() — Marisol Malaret, the first Puerto Rican to win the Miss Universe beauty pageant, died this Sunday at the age of 73 in a hospital in San Juan, the capital, her publicist confirmed in a press release. Malaret won the crown in 1970.
Her daughter, Sasha Stroman Malaret, said in written statements that “it will be an indelible memory” for her and her family “to see how the people remember her with such pride, as a humble, fighting, patriotic woman and an example of self-improvement.”
Marisol Malaret also stood out as a model, entertainer and businesswoman. According to the biography published on the website of the National Foundation for Popular Culture of Puerto Ricoshe won the Miss Universe pageant in Miami on July 23, 1970 at the age of 20.
After the death was announced, the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, expressed condolences through his official Twitter account, where he stated that “his name and his achievements will be recorded in our history.”
