If the Philippines waited for more than four decades to win its 3rd Miss Universe crown, then consider Colombia more patient because it took the country more than five and a half decades before its second win in the annual competition. But let us talk about the location of the 63rd edition first.

Back in 2014, Miss Universe was held in an unlikely host city which no pageant fan would instinctively guess as the venue for our favorite beauty pageant – Doral, a city in Miami-Dade Country, Florida known for a lot of parks, educational institutions and a good-sized Latin American population – save for big-time pageantry. Here’s a bit of trivia, did you know where the name “Doral” originated from?

” In the late 1950s, real estate pioneers Alfred and Doris Kaskel purchased 2,400 acres of swampland between Northwest 36 Street and Northwest 74 Street and from Northwest 79 Avenue to Northwest 117 Avenue for about $49,000, intending to build a golf course and hotel. In 1962, the Doral Country Club opened in western Dade County, featuring the blue, red and par-3 golf courses, along with a hotel on Miami Beach. The “Doral” name combined Doris and Alfred. As Doral’s very first structure, the Doral Hotel and Country Club became the area’s hot spot: guests were transported from the beach to the country club for a day on the golf course.

2014 was the time when I thought that: 1) Nia Sanchez would do an Olivia Culpo and become the next Miss USA winner of Miss Universe or 2) a short-haired beauty from Jamaica named Kaci Fennell would take it all the way or 3) Ukrainian bet Diana Harkusha will be favored by Trump. But no, the Colombian beauty Paulina Vega will not be denied this much-awaited win. And she claimed victory at the Florida International University last January 25, 2015.

Our bet, MJ Lastimosa, pushed her presence till the Top 10. She bowed out after the evening gown competition. There were inside stories back then – less than pleasant mostly – that surrounded her bid for the crown. From the laughed-at National Costume to the (rumored) ambushed evening gown she wore for the first official photoshoot to the alleged backstage reprimand she got from Madame Stella Marquez de Araneta to the crazy buzz that went around in pageant circles about the white evening gown she wore during Finals Night. I was told that there were more juicy talks, but it’d be best to digress at this point.

Back to Paulina, she took full advantage of her reign as Miss Universe which lasted for a little over a month short of one full year. She became a TV host in her native country and continued work as a commercial model. Her public appearances in the US are also updated, with the photo below taken just middle of last month in New York (before the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown) when she attended the launch of The Connected Watch by Tag Heuer at the Caldwell Factory.

Now at 27, she still remains single and with no potential boyfriend waiting in the sidelines. Yet.