, I wish there would be room for her but it's far from assured.
CAMEROON - Monalisa Moukatey. There is nothing to fault about her performance, but there are at least three other Africans making a bigger splash, so it will be a major challenge for her to make the Top 16.
CANADA - Amelia Tu. She is solid all around, but her most notable moment was during the national costume competition where she presented her costume with some ballet moves. A worthwhile contender.
CAYMAN ISLANDS - Chloe Powery-Doxey. She is definitely not conventionally pretty and her stage and catwalk skills are a tad less polished than others. In other years, she would be considered a middling contender but in this batch she's one of the weaker performers.
CHILE - Sofia Depassier. She's great looking but she's stymied by a slightly overbaked swimsuit presentation and an awkward catwalk during the evening gown round--is her scoliosis acting up at that moment?
CHINA - Jiang Sichen. See ARGENTINA.
COLOMBIA - María Fernanda Aristizábal. There are many pageant fans and pundits who are hyping her as a possible Final Five finalist. I'm oddly not that into her even if I find her good looking. Her preliminary competition performance has polarized many pageant fans and pundits--some said she was a tad disappointing and may end up being the winner of the Ruth Ocumarez Award, while others believe she delivered a strong enough performance to secure herself a Top 16 slot. I'm fascinated about which way she will end up.
COSTA RICA - Fernanda Rodriguez. She was solid in swimsuit, but in evening gown she attempted something dramatic by opening with a dramatic twirl, then while walking she presented a twist as she loosened her hairclip to bring her hair down. Unfortunately, that presentation was a hot mess, and it will not put her out of contention for the Top 16.
CROATIA - Anjana Podgajski. She actually is good looking and has a solid catwalk but it's obvious she lacks resources to make maximum impact. For her swimsuit presentation, her cape is basically just a plain diaphanous pink fabric while other ladies presented prints and painted designs, and her pink satin evening gown was obviously off-the-rack. With better support and resources she could have made more serious inroads.
CURACAO - Gabriela Dos Santos. She had a hiccup when she arrived in New Orleans as she tested positive for COVID-19. Good thing after a five-day quarantine she was cleared to compete and many are buzzing she delivered an impeachable performance that seem to secure her a Top 16 slot with a possible play for the Final Five. I definitely agree with that assessment and wouldn't mind to see her succeed. I don't foresee her faring as high as 1968's Anne-Marie Braafheid but it would be nice to see her come close to equalling or even exceeding 1997's Verna Vasquez.
CZECH REPUBLIC - Sára Mikulenková. Like CROATIA, she's a comely contender with obviously limited resources. So limited in fact that she recycled her beige evening gown, added a floral headdress, and this became her national costume. I remember a Slovak delegate did this kind of thing back in 2015, Denisa Vysnovska..
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Andreina Martinez. As she arrived in New Orleans, buzz around her grew and grew, and many pageant fans and pundits regard her preliminary competition performance as one of the unimpeachably great ones that she's deemed a Top 16 shoo-in with a strong play for the Final Five. I can get behind that.
ECUADOR - Nayelhi González. She's undeniably a polished black delegate who could pull off a sleeper surprise into the Top 16. I'm rooting for several others ahead of her, but I wouldn't mind seeing her place.
EL SALVADOR - Alejandra Guajardo. She has the features of a Classic Latina Beauty Queen (CLBQ) with her ebony tresses and fair complexion, but she doesn't quite generate the charisma we expect from such archetype. She's basically a respectable performer.
COMING UP: EQUATORIAL GUINEA to ITALY
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