At the Miss Universe awards ceremony held in South Florida on Sunday night, a few contestants stood out as crowd favorites even before the judges took their seats and the pageantry began. On the popular network Twitter, the name of Miss Costa Rica Karina Ramos was mentioned hundreds of thousands of times. There were very high expectations about Miss Costa Rica taking the Miss Universe crown, or at very least being selected as a runner up. Alas, it was not to be.

It was not even close for Miss Costa Rica 2014, a native from Heredia, a place believed to be the cradle of feminine beauty in our country. Karina Ramos scored very highly on several online polls leading up to the 63^rd edition of the Miss Universe pageant. However, she was not chosen among the 15 finalists who make up the bulk of this televised pageant. The reaction on Twitter was evident; as the 10^th contestant was announced, quite a few tweets asked: “Where is Miss Costa Rica?” and “Will you call her name already?”

Miss Costa Rica was not the only favorite among fans; there was Miss Jamaica, a ravishing beauty who defied Miss Universe tradition by choosing a short hairstyle. There was also Miss Colombia Paulina Vega, who eventually took the crown. Overall, Latin American contestants were favorite to win this time around; after all, the pageant was in Doral, a suburb of a metropolis often considered to be the international capital of Latin America: The City of Miami.

This is not the first time that Miss Costa Rica becomes a fan favorite at Miss Universe. It all started with Johanna Solano, who proudly represented our country in 2011 and won major praise for her athletic physique. Last year, Fabiana Granados was among the 15 Miss Universe finalists. Does this mean that Ticas are getting prettier over the years? Perhaps, but a more accurate explanation is that the beauty pageant industry has grown significantly in our country recently; for this reason, Karina Ramos was a favorite at Miss Universe.

As previously described by The Costa Rica Star, the young Miss Ramos has considerable beauty pageant experience, which explains why she exuded confidence, elegance and poise at Miss Universe. Fans were quick to catch on to Miss Ramos, and they were charmed from the start. In the end, however, the judges were more impressed by other contestants, and eventually by Miss Colombia.

Source: Teletica Channel 7