Mariam Habach, 20, is the official candidate of Venezuela to Miss Universe 2016. If Pia Wurtzbach crowns her as her successor on Jan. 30 in the Philippines, it will be the eighth time for Venezuela to win the prestigious international beauty pageant.
In 1979, Maritza Sayalero became the first Venezuelan to win the Miss Universe crown. This was followed by Irene Saez Conde in 1981, Barbara Palacios Teyde in 1986, Alicia Machado in 1996, Dayana Mendoza in 2008, Stefania Fernandez in 2009 and Gabriela Isler in 2013.
In 2012, Mendoza joined "Celebrity Apprentice," which was hosted by Donald Trump. Before Trump became the United States president-elect, he was embroiled in a controversy when Machado accused him of fat-shaming her years ago.
In 2015, Trump bought NBC's share of the Miss Universe Organization. After becoming the sole owner of the company for three days, he sold it to the WME/IMG talent agency. The controversy involving the pageant was overruled by another controversy when Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner instead of Wurtzbach.
Miss Venezuela 2015 Mariana Jimenez only managed to reach top 10 in Miss Universe 2015. Prior to this, she crowned Habach as her successor on Oct. 8, 2015 in Caracas, Venezuela.
Habach is a dentistry student who speaks not only English and Spanish but also Arabic and Italian. Born in Lara, she was raised in an Italian and Syrian family. Her father was from Tartus, Syria while her mother's family was from Italy, particularly from Agrigento and Fontanarosa.
On Jan. 13, Friday, Habach arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport wearing a white tube top, a denim jacket, jeans, rubber shoes, a black belt and a black choker. While the denim ensemble has been considered a fashion faux pas, the Venezuelan beauty managed to pull it off, according to ABS-CBN News.
In Miss Universe 2016, Habach will wear a dress that features a sea fantasy. Inspired by the legend of the Indian mestizo Guaricha Guaica of the Guaiqueries tribe, the dress was created by Zuliano designer Nidal Nouaihed.
During the dress test, Habach told Rumberos that the dress was made as she wanted and she was very happy. She said as a child, she won all the contests in costumes inspired by the sea, so she asked Nouaihed to create a sea-inspired dress.
Watch a clip featuring Habach's arrival in the Philippines here:
