The national finale for the 2nd edition of the Miss Mundo Angola pageant is scheduled for September 22, 2018, and will be held at the Tropical Cinema in the city of Luanda. The Grand finals will showcase a total of eighteen (18) contestants representing each country's provinces and vying for the coveted crown. The pageant winner will be bestowed the title Miss Mundo Angola 2018 and will represent Angola at the 68th edition of the Miss World competition on December 8, 2018, in Sanya, China.
The last and first edition of the Miss Angola Mundo took place at the Cinema Atlântico in Luanda on August 24, 2012, when the winner was Maria Castelo and who represented Angola at the 2013 Miss World contest held on September 28, 2013, in Bali, Indonesia. The pageant was created and organized by the "Comité Miss Angola", franchise holder at that time, to select specifically the Angolan representative to compete at the Miss World pageant and to satisfy a request of the Miss World Organization and its Chairwoman Julia Morley demanding a national titleholder.
Maria Castelo - Miss Angola Mundo 2013
From that moment on, nothing more was heard or seen about neither an official Angolan preliminary nor appointing an Angolan representative for the Miss World contest. For unknown reasons, Maria Castelo had held the Miss Angola Mundo crown since 2012 and Angola had missed three Miss World editions in a row (2014 - 2016) until the final gala night of the Miss CPLP Angola pageant (Miss Angola da Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) [Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries], on October 5th, 2017, when Judélsia Bache, Candidate Nr. 10, a native of Cabinda Province, was selected as “Representante Angola Miss Mundo” (Angola's Representative at the 2017 Miss World) by the Associação Jucarente "Associação Juvenil de Apoio aos Jovens Carentes" [Youth Organization for the Support of Needy Youngsters] and sashed by the pageant’s mentor, Catarina de Oliveira.
Judélsia Bache - Angola's Representative at the Miss World 2017
In that way, local and national media could know that Associação Jucarente was the new license holder for Miss World in Angola and that this franchise was no longer under Comité Miss Angola. It is not yet known whether the committee relinquished or lost the Miss World franchise.
The Associação Jucarente is a NGO which was stablished in 2003, headquartered in Maianga, Luanda, whose aim is to redeem cultural and intellectual values of Angolan young generations, specifically of communities in need, with focus on the following areas of intervention: education, culture, sports, healthcare, empowerment of women, the environment and hygiene and basic sanitation.
Aside from the new pageant, Miss Mundo Angola, Jucarente hosts and organizes two pageants, Miss Maianga and Miss CPLP Angola. Their winners work together to develop actions, in cooperation with all key players, that can contribute to build/restore schools and health centres, to raise national awareness and prevention on HIV/AIDS, malaria, cholera and malnutrition, to empower women development in rural areas, and hence to make an impact in communities in need. Undoubtedly, it might be a first very good point in favour of any Angolan representative chosen by Jucarente because it embodies the philanthropic spirit of Miss World’s Beauty with a Purpose program by raising awareness and funds for various charitable causes across the country.
During Miss World finals in China, in an interview to the Angolan Media & News Portal "Portal Revelações", José Gombo, Chairman of the Associação Jucarente, pointed out that the successful achievement of the Miss World franchise and the Angolan return to was due to a strong coalition formed between Jucarente and the organization Mukanus Produções, owned by Mukano Charles, taking into account the impact of the work carried out by Jucarente regarding women's growth and value in a wide range of areas.
Thus, Miss Mundo Angola is under new leadership since 2017. José Gombo and Mukano Charles became co-national directors of Miss World in Angola. They have scrapped the production and appointed a titleholder, Judélsia Bache, who went to China to represent Angola at the 2017 Miss World pageant, wherein she was unplaced. Finally, Angola had returned to Miss World after a three-year hiatus.
José Gombo - Julia Morley - Mukano Charles
Nkilucissa José Gombo Graduated in Management and Public Administration. He has managed Associação Jucarente for more than 15 years. Events producer and organizer of the Miss CPLP Angola and Miss Maianga pageants. At the same time Gombo has worked closely with several other pageants. Several of his pageant's winners have reached high placements at the Miss Angola pageant, like Andreia João Dias (Miss Maianga 2013, Miss Luanda 2014, 1st Runner Up Miss Angola 2015).
Mukano Charles Damião A former dancer and coreographer and currently entertainment producer and Director of Mukanus Produções. Mukano Charles is no stranger to the world of pageantry in Angola and Portugal, he is Director of Miss Angola Portugal and Miss Angola UK Organizations. He became a well-known Angolan figure after Micaela Reis (Miss Angola Portugal 2006, Miss Angola 2007, Top 10 Miss Universe 2007, 1st Runner Up Miss World 2007, actress, TV Host and model) and Leila Lopes (Miss Angola UK 2010, Miss Angola 2011, Miss Universe 2011, TV Host and model) achievements. Aside from Reis and Lopes, Mukano also discovered Lesliana Pereira, Miss Angola 2008, model, TV presenter and a famous actress in Brazil and Angola. Adittionally, several of his winners have reached Top 3 placements at Miss Angola, including Ivaniltan Jones (Miss Angola Portugal 2003 and 1st Runner Up Miss Angola 2010), Miriam Rodrigues (Miss Angola UK 2014 and 2nd Runner Up Miss Angola 2015) and Raquel Gomes (Miss Angola UK 2015 and 2nd Runner Up Miss Angola 2016). He has been considered as an innate talent recruiter who has developed a keen eye to discover beautiful women.
Micaela Reis - Lesliana Pereira - Leila Lopes