Wednesday, August 19, 2009
María Julia “Maju” Mantilla García was born in 1984 in Trujillo, a city in Peru's northern coast. On December 4, 2004, in the Beauty Crown Theatre located in the Chinese beach city of Sanya, she was crowned Miss World 2004 by the reigning champion, 2003's Miss Ireland Rosanna Davison, daughter of singer Chris de Burgh. During her reign, Mantilla performed a variety of duties focused on fundraising for charitable organizations. She has travelled to Indonesia, Russia, Peru, United States, Russia, Czech Republic, China and many other countries during her reign. Popularly known in her country as "Maju" Mantilla, her aunt Maria Julia Mantilla Mayer was Miss Peru 1969. She won the right to represent Peru in the Miss World contest as runner-up to Liesel Holler (Miss Peru Universe 2004) and was one of the major favorites in the run-up to the pageant, which was decided by a global television/telephone/online vote. The final contest was held in the southernmost Hainan province. The pageant, in its 54th edition, included contestants from 107 nations and attracted about 2.5 billion TV viewers around the world. Mantilla is studying to become a high school teacher and plans to start a second career in tourism. Mantilla is the older of two sisters. She has worked as a model and as the Hostess of a popular TV show in Peru. She is currently studying to become a high school teacher and plans to start a second career in Tourism. One of her dreams is to own an online tourism company to promote her native town and country all over the world. Her city, Trujillo, is a mixture of colonial and pre-Columbian architecture. In 2001, Mantilla became the Peruvian national champion of Triathlon and Penthathlon, and was elected national athlete of the year. She is a professional in The Marinera, a typical local dance. With a group of ladies, developed a program in Trujillo to give breakfast to hundreds of children in poor areas.
1st runner-up Dominican Republic - Claudia Cruz
2nd runner-up United States - Nancy Randall
Finalists
Philippines - Maria Karla Bautista
Poland - Katarzyna Borowicz
Semi-finalists
Antigua - Shermain Jeremy
Australia - Sarah Davies
China PR - Yang Jin
Czech Republic - Jana Doleželová
Mexico - Yessica Ramírez
Nigeria - Anita Uwagbale
Russia - Tatiana Sidorchuk
Trinidad & Tobago - Kenisha Thom
Vietnam - Nguyễn Thị Huyền
Wales - Amy Guy
Continental Queens
Queen of Africa: Anita Uwagbale (Nigeria)
Queen of Americas: María Julia Mantilla (Peru)
Queen of Asia & Oceania: Maria Karla Bautista (Philippines)
Queen of Caribbean: Claudia Cruz (Dominican Republic)
Queen of Europe: Katarzyna Borowicz (Poland)
Fast Track Competitions
Beach Beauty
Winner: United States
1st runner-up: Australia
2nd runner-up: Trinidad & Tobago
Top 10 finalists: Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Philippines
Top 20 semi-finalists: Aruba, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Lebanon, Panama, Uganda, Ukraine, Venezuela
Miss Sports
Winner: Wales
1st runner-up: Australia
2nd runner-up: (tied) Peru, Trinidad & Tobago
Top 10 Finalists: Antigua, Fiji Islands, Iceland, Netherlands, Russia, Thailand
Miss Talent
Winner: Antigua
1st runner-up: China PR
2nd runner-up: Barbados
Top 20 semi-finalists: Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Botswana, Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji Islands, Italy, Korea, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago
Top Model
Winner: Mexico
1st runner-up: Angola
2nd runner-up: Belgium
3rd runner-up: Russia
4th runner-up: Spain
Top 10 finalists: Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Greece, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago
Top 20 semi-finalists: Aruba, Botswana, Bulgaria, China PR, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Poland, United States
NOTE - The official site listed Russia as 3rd runner-up and Spain as 4th runner-up, but the Top Model telecast only announced the winner, and 2 runner-ups.
Contestants' Choice
Winner: Australia
1st runner-up: United States
2nd runner-up: Peru
Special Awards
Best World Dress Designer: Ellen Petri (Belgium)
Miss World Scholarship: Tonoya Toyloy (Jamaica)
***Holland changed its name to Netherlands.
