Mayra Matos Pérez (born August 28, 1988 in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

) is a Puerto Rican actress, writer, fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder who held the title of Miss Teen International 2006 and Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2009.

Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2009

Matos represented Cabo Rojo at the Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2009 pageant where she was crowned Miss Puerto Rico Universe by outgoing titleholder Ingrid Rivera with the assistance of Miss USA 2008

Crystle Stewart Crystle Stewart Sebrechts ( Stewart) (born September 20, 1981) is an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder. Stewart began her acting career in 2011, when she played real estate agent Leslie Morris on the OWN/ TBS comedy-drama televisi ...

and Miss Dominican Republic 2008 Marianne Cruz. She also won the award for "Most Beautiful Face".

Miss Universe

Preliminary rounds

Matos wore a costume modeled after boxing gear during the national costume competition; the piece included a hooded robe, gloves and a championship belt bearing the Coat of arms of Puerto Rico. The outfit was known to the island's boxing tradition, which has produced more champions per capita than any other location in the world.

Final show

Matos represented

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

at Miss Universe 2009 on August 23, 2009, in Nassau,

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. She was the first of the semifinalists to be called, breaking a two-year non-placement streak for

. She then advanced to the Top 10 and was one of the Top 5 finalists, along with Ada de la Cruz of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, Rachel Finch of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Stefanía Fernandez of

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 ...

, and Marigona Dragusha of

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. She eventually finished as 4th Runner-Up. The eventual winner was Stefanía Fernandez of

This was Puerto Rico's most recent Top 5 placement until

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when Kiara Ortega also finished in the Top 5.

Professional life

In 2013 Matos appeared in the comedy film '' 200 Cartas'', a film about a comic book artist who travels to Puerto Rico to find a woman he met at a bar in New York City. Matos appears as Maria Sanchez, the love interest of

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals '' In the Heights'' and ''Hamilton'', and the soundtracks for the animated films '' Moana' ...

's character Raul. The film also stars Mexican actor

Jaime Camil Jaime Federico Said Camil de Saldanha da Gama (born 22 July 1973) is a Mexican actor, singer and television personality. He is best known for his roles as Fernando Mendiola in '' La Fea Más Bella'' and Rogelio de la Vega in '' Jane the Virgin' ...

, Puerto Rican actor and comedian Luis Raúl, and Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Mayra People from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico Miss Universe 2009 contestants Living people 1988 births Puerto Rican beauty pageant winners