Shakira McDonald, a veteran of international beauty pageants, is the new Mrs. Costa Rica. The 40-year old Afro-Costa Rican mother looked dazzling in a white night gown as she accepted the crown and ceremonial bouquet offered by the Mrs. Costa Rica 2015 organization, which chose the Croc’s Hotel and Casino in Jaco Beach for the awards ceremony.

Although Mrs. McDonald resides in San Jose, her family roots are in the Caribbean province of Limon. Mrs. McDonald is fully dedicated to the beauty pageant circuit; her first triumph was in the year 2000, when she was crowned Miss Costa Rica Intercontinental. At that time, Mrs. McDonald was the first Afro-Costa Rican woman to win a beauty pageant at the national level; this event prompted pageant organizers to rush to Limon in search of beautiful contestants.

Mrs. McDonald moved to San Jose from Limon 20 years ago to study at the International University of the Americas, where she earned a Bachelor of Economy degree. Since then, Mrs. McDonald has been involved in modeling, beauty pageants, and acting; she starred in the Teletica miniseries “Los Hijos del Sol” (Children of the Sun), which aired in 1997.

The Señora Costa Rica beauty pageant, which has been alternatively aligned with Mrs. World and Mrs. Universe, has been held since the 1980s. The first contestant was a Costa Rican expat residing the United States; since then, four of them have been selected as the top five runner ups four Mrs. World; two of them have been selected as first runner-up. In essence, Costa Rica has had better luck in Mrs. World than in the more popular Miss Universe pageant, in which Tica contestants are often fan favorites but come up short before the judges.