Who would have thought Ms. Australia would win?

Jennifer Hawkins' grace and confidence during the final's night was beyond words. With her supermodel looks and catwalk skills, Jennifer won the judges' hearts and votes. Miss USA, Shandi Finnessey was 1st runner-up, who seems like a walking promotion for plastic surgery. Her facial features are too perfect to be true. But she definitely has the most beautiful body. Well toned and perfectly sculptured.

Watching the annual Miss Universe for almost twenty years, I haven't seen as much Latinas as with this year's pageant. We Have Puerto Rico (2nd runner-up), Paraguay (3rd runner up), Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Mexico. Among these señoritas, only Miss Paraguay deserves to place. All the others were simply forgettable. Puerto Rico has a very prominent nose which made her look like a Pelican. Kudos for Miss Ecuador as the host candidate but she should not be really there with her titanic jaws and front teeth but thanks to gown choice and crowd support which almost made up for her low facial beauty superiority. Two black women made the final cut, Trinidad and Tobago (4th runner-up), who is simply stunning and articulate, and Angola, the only African delegate who made it to the elite fifteen finalists.



And we have candidates from Switzerland, Norway, Jamaica and India rounding up the list. Miss Norway was way way better when she joined the Miss World 2002. She has too much make up which doesn't go really well with her perfect caucasian features. Wrong choice of gown didn't help either. Two much has been said about Miss Switzerland on the internet for having multi -ethnic features, but for me she is too plain-faced to be one of the finalist. Jamaica deserves to be there she is one my favorite among the fifteen for having the perfect heart-shaped face and expressive eyes. And India? She is too small for a beauty queen. Didn't even look exceptional which would really made up for her lack of altitude. As they say, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder", but this is what I think. I am not a beauty pageant guru but I would like to think that I know what's "beautiful" when I see one.

Was I disappointed not seeing a Venezuelan candidate in the group of final contenders for the crown? Ever since I can remember watching Miss Universe, it is almost (only this year) always to have a delegate from this so-called "beauty factory of the world" fairing well in the Miss Universe. What have gone wrong? I would sure like to know.

Another favorite who didn't make it was Miss Aruba. Zizi Lee, who was 1st runner-up in Miss World 2001, was snobbed this year. Surely, she was the this years' biggest a-Miss.

Jennifer puts an end to the long - time drought for blondes in winning the most elusive universal crown. The last time a blonde won the title is way back in 1986 when Angela Visser of Holland (now The Netherlands). Could it be a trend for blondes winning in the international beauty pageant scene? Just last year, Rosanna Davison of Ireland was proclaimed Miss World 2003.

All in all, Australia winning this year is the only salvation for a very questionable and unpredictable year. I would surely like to see girls of better "quality" and "diversity" in the coming years.

To Jennifer Hawkins, congratulations!