A handful of readers commented that, with much bigger fish to fry — lack of affordable housing, book bans, Alligator Alcatraz — the winner of the Miss Universe Cuba pageant was the least of their concerns. A couple of commenters offered their perspective by quoting Kourtney Kardashian's famous line: "Kim, there's people that are dying."
Still, our piece elicited a sizable reaction from readers who had strong feelings about the coronation.
Some wondered why the pageant was held in South Florida at all.
Just wondering how can a pageant held in Miami, FL decide the contestant that will represent Cuba? That decision belongs to the real Cuban people on the island. If they’re not allowed to have the pageant then the correct thing is that Cuba wont be represented. Period.Others wondered why contestants born outside of Cuba were even allowed to compete.
My only criticism is that she was not born in Cuba. I think that it should have been mandatory.Eagle-eyed readers will note New Times outlined the reasons behind both of those decisions in our initial story and, before that, in our interview with pageant contestant Mia Dio. Cuba returned to the pageant last year for the first time since 1967, with contestants born in Cuba and the children of exiled Cubans allowed to participate.
With that out of the way, some users moved on to criticize Luaces' Spanish fluency:
I am just surprised her Spanish doesn’t have a Cuban swag since she was raised in Miami.One reader, seemingly referring to those critiques, reminded other commenters of a Latin-American icon who was once ridiculed for not speaking perfect Spanish:
Se les olvida Selena!!! Que PenaIn that spirit, there was another voice of reason:
Lina is the new Miss Universe Cuba 2025. Go to sleep and move on to the next reel. Too much hate is not good for the heart.
