June 2 marked the sixth annual Miss Grand Florida pageant, which was hosted in Little Havana this year. Nine contestants participated in categories such as swimsuit, evening gowns and questionnaires for a chance to be crowned Miss Grand Florida.
This year, the crown was placed upon the head of Andrea Valentina, who represented Miss Grand Miami.
As the new Miss Grand Florida, Valentina will participate in speaking engagements, performances and appearances in community events.
“You are not only at the galas, you are at the charity events, the homeless shelters, schools reading to children,” said Jennifer Lovelace, the state director of Miss Grand Florida. “I think that is what a beauty queen is. Somebody that works hard on all levels”
Daniela Zulueta is pursuing her master’s degree in global strategic communications and graduated from FIU with a bachelor’s degree in digital broadcasting in 2023. She also holds an associate’s degree in journalism from Miami Dade College. Zulueta loves the city of Miami and aims to share the stories of the citizens who live here and all over the world. Zulueta runs a social media platform called @Lifestyle_Miami where she works with local businesses and does community-based work. She had a paid internship with Televisa Univisión as a Step Producer and worked as a stage manager at NBC6 South Florida & Telemundo51. Now, she is part of cohort 8 and has a fellowship at the FIU Ratcliffe where she can work on branding herself and post-production of a podcast called Tech Conversations.
