Miss Dominican Rep. Wins Miss Universe

Miss Dominican Republic, Amelia Vega receives a trophy for the best national costume as she was crowned the new Miss Universe 2003, in Panama City, Panama, Tuesday June 3, 2003 (AP Photo/Victor Ruiz) 02:24 AM EST June 04, 2003 The Associated Press PANAMA CITY, Panama

There were no tears of joy, just the confident smile of a winner when 18-year-old Miss Dominican Republic, Amelia Vega, was crowned Miss Universe 2003.

A 6-foot-1 aspiring singer, the niece of merengue musician Juan Luis Guerra, Vega accepted the crown from outgoing titleholder Justine Pasek of Panama on Tuesday night.

"God has been my strength all along," the brunette told a news conference immediately after her triumph at a U.S. military base-turned-convention center.

Tuesday's finals were hosted by television personalities Daisy Fuentes and Billy Bush - who is President Bush's cousin.

Asked if she was nervous when she stood alone with co-finalist Mariangel Ruiz of Venezuela after 70 other contestants were eliminated, Vegas said, "No, I just said, 'God, whatever is going to be, let it be.'"

Vega's mother competed for the Miss World title in 1980.

Cindy Nell, a South African tourism promoter, was the second runner up, followed by Miss Serbia and Montenegro Sanja Papic and Miss Japan Miyako Miyazaki.

Dropping out after reaching the top 10 were representatives from Trinidad and Tobago, the Czech Republic, Namibia, Canada and Brazil. An earlier cut took out Misses USA, Greece, Panama, Angola and Peru.

Kai Davis of Antigua and Barbuda was named Miss Congeniality. Miss Puerto Rico, Carla Tricoli, was named Miss Photogenic.

The event gave Panama a chance to promote its new image as a tourist destination after decades of living under the shadow of the U.S. military, which protected the Panama Canal until Dec. 31, 1999.

An estimated 600 million television viewers and nearly 7,000 Panamanians watched the event at the new Figali Convention Center, built on the former U.S. base known as Fort Amador.

Hotels, restaurants, a marina and a $10 million convention center now adorn the former base.

Last year, for the first time, Panama's annual income from tourism - $678 million - surpassed revenues from the canal.

The jury included Maria Celeste Arraras of Telemundo TV; Deborah Carthy-Deu, the 1985 Miss Universe; Italian designer Roberto Cavalli; Richard Johnson of the Washington Post; professional model Audrey Quock; Peter Reckell of NBC's "Days of Our Lives;" professional model Fernanda Tavarez; Matthew St. Patrick of HBO's Six Feet Under series, and Amelia Marshall of NBC's "Passions" series.