Florida : Andrea Meza from Mexico on Monday won the title of Miss Universe 2021. Meza, a software engineer, had to compete with 73 other contestants from all over the world to become the third women from the country to win the title,  including Miss India Adline Castelino, who came in fourth at the beauty pageant. The 69th edition of the event, which was held on Sunday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood here, was a scaled-down affair in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the official Miss Universe website, the 26-year-old Meza was crowned by her predecessor Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa, who won the pageant in 2019.

While Brazil’s Julia Gama, 28, emerged the runner-up, Janick Maceta (27) from Peru finished third.

Castelino, 22, was congratulated by Miss Diva Universe India via its official Twitter page.

“India places 3rd Runner Up at @MissUniverse! Our hearts are filled with immense pride for our LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020, @AdlineCastelino who has done such an exceptional job at the Miss Universe Pageant! We couldn’t have asked for a better representative than you,” the post read.

Castelino, who traces her roots to Udupi in Karnataka, was born and raised in Kuwait. She had penned down a heartfelt note on her journey through a video clip posted on social media.

Singer Luis Fonsi of ‘Despacito’ fame performed at the three-hour competition, hosted by Mario Lopez and Olivia Culpo.

This is the third Miss Universe victory for Mexico, with Ximena Navarrete and Lupita Jones being declared winners in 2010 and 1991, respectively.