Colombia’s Catalina Duque is Miss International 2025; Myrna Esguerra is 4th runner-up

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TOKYO, Japan — The Philippines’ Myrna Esguerra ended her Miss International 2025 journey with a fourth runner-up finish, while Catalina Duque of Colombia is crowned Miss International 2025.

The 63rd Miss International pageant has concluded with the coronation of Duque as the new queen, besting 79 other aspirants in ceremonies held at the Yoyogi National Stadium 2nd Gymnasium here on Thursday evening, Nov. 27.

Duque inherited the title from last year’s winner, Vietnamese beauty Huynh Thi Thanh Thuy. This is the fourth Miss International crown for Colombia.

Settling for the first runner-up spot was Yollanda Chimbarami of Zimbabwe, while Paola Guzmán Sanchez of Bolivia was proclaimed second runner-up.

Melliza Xaviera Yulian of Indonesia was third runner-up, while Esguerra rounded up the winners’ circle as fourth runner-up.

Meanwhile, the four continental queens are: Sophie Wallace of the United Kingdom for Europe; Zimbabwe’s Chimbarami for Africa; Farrah Grant of Turks and Caicos Islands for Americas; and, Katrina Wan of Macau for Asia Pacific.

True sisterhood

In her first speech as Miss International 2025, Duque thanked her supporters and family for believing in her. She said that the global tilt was truly a sisterhood, and made her believe that pageantry “still has a purpose.”

During the question and answer segment, the Top 5 finalists were to uniformly answer just one question: “If you were to describe your entire Miss International experience to your family and loved ones, what would you tell them?”

The Colombian beauty queen, who has been one of the frontrunners for the crown, said, “I used to think that the big moments were the only ones that mattered. But learning about Japanese culture, I’ve learned about mono no aware, about the little things. Just how the leaves fall in autumn and they make things beautiful. How kids hug me and they smile at me. And how every yummy tasty ramen I have reminds me to have a glorious life and to enjoy every single moment. I’m so thankful for being here and I’m having so much fun.”

No small feat for Esguerra

Esguerra may have failed to bag the Philippines’ seventh Miss International crown, but her Top 5 finish was no mean feat for a Filipina beauty queen in any pageant, having won the Best in National Costume, Best in Swimsuit, and Best in Evening Gown awards.

During the Q&A portion, Esguerra drew her answer from her experiences as one of the 17 children of an impoverished family in Abra. Being the only one who was able to finish her education with a college degree, she said that she wanted to give back to her community by helping similarly situated children.

Esguerra had more than a year to prepare for the international competition. She won her Binibining Pilipinas crown during the national pageant’s 60th anniversary in June 2024.

The Philippines is the best-performing Asian country in Miss International. Gemma Cruz, Aurora Pijuan, Melanie Marquez, Precious Lara Quigaman, Bea Rose Santiago, and Kylie Verzosa have previously brought home the crown.

The final gala of this year’s pageant capped two weeks of competition, wherein the delegates visited different places in Japan to immerse in Japanese culture. /edv