Cristal Montañez

Cristal del Mar Montañez Arocha is a pageant titleholder, was born in Caracas, Venezuela on February 8, 1960. She is the Miss Venezuela titleholder for 1977, and was the official representative of Venezuela to the Miss Universe 1977 pageant held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on July 16, 1977, when she classified in the Top 12 semifinalists.[1]

Cristal Montañez
Montañez in 2012
Born
Cristal del Mar Montañez Arocha

(1960-02-08) February 8, 1960
Caracas, Venezuela
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair colorDark Blonde
Eye colorHazel

Cristal is the former Executive Director of Hashoo Foundation USA[2] (2006-2018), a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization based in Houston, Texas, founded by the Hashwani Family and headquarters in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Her work as a human freedom and pro-democracy activist is highlighted at the Freedom Collection at George W. Bush Presidential Center.[3] She participated in international networks, such as the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium (AAPC),[4] Global Philanthropists Circle,[5] The Synergos Institute, Salzburg Global Seminar Session 465,[6] an important global meeting that crafted a common framework and identified strategies to leverage more effectively philanthropic investments in women and girls.

Modeling career

Miss Venezuela 1977
Montañez representing Venezuela in Miss Universe

Cristal is the former Miss Venezuela 1977. She represented her country Venezuela in the Miss Universe pageant held in Dominican Republic. There she met personalities such as President Joaquin Balaguer, Diana Ross and designer Roberto Cavalli, among others.

During her reign as Miss Venezuela she initiated a campaign on a national level and in conjunction with the Venezuelan Tennis Federation officials and presented her proposal to the government’s Department of Youth (Ministro de la Juventud) to popularize the sport by building more public tennis courts and facilitating trainers to teach the basics rules of the sport and engage the youth as a way to develop their mind, physical condition and keep out of trouble. The next step was to request the support of the Department of Justice (Ministerio de Justicia) to help fund this initiative at national level. As a result, several tennis courts were built in public places, and young people had the opportunity to experience and play tennis.

She also became a volunteer member of the Comité de Damas Voluntarias del Patronato Nacional de Ancianos Inválidos (National Volunteer Women Committee for the Disabled Elderly).

International Modeling

Cristal began her career as a model with the Astor Baby Blue of Lois Jeans campaign, which gave her national exposure. Her face appeared in dozens of magazines in Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico. She traveled with Miss Universe, Janelle Commissiong, to the Colombian cities of Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, Manizales and Cucuta to launch the Pat Primo, Catalina, and Max Factor’s 1977 Fall Collection to raise funds to benefit the Cancer Association.

In Venezuela, she worked next to the famous Musiú Lacavalerie as the model of the game TV show “El Batazo de la Suerte”, which aired every Saturday morning on Channel 4 Venevisión and was a regular guest and interviewer in several radio programs.

Cristal travelled to Mexico where she promoted tourism between the Island of Margarita in the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Mexico. She had the opportunity to work with President Miguel Aleman’s team in the Ministry of Tourism. While living in Mexico, Cristal was the image for the Max Factor Whip Crème campaign for Latin America. She became the lead model for Soft & Dri, Grand Marnier, Chevrolet GM, Kent, Cache, Four Seasons, Darling, campaigns among other brands.

Human Freedom Activist

Global Citizen and International Human Freedom Activist

Cristal’s work as a human freedom and pro-democracy activist is highlighted at the Freedom Collection in at George W. Bush Presidential Center. She participated in international networks, such as the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), Asia Pacific Philanthropic Consortium (AAPC), Global Philanthropists Circle, The Synergos Institute, Salzburg Global Seminar Session 465, an important global meeting that crafted a common framework and identified strategies to leverage more effectively philanthropic investments in women and girls.

Her work was instrumental in the success of the Women's Empowerment through Honey Bee Farming "Plan Bee Project" and its global impact and recognition, including the prestigious BBC / Newsweek Magazine 2008 World Challenge Competition Global Award, Clinton Global Initiative Featured Commitment, and the Jefferson Awards Youth Service Challenge in 2012.

Currently, she serves on the Mayor’s Advisory Council of New Americans & Immigrants Communities (MACNAIC), Houston-Karachi Sister City Association (HKSCA) Board of Directors; and International Board of Directors and Powerful Women International (PWI) Advisory Board. She is a member e-Club Rotary Houston District 5890, Texas Executive Women (TEW), the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations (HCFR), Sister Cities of Houston (SCH), and Sister Cities International (SCI).

Cristal is a human freedom pro-democracy activist known for her work defending Venezuelan’s human, civil and political rights and denouncing electoral fraud. Her work also extends to the Eastern Hemisphere where she is involved in economic development and education projects as a way to empower vulnerable communities and decrease the penetration of extremism in areas of high levels of poverty and illiteracy in Pakistan.

In 2002, in the midst of the Venezuelan crisis under the Hugo Chavez’s administration, she joined the Resistencia Civil de Venezolanos en el Exterior (RECIVEX 2002-2008) and served as the International Coordinator. She followed the work of Dr. Gene Sharp founder of the Albert Einstein Institute. Cristal has collaborated with Gene Sharp, his Executive Director Jamila Raqib and his team in the promotion and distribution of writings and translations on the technique of nonviolent struggle to thousands of activists, including their application to help organize the civic society.

