Puerto Rican beauty named Miss World 2016

Miss South Africa Ntandoyenkosi Kunene vied for the title of Miss World against another South African-born competitor on Sunday night.

Kunene and Miss New Zealand Karla de Beer were both up for the crown.

De Beer was born in Pretoria and moved to the Land of the Long White Cloud when she was 11.

Both, however, went home empty handed – failing to place high in the competition.

Stephanie del Valle of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss World 2016 on Sunday, edging out runners-up from the Dominican Republic and Indonesia.

Del Valle, 19, is a brown-eyed, brunette student who speaks Spanish, English and French, and hopes to get into the entertainment industry.

Crowned by Miss World 2015 Mireia Lalaguna of Spain, Del Valle called it an “honour and a great responsibility” to represent her Caribbean homeland.

First runner-up was Yaritza Miguelina Reyes Ramirez of the Dominican Republic, followed by Miss Indonesia Natasha Mannuela.

Canada’s Miss World representative, Chinese-born Anastasia Lin, was embroiled in a controversy when pageant officials reportedly warned her against speaking to the press for three weeks about human rights abuses in China. She was given the green light to compete last Wednesday.

Last year, China blocked Lin from attending the same world contest when it was held in the city of Sanya.

There’s still a chance for Kunene to take an international crown. Since she did not place in the top five at Miss World, she will represent South Africa at the 2016 Miss Universe pageant to be held in Manila, Philippines, next month.

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