Two small vendors and artisans who took part in the Miss Universe 2026 welcome event for the candidates at the Litoral de la Bahía in Aguadilla on Wednesday, November 11, criticized how the Aguadilla municipal government and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company organized the space for the 40 businesses that attended. Jéssica Acevedo, owner of Lumé By Jess, a shop selling handmade crochet and wire jewelry, said on Thursday, November 12 that she and the other small businesses made no sales because the walkway area where they were placed was fenced off and the public never reached them.
She said the fencing was set up for security so the candidates’ buses could pass, and that the event had heavy security and metal detectors. The day before, the municipality asked the 40 establishments (20 artisans and 20 merchants) to set up their tents because up to 5,000 people were expected. Acevedo said she packed up her table around 5:30 PM without a single sale, and that vendors with perishable products suffered major losses; participants came from San Sebastián, Peñuelas, Aguadilla and Moca, among other places.
The owner of Romain Pastry also posted on Facebook that the access opened after 7 p.m., when most vendors had left. Aguadilla spokesperson José Cruz said the Tourism Company had absolute control of the event’s organization, logistics and participant locations, and that the municipality complied with its requests and supplied a list of artisans.