![\"Lisbeth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_6348.jpg\" "\\"Lisbeth")
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Lisbeth Fern\u00e1ndez, who was the first runner-up at Miss Universe Cuba 2025, is now Miss Pinecrest USA and hopes to win the Miss Florida USA title, which would earn her a spot in the national Miss USA pageant taking place in Miami on August 27.<\/p>\n
Courtesy to the Herald<\/p>\n
When Lisbeth Fern\u00e1ndez stood next to Lina Luaces last year at the Milander amphitheater in Hialeah and said, \u201cCuba has a lot of talent to offer the world,\u201d it wasn\u2019t hard to predict that the first runner-up of Miss Universe Cuba wouldn\u2019t sit back and rest afterward.<\/p>\n
Luaces took the crown, but Fern\u00e1ndez had gained \u201cexperience, maturity and confidence,\u201d says the young woman from Pinecrest, who now uses the name of the Miami neighborhood where she lives in her new beauty queen title, Miss Pinecrest USA.<\/p>\n
Fern\u00e1ndez is aiming to win Miss Florida USA, and she is already in Orlando, where the pageant is being held over the weekend at the Linda W. Chapin Theater in the Orange County Convention Center.<\/p>\n
The winning Floridian will represent the state at Miss USA, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary on August 27 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami.<\/p>\n
Thom Brodeur, CEO of Miss USA, told the Herald that the pageant is being held in Miami because the city is home to the organization and is \u201cliterally its home,\u201d because he is a Miami native.<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing the 75th anniversary celebration to this city was both a personal and strategic decision,\u201d said Brodeur, who was named CEO in September 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe business arguments are solid: Miami is the gateway to the United States \u2014 a bilingual, bicultural, global city \u2014 and Miss USA is the country\u2019s official pipeline to Miss Universe. There is no better stage to celebrate the 75 years of an American icon than a city that embodies where America is going,\u201d Brodeur added.<\/p>\n
Ready to represent Cuba and the U.S.<\/p>\n
With all the experience from Miss Universe Cuba<\/a>, Fern\u00e1ndez decided to enter Miss USA because she wanted to present her \u201ccomplete\u201d story: that of a Cuban American who had the chance to grow up in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cMy roots are Cuban, but this country gave me my wings,\u201d said Fern\u00e1ndez, who has worked as a speaker in several Latin American countries and wants to use the Miss USA platform to amplify her leadership message.<\/p>\n Fern\u00e1ndez describes herself as \u201ca daughter of God, an entrepreneur, an international speaker.\u201d Her Christian faith, within the Baptist church, led her to earn a degree in Theology from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n Born 28 years ago in Cuba, Fern\u00e1ndez is proud of her roots and heritage, and at the same time acknowledges that she is deeply connected to the community where she grew up and now works.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel equally prepared to represent Cuba as I am the United States,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m very aware that my story has been built between two worlds that converge in the same nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Ambassador for the United States<\/p>\n In addition to English and Spanish, Fern\u00e1ndez speaks Italian, and she has a humanitarian vocation that led her to study Government Intelligence at Liberty University, based in Lynchburg, Virginia.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a woman with a forward-looking vision in International Relations and Diplomacy, which is why I study Government and intelligence. One of my professional goals is to serve my country as an ambassador or diplomat perhaps in the not-too-distant future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She sees the Miss USA pageant being held in Miami as \u201cvery special and symbolic,\u201d and she would like to play the role of host because \u201cthere\u2019s nothing that better represents the city than a Cuban American.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMiami isn\u2019t just my home; it\u2019s the most complete city in the United States, especially right now,\u201d she said, explaining her reasons. \u201cIt\u2019s multicultural, vibrant, connected to the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n Brodeur said that they have also built this nine-day event \u201cwith Miami, not just in it \u2014 partnering with local businesses and organizations across the city, including community work with Global Empowerment Mission in Doral supporting relief efforts that matter deeply to this region.<\/p>\n \u201cOur commitment to the City of Miami and to Miami-Dade County officials is to host Miss USA & Teen USA in and broadcast from Miami for the next 5 years, to start. From there, sky\u2019s the limit\u201d, Brodeur said.<\/p>\n For details on how to watch the live broadcast of the Miss Florida USA and Miss Florida Teen USA 2026 pageants, visit missfloridausa.com<\/a><\/p>\n You can also already vote online for your favorite for The People\u2019s Choice Award<\/a>, which guarantees the winner a spot among the top six finalists in the pageant.<\/p>\n Miss Teen USA will be held on Wednesday, August 26, and Miss USA on Thursday, August 27 at the Arsht Center. Both pageants will air live on The CW<\/a> from 8 to 10 p.m. (ET) and will be available for streaming the following day via The Roku Channel.<\/p>\n Tickets can be purchased on the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts website at arshtcenter.org<\/a><\/p>\n ![\"Lisbeth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/lisbeth.jpg\" "\\"lisbeth.jpg\\"")
Lisbeth Fern\u00e1ndez, the first runner-up, celebrates Lina Luaces\u2019s (right) title as Miss Universe Cuba 2025 at Milander Park in Hialeah on July 8, 2025. Photo Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n \u2018A beauty queen is not built solely on an image or a pretty face, but on character, comprehensive training in communication, and, above all, the ability to represent something greater than herself,\u2019 said Lisbeth Fern\u00e1ndez, Miss Pinecrest USA. Courtesy to the Herald <\/p>\n