María Alejandra Salazar

María Alejandra Salazar Rojas (born August 28, 1997) is a Colombian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was selected Miss Cosmo Colombia 2024, and will represent Colombia at Miss Cosmo 2024.[1]

María Alejandra Salazar
Born
María Alejandra Salazar Rojas

(1997-08-28) August 28, 1997 (age 26)
Neiva, Huila, Colombia
Alma materSouth Colombian University
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title
Hair colorLight Brown
Eye colorBrown
Major
competition(s)

She is mainly recognized for having represented the department of Huila in Señorita Colombia 2019-20 and Miss Universe Colombia 2024 where in both contests she got the position of 1st Runner-Up.[2][3]

Personal life

edit

María Alejandra Salazar was born in Neiva, Huila on August 28, 1997, although her parents are from Garzón and Gigante. She is a student of Social Communication and Journalism at the Minuto de Dios University Corporation and has a Bachelor's degree in English from the South Colombian University.[4]

Pageantry

edit

Señorita Huila 2019-2020

edit

The Huilense made the decision to participate in the regional pageant of her department as a representative of the municipality of Garzón, where she has family roots. During the competition, she was one of the great favorites of the public and the press, which catapulted her into the Top 3 of finalists. In July 2019, Salazar was named the new queen of Huila, becoming from that moment on, a strong competitor for the title of Miss Colombia.[5]

Miss Colombia 2020

edit

With growing favoritism, the young woman arrived in Cartagena at the beginning of November 2019. During the concentration, she stood out for her competitive level, which led her to be part of the Top 3 of the special Police Queen contest and, later, to win the award for Best Handmade Costume.[6] On the night of her coronation, she managed to advance through all the cuts until she reached the Top 5, where at the end of the event, she was proclaimed Virreina Nacional de Colombia (1st Runner Up), with the queen of Quindío, María Fernanda Aristizábal, being the winner of the national title.

Miss International 2020-2021

edit

Having occupied the position of 1st Runner Up, María Alejandra would represent Colombia in the Japanese pageant,[7] which is held year after year in the city of Tokyo. However, due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 editions of the pageant were canceled, causing Alejandra to be unable to compete in the international pageant representing her country, since for 2022 the 1st Runner Up of Miss Colombia 2021, Natalia López of Quindío was selected as the representative of the South American nation in the contest.[8]

Miss Universe Colombia 2024

edit

Salazar, representing Huila again, arrived as one of the public's favorites to take the crown, alluding to her experience in the previous national contest in which she had participated.[9] On June 2, 2024, the 5th edition of the pageant was held at the Puerta de Oro Caribbean Events Center, Barranquilla, Colombia, where 30 candidates from different departments, cities and districts competed. At the end of the event, María Alejandra obtained the title of First Runner-up, with the winner of the pageant being the queen of Valle del Cauca, Daniela Toloza Rocha.[10][11]

Miss Cosmo Colombia 2024

edit

On August 11, 2024, Natalie Ackermann (National Director of Miss Universe Colombia) made the decision together with Omar Iglesias (National Director of Miss Cosmo Colombia) to designate Salazar as Colombia's representative in the Vietnamese pageant.[12]

References

edit
  1. ^ "OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: MISS COSMO COLOMBIA". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  2. ^ LN, Redacción Web // (2019-11-12). "Quindío, Señorita Colombia; Huila, virreina • La Nación" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  3. ^ Losada, Brayan Smith Sánchez (2024-06-03). "Huila, virreina del Miss Universe Colombia • La Nación" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  4. ^ "Señorita Huila - CNB". Concurso Nacional de Belleza (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Esta es la nueva Señorita Huila para el Concurso Nacional de Belleza". opanoticias.com (in Spanish). 23 July 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  6. ^ "La Señorita Huila gana el premio al Mejor traje artesanal". Diario del Magdalena (in Spanish). 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Así se escogió a la Señorita Colombia". El Colombiano (in Spanish). 12 November 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  8. ^ "La quindiana, Natalia López, representará a Colombia en Miss International 2022". web.archive.org. 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  9. ^ Guerrero, Johan Steven Infante (2024-06-01). "Favorita a llevarse la corona de Miss Universe Colombia 2024 fue pareja de dos famosos de 'Masterchef Celebrity'". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  10. ^ WebMasterDH (2024-06-03). "María Alejandra Salazar, virreina del Miss Universe Colombia". Diario del Huila (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  11. ^ RCN, Noticias (2024-06-02). "Miss Valle, Daniela Toloza, es la nueva Miss Universe Colombia". Noticias RCN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  12. ^ "Your time is NOW". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
edit
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Miss Cosmo Colombia
2024
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
  Adriana Numa Vega
Miss Universe Colombia 1st Runner-Up
2024
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Señorita Colombia Virreina
2019-2020
Succeeded by
Preceded by
  Yenifer Perdomo
Miss Universe Huila
2024
Succeeded by
Incumbent Ramos
Preceded by
  Wendy Taryn López
Señorita Huila
2019-2020
Succeeded by
  Karen Ortiz Díaz