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A transgender contestant in the 2026 Miss Universe Puerto Rico competition has faced online hate over her participation, including from elected officials.
Gabriel Rodríguez Velázquez will represent the municipality of Cidra in the 2026 Miss Universe Puerto Rico pageant on June 25, making her the second out trans woman to ever enter the competition. In 2023, Daniela Arroyo Gonzalez made history as the first trans contestant to compete in the pageant.
Since Miss Universe Puerto Rico announced that Rodríguez Velázquez would participate, she has faced transphobic remarks online, both from anti-trans social media influencers and conservative politicians.
Related: Spain's Angela Ponce Is Miss Universe's First Transgender Contestant
Related: Miss Universe Philippines Has Crowned Its First LGBTQ+ Winner
Thomas Rivera Schatz, president of Puerto Rico’s Senate, wrote in an April 16 Facebook post that it was a “shame and disgrace” for trans women to participate in the pageant and called on the government to withdraw any support for the competition.
Rodríguez Velázquez did not return The Advocate’s request for comment. But she has maintained a strong presence on social media and has not allowed the anti-trans remarks to deter her from competing in this year’s pageant.
“I am living a dream,” Rodríguez Velázquez told the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día. Regarding anti-hate, “you gradually build that shell to keep moving forward.”
Related: Reigning Miss Universe Says Trans Women Should Have Beauty Pageants of Their Own
Related: Transgender Miss Universe Canada Contestant Wins Congeniality Award
Rodríguez Velázquez, 25, is currently studying to become an actress and works as a multidisciplinary artist, according to her profile on the Miss Universe Puerto Rico website. In interviews with the pageant company and Puerto Rican news outlets, she has expressed a desire to represent trans women broadly on the pageant stage.
Her participation comes more than a decade after Miss Universe changed its rules to allow transgender women to compete, following the 2012 disqualification and reinstatement of Canadian contestant Jenna Talackova. In 2018, Spain’s Ángela Ponce became the first openly trans woman to compete at Miss Universe.
“I want to be Miss Universe Puerto Rico because of what I represent: a woman who stands for equality and respect,” Rodríguez Velázquez said in a recent promotional video, according to Scene Magazine.
This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from Morrison Media Group. The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.
