Family, fellow MUC 2013 Delegates, Friends and Media gathered to welcome 26 Year Old Riza Santos as she received her Miss Universe Canada  2013 Title at Osteria de Medici.

Riza’s preparation for the Miss Universe 2013 Pageant which will be held in December will begin with travelling to Toronto to model at Philippine Fashion Week and then to Nicaragua as one of the team members of the 2013 Miss Universe Canada Goodwill tour to Nicaragua where they will be working with SOS Childrens Villages and Operation Smile to transform the lives of children.

For the past eight years, the Miss Universe Canada Organization has been supporting the SOS Children’s Villages charity and this is the first year that we are also supporting Operation Smile.

The MUC Organization looks forward to working with Riza as she prepares for the privilege to represent Canada at Miss Universe 2013 next December.

Photos Courtesy of Kim Petrigo

We, Miss Universe Canada, made a mistake, a human mistake, one we did not ask for. After 24 hours of being crowned Miss Universe Canada, Denise Garrido was told the crown belonged to another, Riza Santos. Our first concern was for both Riza and Denise; we wanted to be sure they were okay.

They both faced the entire event with the gentle power we have come to honour in our contestants. Denise’s words, actions and grace following the news is a true reflection of the kind of integrity and true beauty of these young women. Riza showed perfect humility and grace when told she was the true winner.

Take out accusations of foul play and you are left with a view of the true character of the women this pageant draws as well as the integrity of the organization to admit its error immediately.  And it is the errors in life from which greatness is rooted.

The Miss Universe Canada pageant is not a place for perfectionism; it is a place of genuine character and beauty.  Miss Universe Canada is deeply sincere in making sure this does not happen again, however we have to admire what has shone through in these young women.

Miss Universe Canada 2013 – Riza Santos

Miss Universe Canada 2013 is Riza Santos (26) from Calgary, Alberta. Riza will proudly represent Canada at the Miss Universe Competition to be held in December.

This is an unfortunate circumstance where a human error was made, and in such a situation, as difficult as it is, it is only right to correct the error.  Therefore, the official results of Miss Universe Canada 2013 are as follows:

Miss Universe Canada 2013 ­ Riza Santos (Calgary, AB)

1st runner-up ­ Siera Bearchell (Moose Jaw, SK)

2nd runner-up ­ Diana Martin (Mississauga, ON)

3rd runner-up ­ Denise Garrido (Bradford, ON)

4th runner-up ­ Michelle McKay (Sarnia, ON)

We would like to offer our sincere apology to Denise Garrido for this human error discovered while validating the results. Miss Garrido’s example and grace represents all we look for at Miss Universe Canada. We have no doubt she will continue to succeed in her endeavours and we wish her well. We truly hope she remains a strong part of the Miss Universe Canada Organization.

Beauties of Canada congratulates Riza Santos as the winner of Miss Universe Canada 2013 competition, and looks forward to working with her as she prepares to represent our country at Miss Universe 2013. BOC would also like to congratulate all the runners-up on their proper placements at the pageant, as well as the other 52 extraordinary young women who competed for the title in Toronto.

For more information or for Interview/Photo requests with MUC 2013 Riza Santos

Please Contact:

Andrew Lopez
PR for Miss Universe Canada
416.677.7739
andrewlopez@be-the-one.ca

Left to Right: Siera Bearchell, Michelle McKay, Denise Garrido, Riza Santos and Diana Martin

Top 20 Quarter Finalists: Ashley Callingbull, Alexander Mathews, Barlen Zaro , Andrea Cvjetic, Robyn Digeur, Angel Bhathal, Lindsay Goff, Claudia Scali

Special Awards:

Miss Photogenic: Diana Martin
Best Hair: Marwa Ishow
Miss Congeniality: Olawumi Adeniyi

Live Media Broadcast Link or The Beauties of Canada Live Link