Florida: Andrea Meza from Mexico on Monday won the title of Miss Universe 2021. Meza, a software engineer, had to compete with 73 other contestants from all over the world to become the third women from the country to win the title. Former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned the Mexican beauty at the event held in Florida, USA.
India‘s Adline Castelino, who earlier won the LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020 title, emerged as the 3rd runner up at the 69th edition of the Miss Universe contest.
Castelino, who traces her roots to Udupi in Karnataka, was born and raised in Kuwait. She had penned down a heartfelt note on her journey through a video clip posted on social media. She had written: “If I could pen down this feeling without getting overwhelmed about how I felt as I stood there witnessing people around the world cheering, flags waving high and even if I missed seeing , I felt like I was home.
“I thought of you India and what we are going through. The love that people give you when they are hurting themselves is the purest form of love one can experience. I’m grateful to you that at a young age I have experienced that and if I could only show you what I saw that day! I saw hope, a hope that will be ours soon.”
During the pageant, Adline received praise for her well-rounded response in the question-answer round. She was asked: “Should countries lockdown due to COVID-19 despite the strain on their economies, or should they open their borders and risk a potential increase in infection rates?”
To this, the model responded, “Good evening universe. Well, coming from India and witnessing what India is experiencing right now, I have realized something very important that nothing is more important than the health of your loved ones. And you have to draw a balance between economy and health. And that can only be done when the government works with the people hand in hand and produces something that will work with the economy. Thank you.”