[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16546]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 ZULEYKA RIVERA MENDOZA WINS THE FIFTH MISS UNIVERSE TITLE FOR PUERTO 
                                  RICO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to share with my colleagues the 
achievements of Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza, a young lady whose 
determination and perseverance have achieved the honor of being Miss 
Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe pageant and then the big prize, the 
Miss Universe 2006 title.
  Born October 3, 1987, in Cayey, Puerto Rico at 3:47 p.m., this 
talented young lady of only 18 years of life, brought an incredible joy 
to the people of Puerto Rico the night of July 23, 2006, after winning 
the Miss Universe 2006 Pageant, held in Los Angeles, CA.
  As a child growing up in Salinas, Zuleyka showed great interest in 
sports. At five she played football and by seven she was a member of a 
basketball team. But, her sporting days were over as soon as she won 
the title of ``Queen of Hearts'' in middle school. Her mother quickly 
recognized the talent given to her child and enrolled her in an academy 
for aspiring models. At fourteen, she was the first runner-up in the 
Miss Puerto Rico Teen Pageant, the same year she became the image of a 
local fashion magazine.
  Zuleyka graduated from high school in Guayama, Puerto Rico, where she 
was president of the 2004 graduating class and part of the honor roll. 
Up until the pageant, she lived with her parents, Carmen M. Mendoza and 
Jerry Rivera, and her younger siblings, Jerry Jesus (12) and Jose 
Alberto (10), in Parcelas Vazquez, a small community in Salinas, Puerto 
Rico. Prior to winning the Miss Universe 2006 Pageant she was a 
freshman at the University of Puerto Rico, majoring in communications.
  600 million people in 180 countries around the world witnessed the 
moment in which Miss Puerto Rico, Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza, was crowned 
with 120 pearls and 800 diamonds as Miss Universe 2006. She will now 
live in New York and travel the world in an effort to eradicate AIDS, 
these being part of her duties as Miss Universe 2006. After the 
pageant, Zuleyka wishes to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress, 
while always making the Puerto Rican community proud of her 
achievements.

                          ____________________