Mittenaire touted the open immigration policy of her country and Europe as the United States under Donald Trump tightened immigration controls. She said she sees mistakes as learning experiences.
Haiti's Raquel Pelissier placed first runner-up while Colombia's Andrea Tovar finished second runner-up. The Philippines' Maxine Medina, Thailand's Chalita Suansane and Kenya's Mary Esther Were completed the top six.
DIVERSITY
The 13 semifinalists included women of color: Tovar, Were, the United States' Deshauna Barber, Brazil's and Raissa Santana.
Canada's Siera Bierchell talked about how she overcame criticism about her weight while Indonesia's Kezia Warouw spoke of the awkwardness of being six feet tall, one foot taller than the average woman in her country.
Peru's Valeria Piazza overcame an accident that nearly paralyzed her. She said participating in Miss Universe was her main motivation.
Blonde and statuesque Mariam Habach from Venezuela, a favorite during the preliminaries, missed the first cut.
The show opened with tight close ups of the contestants, rallying women to be strong and hosts Steve Harvey and Ashley Graham played up how this year's batch included a microbiolgist and an army soldier.
"Every shape every size every height is beautiful. You should not be defined by what you wear. You should not be defined by material wealth," Were said in a video message.
Bierchell said joining pageants helped her do humanitarian work in Kenya. "Pageants can be a platform to achieve your greatest dreams," she said.
The pageant was a showcase for Philippine tourism, which hosted Miss Universe for the third time since 1974.
"I think it's time to bring the Philippines back on the world stage.... We have so much beauty and so much to offer," Wurtzbach said.
Watch the 65th Miss Universe coronation live on ABS-CBN Channel 2 on January 30, 2017 Monday 8 a.m. (Manila time)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
