Michelle Marie Colón is out of the Miss Universe finalists

Michelle Marie Colón, Miss Universe Puerto Rico (MUPR), fell short to get the sixth crown for the Island by qualifying in the 10 finalists of the international contest.

From Eilat, Israel, Columbus presented himself to the world as Puerto Rico, with the goal of ending the 15-year drought that the Island has had without a universal queen.

The table of the five finalists was made up of: India, South Africa, Paraguay, Colombia and the Philippines.

After the swimsuit competition, 10 contestants were selected to continue in the race to be the successor of the Mexican Andrea Meza.

This select group was made up of: Paraguay, Puerto Rico, the United States, India, South Africa, The Bahamas, the Philippines, France, Colombia and Aruba.

At this stage of the competition, Michelle Colón wore a dress by Israeli fashion designers Eli Biton and Yehuda Biton, father and son.

The design is inspired by the mountains and desert of the Israeli Negev.

The predominant color is the shades of yellow and mustard that symbolize the desert. The gray color symbolizes the night and the extreme temperature differences in the area.

The creation consists of 40 different types of stones, sequins and crystals that were selected by the designers. The embroidery of the piece was worked by hand and lasted more than 400 hours, according to the MUPR team.

At the beginning of the night, the 15 semi-finalists who were selected by the jury during the interview and preliminary competition were announced. An additional candidate will join this group by popular vote.

The group of 16 semifinalists consisted of: France, Colombia, Singapore, Panama, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, Japan, Great Britain, the United States, India, Vietnam, Aruba, Paraguay, the Philippines, Venezuela and South Africa.

When Michelle Colón was called by the presenter, she decided to talk about the Puerto Rican bombshell and put Steve Harvey to dance to it, which caused applause from the audience.

The 16 candidates did the catwalk in swimsuits.

The jury, made up of Puerto Rican Adamari López, Adriana Lima, Urvashi Rautela, Lori Harvey, Iris Mittenaere, Marian Rivera and Rema Sofer, will choose the five candidates who will have the opportunity to answer their questions.

The gala, which was animated by Steve Harvey, will culminate with three candidates and then announce the new universal queen.

Michelle Colón has remained, since her coronation as MUPR, as one of the great favorites to be crowned tonight.

The last time that Puerto Rico was close to conquering the title was in 2019 when Madison Anderson was the first finalist of the contest. Since 2018, when Wapa Televisión took over the franchise, the Island has qualified for the semi-finalists.

The final will be broadcast through Wapa Televisión and the municipality of Loíza will screen the contest in the factories area in the Parcelas Suárez de Medianía Sector.