Estefanía Soto

Estefanía Soto
Born	April 27, 1992 Caguas
Nationality	Puerto Rico
Modeling information
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown

Estefanía Soto (April 27, 1992) is a Puerto Rican model crowned Miss Puerto Rico 2020. She succeeded the previous miss Puerto Rico 2019 Madison Anderson.

She represents Puerto Rico at the Miss Universe 2020 pageant on May 16, 2021 in Florida

Biography

Estefanía was born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico. She is connected to the city of San Sebastian in western Puerto Rico by her father's family. She had a simple and creative childhood. She enjoyed painting landscapes on river stones, making bracelets and earrings with colored stones and playing with her friends. During her elementary school years, she was notable for her height, her participation in track and field sports, for which she traveled all over the island to participate in various races, and to sing at family events at her school.

It was during this period that she started working as a professional model. At the young age of 11 she did her first fashion show where she modeled for the famous designer Rubén Darío. Years later, she developed her modeling career under the representation of the modeling agency Única, then directed by Caridad Fernández. She has worked in fashion editorials for major magazines in the country and modeled for renowned designers such as Harry Robles, Gustavo Arango, Luis Antonio, Peter Cardón, Eclíptica, Sonia Rivera, Lisa Capalli and Reynaldo Álvarez.

She obtained her bachelor's degree in foreign languages ​​with a concentration in French from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. Estefanía was inspired by the film 'The Interpreter' and discovered her passion for foreign languages ​​and multiculturalism, which prompted her to participate in a student exchange at the University of Québec in Montréal in Canada before obtaining a bachelor's degree in foreign languages. Between 2015 and 2017 she lived and studied in Lille (France), Leuven (Belgium), Mexico City (Mexico) and Rotterdam (Netherlands).

She completed an interdisciplinary master's degree in intercultural mediation with a sociological, anthropological and gender perspective. In her thesis entitled 'Made in La Ciudadela: Community-building and placemaking practices under Indigenous Triqui Migrants in a Handcrafts Market in Mexico City', she wrote about the migration path of the indigenous Triqui from the state Oaxaca and their strategies for community building in the marketplace.

She developed her professional career with the international organization Eurocities in Brussels, the French Embassy in Washington DC and at the European Patent Office in The Hague.

Beauty contests

Miss Universe

She was already involved in the world of beauty pageants when she was young. Her parents wanted her to get involved in some hobby and she chose modeling, showing an early interest in fashion, artistry and aesthetics. Her parents enrolled her in a modeling academy, where she developed in the field and a few years later even professionally modeled in Puerto Rico and where she worked for the best fashion editorials on the island.

She is now 28 years old and is fluent in Spanish, English, French and has recently reached an intermediate level in the Dutch language. After being crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2020, Estefania took to her social media to thank everyone, she said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to wear this golden emerald crown. Representing my country and my people on a platform with great potential to promote social change is a responsibility that I cherish with all my heart."

During one of her live sessions, she spoke about how 2020 has helped her think about her growth and she had the chance to write it all down for a local newspaper. She also shared a book she came across, 'Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man' ; that is about having difficult conversations about racial and cultural differences that require attention. She gives many interviews and creates interactive podcasts . Listen to her podcast 'Voces de Reinas' (in Spanish).

Estefanía Natalia Soto Torres represents Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 2020.