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Aileen Cerchiara, competing under the title of Miss Gulf Coast USA, was crowned this Sunday as the new Miss Florida USA 2026 during the gala held at the Linda W. Chapin Theater at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, as announced by the official page of the pageant on Instagram.
Cerchiara, a nurse and model with Colombian roots, was not making her first appearance in the state final: she had previously been the runner-up in an earlier edition of the competition before being crowned Miss Florida USA this Sunday.
As the new state representative, Cerchiara will compete in Miss USA 2026, which celebrates its 75th anniversary on August 27 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, with a live broadcast on The CW from 8 to 10 p.m. (Eastern Time) and available for streaming the next day on The Roku Channel.
The victory of Cerchiara is celebrated by the Colombian community in Florida as an achievement of Latin representation in American beauty pageants.
The Cuban-American Lisbeth Fernández, Miss Pinecrest USA, did not qualify among the six finalists of the pageant, which ends her journey towards Miss USA 2026.
Fernández, 28 years old, born in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, and currently residing in Pinecrest, Miami, arrived at the pageant with a very visible profile after having been the first runner-up of Miss Universe Cuba 2025, held on July 8, 2025, at the Milander amphitheater in Hialeah, where the crown was awarded to Lina Luaces.
Fernández was also the first openly Christian candidate —of Baptist faith— to participate in Miss Universe Cuba, and generated widespread media attention for a speech about 11J in which she stated that the Cuban people "are ready to stop surviving and start living."
According to a report by the Miami Herald, Fernández holds a degree in Theology from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, is studying Government Intelligence at Liberty University, and works as an international speaker in several Latin American countries.
Before the competition, the young woman had expressed her desire to use the Miss USA platform to share her story between two cultures: "My roots are Cuban, but this country gave me wings," she stated.
Their elimination without reaching the finals hinders that goal, at least for this edition.
The national competition Miss USA 2026 will feature an exceptional venue: Thom Brodeur, the executive director of the event since September 2025 and a native of Miami, has committed the organization to host Miss USA and Miss Teen USA at the Adrienne Arsht Center for at least five consecutive years.
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