Ipinagluluksa ng bansang Puerto Rico ang pagpanaw ng kauna-unahan nilang Miss Universe na si Marisol Malaret.
Si Marisol ang kinoronahang Miss Universe noong 1970, isang taon pagkatapos hiranging Miss Universe 1969 si Gloria Diaz ng Pilipinas.
Si Marisol ay pumanaw noong March 19, 2023. Siya ay 73.
Sa pamamagitan ng Instagram noong Lunes, March 20, nagbigay-pugay si Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres kay Marisol.
“Puerto Rico, today is dressing in mourning. Marisol Malaret, our first Miss Universe, our greatest treasure, is gone.
“Marisol was always ‘My Miss Universe’, whom I admired not only for the glory she gave to all of us Puerto Ricans, but also for the great human being she was.
"Her business career, communicator and her impeccable elegance… Always rules!” mensahe ni Dayanara.
Ayon pa kay Dayanara—na sumikat din sa Pilipinas dahil sa kanyang pagpasok sa Philippine showbiz noong 1994 matapos niyang koronahan ang kanyang successor na si Sushmita Sen ng India—mami-miss niya ang mga panahong pinagsamahan nila ni Marisol at maging ang mga payo at mga pangaral nito.
“I treasure our moments together, her advice and even her scoldings, because somehow she always felt the desire to take care of me like a mother does to her daughter.
“I always looked up to her, she was always my role model, worthy representative of Puerto Rican women. My reason for dreaming since I was little in wanting to be Miss Universe.
"I thank God and life for the joy of having met her, to have worked with her and to be able to call her my friend.
"Puerto Rico today loses one of its great treasures, but its legacy and the glory it gave us will last forever...
"Thank you Marisol, always thank you..."
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Lima na ang Miss Universe titleholders mula sa bansang Puerto Rico: Marisol Malaret (1970), Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985), Dayanara Torres (1993), Denise Quiñones (2001), at Zuleyka Rivera (2006).