PH's Michelle Arceo finishes as 2nd runner up at 2024 Reina Hispanoamericana
Philippine bet Michelle Arceo has been crowned the second runner-up at the Reina Hispanoamericana 2024.
The 25-year-old beauty queen competed against 27 other candidates during the coronation night held on Monday, Jan. 29 (Philippine time) in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
This year’s winner is Peru’s Maricielo Gamarra who succeeded Arlette Rujel, clinching the back-to-back win for their country.
Venezuela’s Fernanda Rojas, meanwhile, was hailed the Virreina Hispanoamericana.
Other winners include Brazil’s Cynthia Moura who placed first runner-up, Curacao’s Bianty Gomperts as third runner-up, and Colombia’s Paula Andrea Alarcón as fourth runner-up.
During the question-and-answer round for the top 6 candidates, Arceo was asked about how racism, regionalism, and discrimination influence the lack of development in Hispanic American countries.
She answered: "I believe discrimination and racism slow [the] development [of all] countries, not just Latin America. If we're able to unite and communicate with each other, we can build a better world around us. As kindness and respect is a universal language and the entire world can learn from this, and we can build a better future."
Prior to this, Arceo competed in Miss Environment International in 2022 where she finished as 1st runner-up.
The Philippines has yet to clinch its second Reina Hispanoamericana after Winwyn Marquez’s win in 2017.