Luz Marina Zuluaga biography: 10 things about Miss Universe 1958

Who was Luz Marina Zuluaga?

Luz Marina Zuluaga was a Colombian beauty queen born in Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia to Francisco Zuluaga Aristizabal and Margarita Zuluaga Escobar. Francisco and Margarita got married in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia on March 7, 1932.

Francisco died in Manizales on April 19, 1949. He is Cesareo Zuluaga Gomez and Maria Jesus Aristizabal Zuluaga‘s son.

Margarita died in Manizales on May 19, 1993. She is Ismael Zuluaga Zuluaga and Maria Dolores Julia Escobar Gonzalez‘s daughter.

Luz is the first Miss Universe from Colombia. Here are 10 more things about her:

1. She and Dr. Enrique Vélez Hoyos have three sons and one daughter namely namely Carlos Enrique Velez Zuluaga, Juan Pablo Velez Zuluaga, Andrea Velez Zuluaga and Marcelo Velez Zuluaga.
2. She gave birth to Carlos in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
3. She was 5’4″ tall.
4. She became a Señorita Colombia 1957 contestant after winning Miss Perreira 1957 and Miss Caldas 1957.
5. She was originally was runner-up to Señorita Colombia 1957 Doris Inés Gil Santamaría, who was dethroned after getting married before competing the reign.
6. After her Miss Universe 1957 coronation, the government of Manizales gave her a house.
7. The Colombian National Museum in Bogota, Colombia has her Miss Universe 1958 trophy with a photo of her wearing her crown and holding her scepter.
8. In 1959, a postage stamp was issued in Luz’s honor.
9. On August 1, 1964, she served as a judge at Miss Universe 1964 at the Miami Beach Convention Hall in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
10. On July 19, 1975, she served as a judge at Miss Universe 1975 at the José Adolfo Pineda National Gymnasium in San Salvador, El Salvador.

TIMELINE

1957

• On November 11, 1957, she represented Caldas at Señorita Colombia 1957 and competed against 13 other candidates in Cartagena, Colombia. She ranked second and was crowned Virriena Señorita Colombia 1957.

1958

• On July 25, 1958, she represented Colombia at Miss Universe 1958 and competed against 34 other candidates at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, USA. She won the title.

1959

• On July 24, 1959, she went back to the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium to crown her successor Miss Universe 1959 Akiko Kojima.
• On November 12, 1959, she crowned her successor Señorita Colombia 1959 Maria Stella Marquez Zawadzky at the Coliseo de la Base Naval in Cartagena.

1960

• On July 30, 1960, she and Enrique got married at the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in Manizales.

When Luz was young, she moved from Pereira to Manizales with her parents. Before she and Enrique got married, they were neighbors in Manizales.

After getting married, Luz and Enrique moved to Philadelphia. They later moved back to Caldas where he worked as an otorhinolaryngologist in a hospital from 1964 to 1992.

In 1991, Luz’s daughter Andrea won Miss Caldas but did not make it to the Top 5 of Miss Colombia. On March 21, 2015, Enrique died in Manizales.

On October 31, 2015, Luz turned 77. On December 2, 2015, she fainted due to a cardiorespiratory arrest in the bathroom of a friend’s apartment in Manizales and died.