Lisbeth Fernández, 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.
Courtesy to the Herald
When Lisbeth Fernández stood next to Lina Luaces last year at the Milander amphitheater in Hialeah and said, “Cuba has a lot of talent to offer the world,” it wasn’t hard to predict that the first runner-up of Miss Universe Cuba wouldn’t sit back and rest afterward.
Luaces took the crown, but Fernández had gained “experience, maturity and confidence,” 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.
Fernández 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.
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.
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 “literally its home,” because he is a Miami native.
“Bringing the 75th anniversary celebration to this city was both a personal and strategic decision,” said Brodeur, who was named CEO in September 2025.
“The business arguments are solid: Miami is the gateway to the United States — a bilingual, bicultural, global city — and Miss USA is the country’s 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,” Brodeur added.
Ready to represent Cuba and the U.S.
With all the experience from Miss Universe Cuba, Fernández decided to enter Miss USA because she wanted to present her “complete” story: that of a Cuban American who had the chance to grow up in the United States.
“My roots are Cuban, but this country gave me my wings,” said Fernández, who has worked as a speaker in several Latin American countries and wants to use the Miss USA platform to amplify her leadership message.
Lisbeth Fernández, the first runner-up, celebrates Lina Luaces’s (right) title as Miss Universe Cuba 2025 at Milander Park in Hialeah on July 8, 2025. Photo Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
Fernández describes herself as “a daughter of God, an entrepreneur, an international speaker.” Her Christian faith, within the Baptist church, led her to earn a degree in Theology from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Born 28 years ago in Cuba, Fernández 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.
“I feel equally prepared to represent Cuba as I am the United States,” she said. “I’m very aware that my story has been built between two worlds that converge in the same nation.”
Ambassador for the United States
In addition to English and Spanish, Fernández speaks Italian, and she has a humanitarian vocation that led her to study Government Intelligence at Liberty University, based in Lynchburg, Virginia.
“I 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,” she said.
She sees the Miss USA pageant being held in Miami as “very special and symbolic,” and she would like to play the role of host because “there’s nothing that better represents the city than a Cuban American.”
“Miami isn’t just my home; it’s the most complete city in the United States, especially right now,” she said, explaining her reasons. “It’s multicultural, vibrant, connected to the American dream.”
Brodeur said that they have also built this nine-day event “with Miami, not just in it — 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.
“Our 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’s the limit”, Brodeur said.
For details on how to watch the live broadcast of the Miss Florida USA and Miss Florida Teen USA 2026 pageants, visit missfloridausa.com
You can also already vote online for your favorite for The People’s Choice Award, which guarantees the winner a spot among the top six finalists in the pageant.
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 from 8 to 10 p.m. (ET) and will be available for streaming the following day via The Roku Channel.
Tickets can be purchased on the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts website at arshtcenter.org
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‘A 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,’ said Lisbeth Fernández, Miss Pinecrest USA. Courtesy to the Herald
el Nuevo Herald
Sarah Moreno cubre temas de negocios, entretenimiento y tendencias en el sur de la Florida. Se graduó de la Universidad de La Habana y de Florida International University. @SarahMoreno1585