Mexican representative Fátima Bosch takes part in the Miss Universe 2025 national costumes competition in Thailand, a key event before the final. Her family supports her in the pageant, amid favoritism and a recent controversy. The public can vote for her via the official app.
Miss Universe 2025, the 74th edition of the pageant, is held in Thailand with about 122 participants, including Fátima Bosch representing Mexico. The event began on November 2 with delegates arriving in Bangkok and builds toward the final on November 21 at the Impact Arena in Pak Kret, broadcast in Mexico on November 20 at 7:00 p.m. via Imagen Televisión and Miss Universe YouTube.
The national costumes competition, scheduled for November 19 at 12:00 a.m. (central Mexico time), will stream live on Grand TV YouTube. This parade celebrates each country's cultural identity. Bosch's outfit, designed by Fernando Ortiz, draws from the Mexica goddess Xochiquetzal and features hummingbirds as a spiritual symbol; it took seven months to create and is valued at about 150,000 pesos.
Bosch, who holds a degree in Fashion Design and Apparel from Universidad Iberoamericana, has overcome challenges like bullying, ADHD, and dyslexia. Her family accompanies her: mother Vanessa Fernández Balboa, from a pageant lineage; father Bernardo Bosch Hernández, an engineer with 27 years at Pemex and advisor since 2017; brother Bernardo Bosch Jr., an engineer and columnist; and aunt Mónica Fernández Balboa, former senator and INDEP director.
A controversy arose when Nawat Itsaragrisil insulted her by calling her 'stupid', to which she replied: 'You are not respecting me as a woman'. She received support from competitors like Miss Iraq. Favorites include Olivia Yace (Ivory Coast), Stephany Abasaly (Venezuela), Nadeen Ayoub (Palestine), Veena Praveenar (Thailand), Ahtisa Manalo (Philippines), Ève Gilles (France), and Gabriela Lacerda (Brazil).
Public voting in the 'People’s Choice' category via app ends November 19 at 10:00 a.m.; Bosch has 293,713 votes as of November 18, trailing Manalo's 1,625,149. The jury features Andrea Meza, Mexico's Miss Universe 2020. Preliminaries on November 19 at 6:00 a.m. include interviews, swimsuits, and costumes, narrowing to 30 finalists.