Miss and Mister Argentina World 2017

The city of Mendoza hosted the finals of Miss and Mister Argentina World 2017 last month and the winners were Avril Marco (Miss Argentina World), 17, 1.72 m-tall, from Santiago del Estero, and Thomas Lietti (Mister Argentina World), a top model from Tierra del Fuego.

Avril has studied in Oxford, England, and speaks fluent English. She is getting ready to compete in Miss World 2017, on November 18th, in Sanya, China.

Thomas will compete in the next edition of Mr World, possibly in April of 2018.

The show was hosted by Yoana Don, Miss Argentina World 2014, a semi-finalist in Miss International 2016 and Argentina´s representative in Miss Grand International 2017. National director Nadia Cerri was the producer.

Avril Marcos will try to break the odds by ending Argentina´s long drought in Miss World

Norma was the first Miss World from Argentina, crowned in London in 1960.

For the first time ever Miss World will have a Top 40, which raises the hopes of Argentina to finally place in the prestigeous pageant for the first time in long 30 years.

Argentina debuted in Miss World with Amalia Yolanda Scuffi placing among the semi-finalists in 1959. One year later it had its first Miss World, the very lovely Norma Gladys Cappagli. The South American country kept on scoring high with its bets in London, placing 2nd in 1964 with Ana Maria Soria and 2nd again in 1967 with Maria del Carmen Sabaliuskas. Its 2nd Miss World title would come in 1978, with striking Silvana Rosa Suárez Clarence.

In the beggining of the 1980´s Argentina and the United Kingdom went on a war over the Falklands (or Malvinas) islands, which belong to the UK and are located off the coast of Argentina. The conflict resulted in many deaths, the islands remained under British control, and Argentina stopped sending representatives to Miss World from 1982 to 1986.

It returned to Miss World in 1987, three years before diplomatic relations between the two countries were reinstated (it happened only in 1990, after Margaret Thatcher departured the post of Prime Minister of the UK). Caterina Ciscato, a stunning blonde from La Plata, competed in Malta and London and placed in Miss World´s top 6 in 1987.

Caterina was a Miss World finalists in 1987, when Argentina returned to the Miss World pageant after the Falklands War. After her, no woman from Argentina ever placed again in the British pageant. It´s been 30 years...

After that, Argentina has been sending candidates to Miss World every single year under different organizations, including more than a couple of competitive ones in the last decade, but never again placed among even the quarter-finalists of the competition.

Politics involved or pure lack of luck, the truth is that Argentina is one of only two South American countries not to have placed a single time in Miss World in the new millennium (the other is Suriname, which has never placed in Miss World history).

Can Avril change that? We shall find out on November 18th.

Best of luck to Argentina and its representatives!!