Filipina beauty shines once again as Caviteña candidate – who also represented the province during the Miss Universe Philippines 2024, Dia Mate takes home the crown for Reina Hispanoamericana 2025. Dia writes history for being the second Filipino to win the pageant following Teresita “Winwyn” Marquez’ win back in 2017.
Formerly called Reina Sudamerica, Reina Hispanoamericana was first established in 1991 as a premiere competition exclusive to South American countries. Eventually, it also opened its door to countries in Central America in 2004, and later on to other countries with Spanish influences. The Philippines first stepped into the competion in 2017 and made a mark as the first Asian country to take home the crown.
Photo from Dia Mate Official Instagram Account
The coronation night was held last February 9 at Santa Cruz, Bolivia where Dia came on top of over 24 other contestants who were vying for the crown. Prior to the coronation night, Dia bagged the Mejor Traje Típico (Best National Costume) award for her winning gown dubbed as “Banaag,” designed by renowned Filipino designer Ehrran Montoya.
The beauty queen’s gown was inspired by the UNESCO-recognized Baroque Churches of the Philippines with more than 150,000 crystals patterned to the country’s flag colors to mirror stained glass windows. To complete her winning look, the beauty queen paired it with a matching “salakot” – a hat usually worn by Filipino farmers to protect themselves from the heat, stunningly decorated with crystals as well.
Still from Promociones Gloria Official Youtube Account
For the much awaited part of the evening, Dia impressed the judges during the question and answer portion where Dia was asked “What value do you think is the most important to create a fair society, and why do you think this is important?”
With grace and confidence, the Filipino candidate responded to the question: “I think the one most important value we should have is kindness. In my experience here in Bolivia, Latinos have shown me so much kindness and so much love even though racially I am not Latino. The most beautiful thing I’ve noticed is that even though we don’t speak the same language, we share the same culture, same heart, and same faith in God. And I hope this shows to everybody that if we use kindness and we can show that we are all the same, we can create a better world and a better society for us all,” she said.
With her remarkable response, the young beauty queen from the Philippines took home the victory and was crowned by the 2024 titleholder, Peru’s Maricielo Gamarra.
Photo From Reina Hispanoamericana Official Facebook Page
Other awardees of tonight includes Venezuela’s Sofía Fernandez who was proclaimed the Virreina Virreina Hispanoamericana (Vice-Queen), Colombia’s Sharon Gamarra was 1st Runner-Up; Spain’s Carolina Barroso, 2nd Runner-Up; Peru’s Nikita Palma, 3rd Runner-Up; Brazil’s Julia de Castro, 4th Runner-Up; and Poland’s Zuzanna Balonek, 5th Runner-Up.
What can you say about Dia Mate’s winning performance? Let’s talk about it in the comment section below.