Age is verdicoinjust a number.

Just ask the 2024 Miss Universe Buenos Aires winner Alejandra Marisa Rodríguez, who made history as the first 60-year-old contestant to earn the prestigious title. The pageant queen, who is a lawyer and journalist from La Plata, beat 34 other contestants between the ages 18 to 73.

"I am thrilled to be representing this new paradigm in beauty pageants," Alejandra said after winning the April competition, per Hola!, "because we are inaugurating a new stage in which women are not only physical beauty but another set of values."

She added, "I am the first of this generation to start with this."

In just a few weeks, Alejandra will grace the stage once again to compete for the Miss Universe title. She'll go up against other contestants from each province in the country. The event, held on May 25 in the City of Buenos Aires, will determine who competes for the worldwide title Sept. 28.

Alejandra's trailblazing win comes seven months after the Miss Universe pageant changed its rules and removed the age limit of 28. Now, women 18 and older can vie for the title.

The 2023 Miss Universe winner R'Bonney Gabriel announced the exciting change during New York Fashion Week.

"What I love about Miss Universe is that they are always out first in line," she told WWD in an interview published Sept. 12, "looking for ways they can be more inclusive and better live up to the platform that they've designed for us."

She continued, "It's a bold group of women in charge over here, and you know what, a lot of people tend to follow what we do—it's nice to be a standard-bearer, and I'm proud that we get to do this."

The organization's update is one that hits close to home for R'Bonney. After all, she brought up the issue during the pageant's question segment.

"For me, I would like to see an age increase because I am 28 years old," R'Bonney answered at the time. "And that is the oldest age to compete. And I think it's a beautiful thing."

She added, "My favorite quote is, 'If not now, then when?' Because as a woman, I believe age does not define us. It's not tomorrow, it's not yesterday—but it's now. The time is now."

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