Cristal worked in conjunction with other organizations to mobilize the Venezuelan and international communities in protest against violations of human rights, freedom of speech and fraudulent elections in Venezuela. Also, she was elected president of the International Venezuelan Council for Democracy (IVCD 2003-2008), an organization dedicated to advancing democratic values and institutions, preserving Venezuela's tradition of free and fair elections, and promoting accountability in government in accordance to the principles established in the Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Cristal continues her work as a pro-democracy human freedom activist with diverse groups in Venezuela and abroad by educating on strategic nonviolent action against oppressive regimes following the teachings of Dr. Gene Sharp and the Albert Einstein Institution.

Her blog Venezuela: Liberación y Transición contains information on nonviolent resistance, civic organization and strategy to educate activists about techniques they can use to liberate Venezuela from dictatorship to democracy

Humanitarian and Advocate

Her volunteer work and associations have included national and international organizations. As members of National Charity (NCL) Blue Bonnet Chapter. She served on both the Advisory and the Regional Board of Directors of UNICEF in Houston (2000-2008). Working with Hashoo Foundation, Cristal has led several emergency relief initiatives in respond to natural disasters in Pakistan, including the historical 2010 floods which displaced more than 22 million people.

Cristal participated in the marketing and development of various global campaigns and created founded the Bear Hugs for Venezuela Program - a U.S. Fund for UNICEF- sponsored, community-based volunteer donation program benefiting the children who were victims of the devastating floods in Venezuela of December 1999. The program provided more than 65,000 “teddy bears” to help lessen some of the psychological trauma caused by this disaster.

Bear Hughs Project

While serving on the Greater Houston American Red Cross Marketing and Communication Committee (2000-2004), Cristal and her son Hank created the Bear Hugs for Houston as a response to Tropical Storm Allison and was actively involved in the Montgomery County Task Force (2001-2005) formed to rehabilitate the County after Allison. Bear Hugs for Venezuela distributed 65,000+ teddy bears in 2000; Bear Hugs for Tropical Storm Allison distributed 2,743 teddy bears at the Greater Houston American Red Cross shelter, and Bear Hugs for Ghana distributed 400+ teddy bears in 2001; Bear Hugs for Jamaica distributed 100+ teddy bears in 2007; Bear Hugs for Venezuela distributed 50 teddy bears to the children of political prisoners, and Bear Hugs for Pakistan distributed 50 teddy bears to children with special needs in 2008; Bear Hugs for Houston distributed 200+ teddy bears and care packages to children refugees from Burma, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Colombia and Congo in 2012; Bear Hugs for Miami distributed 50 teddy bears to Venezuelan immigrants in 2013; Bear Hugs for Houston distributed 100 teddy bears to Powerful Women International and Texas Executive Women mentees, and 50 teddy bears to Big Little JC organization in 2014; Bear Hugs for Venezuela distributed 43 care packages with teddy bears to children at the Hospital San Juan de Dios in 2016; Bear Hugs for Houston for Hurricane Harvey distributed needed gifts to 25 families and 100 teddy bears to their children during the recovery efforts in 2017; Bear Hugs for Venezuela distributed 100 teddy bears and care packages to children in Amigos del Niño con Cancer, Hogar Bambi Venezuela and other organizations

Cristal worked in partnership with the following organizations to make Bears Hugs for Venezuela successful:

U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Houston Fire Department, City of Houston, Sam Houston Boy Scouts, San Jacinto Girl Scouts, Good Bear of the World, Miss Texas USA. Organization, Venezuelan American Partnership, Association Venezolana de Houston (ASOVEN), Amigos de las Americas, The Salvation Army, Jalapeno Sam, International Friends (The Woodlands), McCullough Junior High School, National Charity League Bluebonnet Chapter (NCL), St. Edward School, Sts. Simon and Jude Parish, Conroe Independent School District Elementary Education (CISD), The Woodlands High School, The John Cooper School. Participating companies were: Classic Collecticritter Inc., Continental Airlines, Fritz Company Inc, Jacintoport International Terminal, Halliburton Company, Houston Image Group, HVJ International Inc., Leedy Graphics, Port of Houston Authority, Smith & Sacco Ltd., Seaboard Marine, Swibco Inc., and UPS.

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References
  1. "Miss Universe Coverage 1977". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
  2. http://hashoofoundation.org/usa/
  3. http://www.freedomcollection.org/interviews/cristal_montaz_baylor/
  4. http://www.hashoofoundationusablog.org/2007/05/hashoo-foundation-merging-study-case-at.html
  5. http://www.hashoofoundationusablog.org/2012/10/hashoo-foundation-at-synergos-25th.html
  6. https://get.google.com/albumarchive/103400008042467734244/album/AF1QipMbxSp0WCwHNLxLIlZfhBs6gdYRQ-Dq6ZrA62qX?source=pwa
Preceded by
Judith Castillo		 Miss Venezuela
1977		 Succeeded by
Marisol Alfonzo
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