Thus far in 2015, judges at beauty pageants in Costa Rica have been swooned by contestants from the Caribbean region. Earlier this year, The Costa Rica Star reported on the crowning of Shakira McDonald, an Afro-Costa Rican beauty queen who is currently Mrs. Costa Rica. Last night, television network Teletica (Channel 7) aired the grand finale of Miss Costa Rica, and the new queen of all Ticos is Brenda Castro from Guapiles, an agricultural district of Limon.

Miss Castro is a 23-year old university student who is currently majoring in Psychology. She is already a veteran of the pageant industry; she is the reigning queen of Expo-Pococi, one of the largest agricultural fairs in Costa Rica.

It is important to note that Miss Castro competed against eight contestants instead of the traditional format of nine finalists. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, one favorite contestant resigned from the pageant right after the controversial Donald Trump, presidential candidate hopeful of the United States, made offensive and ignorant comments against the Mexican people. Mr. Trump is the owner of the Miss Universe pageant, and the Miss Costa Rica event is an unofficial franchise. To this effect, the Miss Costa Rica organization decided to not broadcast Miss Universe this year and to not send a contestant to the pageant. As such, Miss Castro knows that she will not represent Costa Rica at Miss Universe.

The competition was close this year, particularly with fan favorite Ivonne Cerdas, who finished as a runner-up along with Nicole Carboni, who was a controversial contestant due to her background as a glamour model. One of Miss Castro’s most charming attributes is her confidence, which was evident as she provided an answer to the interview questions about the topics of marijuana legalization, LGBT marriage and abortion. Miss Castro seemed well-versed on these topics, and the effortless she answered the final question, “What are the traits of a successful woman?”, won over the audience and judges:

She must have goals, dreams and hopes. She must have courage to face her fears, and she needs to believe in herself as being an able person. Above all, she must have faith.

Miss Castro was not the only Caribbean contestant among the Miss Costa Rica finalists. Miss Kimberly Richardson Amador, a statuesque Afro Costa Rican with a radiant smile, received many accolades and enjoyed the support of many fans who were among the studio audience.