“To this day they say that I handpick the queens. “I must have a magic finger because we are doing very well”

In December 2014, Jessica Newton took back the reins of beauty pageants in our country amid skepticism and questions. After acquiring the Miss Peru brand from Fernando Gomberoff, general manager of Beauty Form, she embarked on a titanic mission to restore the credibility of the platform and position it as a reference in the world of beauty. Her work was rewarded in 2023, when Peru was honored by the Grand Slam with the title of Country of the Year, and she was recognized as Best National Director. After almost a decade at the head of the Peruvian organization, Jessica reflects on her successes and failures, her contribution to the field of beauty pageants and new challenges.

“When I first joined the organization, I promised to retire the day I win a Miss World. That is why in 2004, when Maju Mantilla obtained the crown, I took a step aside and traveled to the United States to work at Editorial Condé Nast, which publishes Vogue, Glamour, GQ and Vanity Fair magazines for Latin America and Mexico. It was a beautiful experience, with a lot of learning, but it was not entirely happy. Every time I heard discouraging news about Miss Peru I wanted to go back, take back the reins. Finally, that’s what I did”recalls the director.

When regaining the leadership of the Miss Peru Organization, Newton Sáenz faced great obstacles. The first and most challenging was getting the brand.

“The story behind it is special. Mr. Gomberoff had prepared that brand for his daughter (Orly Gomberoff) to wear, but she unfortunately died in the fire at the Utopia nightclub. Imagine the pain of that family, whom I will always thank for trusting me and my work.”, he highlights.

Jessica currently handles four of the five Grand Slam beauty pageants: Miss Universe, Miss Grand, Miss International and Miss Supranational. Each pageant has a different way of choosing its queen and an independent competition culture.

“It’s not easy, it’s hard work, I couldn’t cover more. Currently, Peru sounds like one of the strongest countries in the world, and that fills me with pride.“, says Newton, thus ruling out that he is behind the Miss World franchise, the same one that he currently has in the direction of Olga Zumarán and Lizi de las Casas.

“Miss World (with Maju Mantilla) I already won, Miss Grand I won twice. I won Miss Supranational as a boy, I’m missing the girl. At Miss International I was second runner-up twice. I need to win the Miss Universe crown”, he emphasizes.

New stage

Miss Peru Universe 2024 brings together 35 candidates, of which 24 were elected in their own departments, and 11 were challengers. This last group is made up of actresses, Influencers and former candidates summoned by the organization.

The final of the contest will be next June 9 at the Real Felipe. Unlike the last editions, this one will not be televised. It can be seen through the organization’s social networks.

“They are definitely looking for a confident, mature, brave and constant woman, who has no problem competing against any woman of any age and size. It has to be someone who has the courage to face any obstacle.“, says Jessica after highlighting Janick Maceta’s participation in the Miss Universe 2020, and denying the rumors of a rift between them.

“I don’t know where they got that from. To this day we talk. She is a girl who has done a spectacular job, and not only in the competition, but also after it. I love knowing that she is well, happy. I see her doing things in Miami. I think that up to this moment she is the strongest queen we have had in international competition. [Logró ubicarse como segunda finalista]. She should have been crowned Miss Universe, but I respect the results”, he points out.

Likewise, Newton recognized the ongoing challenge of dismantling entrenched stereotypes and prejudices. He recalled the first time that a dark-skinned candidate competed in the pageant, being the subject of criticism about her representativeness. However, over time, the pageant has celebrated diversity, welcoming contestants of different skin tones.

“The biggest challenge I faced was not competing outside, but inside, with the Peruvians themselves. When we started this stage, everyone told me that the band from Peru didn’t matter, that it wasn’t a power house, that it couldn’t win. To this day they say that I handpick queens, then I must have a magic finger because we are doing very well. We are in a moment of change. It was difficult for us to raise the name of Peru in the competition, now we have the challenge of maintaining it and continuing to rise”, he remarks.