Miss Spain Angela Ponce takes the Miss Universe stage in December 2018 during a special segment highlighting her journey as the first-ever transgender candidate in the pageant. Athit Perawongmetha, Reuters
MANILA — The Miss Universe organization took part in the celebration of the International Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday, with a look-back at the history-making participation of Spain’s Angela Ponce in the pageant.
On its social media pages, Miss Universe released a profile reel of Ponce where she spoke of her personal journey of transitioning and then joining pageantry to further her advocacy.
Ponce made history as the first-ever transgender woman to join Miss Universe, now a 70-year-old pageant, in its 2018 edition.
Miss Spain Angela Ponce refers to the Philippines’ Catriona Gray as her ‘Miss Universe sister’ in this Instagram post dated December 8, 2018. Instagram: @angelaponceofficial
While she was not crowned with the title — the Philippines’ Catriona Gray won — Ponce had her own triumphant moment during the finals night, when she received a standing ovation during a segment dedicated to her advocacy.
Ponce’s words, now recalled by the Miss Universe organization, were about her dream of living “in a world of equality for everyone.”
“Simply for us all to understand that we are human and that we must make all our lives easier together. That reality for many people is going to change. If I can give that to the world, I don’t need to win Miss Universe, I only need to be here,” she said.