Maria venus raj biography template

59th Miss Universe competition, beauty pageant edition

Miss Universe 2010 was the 59th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on August 23, 2010.

At the end of the event, Stefanía Fernández of Venezuela crowned Ximena Navarrete of Mexico as Miss Universe 2010. It was Mexico's second victory after their victory in 1991.

Contestants from eighty-three countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bret Michaels and Natalie Morales. John Legend, The Roots, and Cirque du Soleil performed in this year's pageant.

Background

Location and date

Several cities from across the world had expressed interest to host the pageant. Among these cities that bid to host the pageant is Zagreb, Croatia which previously dropped its bid to host the pageant in 2009. The Croatian government and local investors renewed their proposal for the pageant, which would take place at the Arena Zagreb. However, on February 20, 2010, the national director of Miss Universe Croatia Vladimir Krajelvic announced that the country withdrew its bid to host the contest due to the impacts in Croatia from the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

On January 31, 2010, the Miss Universe Organization was in talks to host the 2010 edition of the competition in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia after the Miss Universe commission visited Bolivia to evaluate if the city is capable to host the pageant. However, during the visit of the commission in Bolivia, Minister of Culture Zulma Yugar publicly admitted the difficulties in hosting the pageant in line with the organization's demands. After a meeting held in La Paz in March 2010, Yugar formally announced that Santa Cruz withdrew its bid to host the pageant, alleging that the organization "disrespect

Maria Venus Bayonito Raj (born July 7, 1988) is a Filipinabeauty queen. She was crowned Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines)-Universe on March 6, 2010 during the pageant's Grand Coronation Night at the Araneta Coliseum. She represented the Philippines in the 2010 Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and placed fourth runner-up to Ximena Navarrete of Mexico.

Early life

Maria Venus Raj was born to an Indian father and a Filipina mother. Raj was taken by her mother to Bato, Camarines Sur in Bicol Region, Philippines as an infant and was registered by an aunt as a Philippine-born child to Roman Catholic parents. Raj grew up with her mother, a former tenant farmer and dressmaker who brought Maria Venus Raj up as a child. A former Roman Catholic, She is now a Born Again Christian

Raj lived in a nipa hut made of wood, bamboo and anahaw leaves with no electricity in the middle of a sprawling rice field in the rural Bato town for more than twenty years. She allegedly used rice paddy dikes for her early training where she eventually developed her distinct catwalk.

The youngest among five children, Maria Venus Raj started joining local beauty pageants. She also joined oratorical contests at San Vicente High School where her English teacher served as her coach. With her victories in major contests, Venus Raj had started to buy land on installment basis for her mother as a means of improving their livelihood.

Raj obtained her Diploma in Communications Arts, major in Journalism, at Bicol University in Albay, with Latin honors (Cum Laude). She graduated through the scholarship that she received from the Francis Papica Foundation. Back in the Philippines, she works as an Information Assistant for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region V. In addition to this, she also works as a part-time fashion model in her native Bicol and Manila.

Pageantry

Miss Philippines-Earth 2008

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