Mariam Habach Santucci (born 26 January 1996) is a Venezuelan dentist, model, psychologist, and beauty pageant titleholder who won
Miss Venezuela
Miss Venezuela (Spanish: ''Organización Miss Venezuela'') is a Venezuelan beauty pageant operated by the Cisneros Group. Founded in 1952, it currently selects Venezuelan representatives to Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International. ...
2015. She also won Señorita Centro Occidental 2016, she also represented Venezuela at
Miss Universe 2016
Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This was the second time that the pageant skipped a year, after Miss Universe 2014 was held i ...
.
Personal life
Habach is a dentistry student and was raised along with her two brothers in the city of
El Tocuyo
El Tocuyo is a fertile valley and city in west-central Venezuela at elevation. It is located in south-central Lara (state), Lara State about 60 km southwest of Barquisimeto. The town of El Tocuyo was founded by Juan de Carvajal in 1545 on ...
. Her father, Antonio, was born in the city of
Tartus
Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French language, French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (af ...
,
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and her maternal grandparents immigrated from
Fontanarosa
Fontanarosa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Penins ...
and
Agrigento
Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento.
Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Habach speaks three languages:
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
,
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
.
On 20 July 2023, Habach graduated from the University of Yacambú, with an honorable mention Magna Cum Laude in Psychology. She recently graduated as a dentist at the José Antonio Páez University in Carabobo state in 2022.
Pageantry
Miss Venezuela 2015
During Venezuela's final coronation night on 8 October 2015, Habach was crowned
Miss Venezuela 2015 representing her home state of Lara. She went to represent
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
at
Miss Universe 2016
Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This was the second time that the pageant skipped a year, after Miss Universe 2014 was held i ...
.
Miss Universe 2016
Habach represented
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
at
Miss Universe 2016
Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This was the second time that the pageant skipped a year, after Miss Universe 2014 was held i ...
and she was amongst a group of favorites to win the pageant. She also won three special awards given by local sponsors during the pre-pageant activities in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. During the preliminary competition, she was introduced to the televised press as having won all nine beauty pageants she entered, the current coinciding with her birthday.
Habach is also known to wear the golden
Maria Clara terno gown, disputed to having been initially reserved by former Miss Czech Republic
Andrea Bezděková, to which its designer finally transferred the gown to Habach. During the national costume competition, she wore a blue and white balloon dress designed by Nidal Nouaihed entitled “Reina encantada del mar”, inspired by the
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.
History
...
culture and the myth of the ocean goddess
Yemaya, which weighed more than 18 kilos and was made of 120 meters of organza with hundreds of pearls and crystals. However the hugeness of her costume hampered her movements and forced her to constantly kick her dress forward. She ended stuck in the fabric to a point she had to be assisted off stage. Ultimately, Habach did not make placement among the 13 semi-finalists. In thirty three years of Venezuelan pageantry since this time, Habach is the fourth contestant whom did not make placement.
Controversy
Accordingly, many pageant connoisseurs were bewildered on Habach's non-placement in
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
, resulting in being pejoratively labeled as the recipient to the "
Ruth Ocumarez Award". Prior to the coronation night, a Venezuelan journalist Julio Matute Rodríguez wrote that Habach was arrogant and spoiled due to an affluent upbringing. It was also rumored that her family influenced the judges at the
Miss Venezuela 2015 pageant.
Furthermore, several social media fonts speculated that her failure to enter the top 13 selection was due to allegedly disrespecting several candidates. There were televised segments where she pinched second runner-up
Andrea Tovar of
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and stepped on semi-finalist
Valeria Piazza of
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, among other candidates' dresses without issuing remorse or apology. In later months, Habach gained further notoriety for a video mocking former first runner-up
Ariadna Gutierrez of Colombia, in a recorded video prank allegedly referring to the provincial nature of
Colombians
Colombians () are people identified with the country of Colombia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Colombians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their bein ...
.
See also
*
Miss Venezuela 2015
References
External links
Miss Venezuela Official Website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habach, Mariam
1996 births
Living people
Venezuelan people of Italian descent
Venezuelan people of Syrian descent
Miss Venezuela winners
People from El Tocuyo
Venezuelan female models
Miss Universe 2016 contestants
Venezuelan Roman Catholics
21st-century Venezuelan women