Italy Johan Peñaloza Mora, 19, was born and raised in Panama City, Panama. She is a professional model.
Mora is 5’10” tall. She competed in Miss Panama and Señorita Panamá before representing Panama in Miss Universe.
Miss Panama 2023
On September 13, 2023, Mora represented Panama Centro at Miss Panama 2023 and competed against 14 other candidates at the Atlapa Convention Centre in Panama City. Natasha Vargas of Los Santos won the title.
Runner-up to Vargas was Diana Lemos of Panama Oeste while Katherine Fuentes of Chiriqui was second runner-up. Mora finished in the Top 7.
On November 18, 2023, Vargas represented Panama at Miss Universe 2023 and competed against 83 other candidates at the Gimnasio Nacional José Adolfo Pineda in San Salvador, El Salvador. She was unplaced.
Señorita Panamá 2024
On August 3, 2024, Mora represented Riviera del Canal at Señorita Panamá 2024 at the Figali Convention Center in Panama City. She competed against 23 other candidates and won the title.
Runner-up to Mora was Liliam Ashby Barrera of Panama Centro. The respective second, third and fourth runners-up were Mirna Caballini Bouche of Chiriqui, Brigthey Estrella Castillo of Veraguas and Shahani Guardia of Isla Grande.
Lily Vargas and Massiel Rodriguez hosted the coronation ceremony. There were 23 judges including Miss Panama 1980 Gloria Karamañites, Miss Panama 2007 Sorangel Matos and Miss Panama 2020 Carmen Jaramillo.
Miss Universe 2024
On September 5, 2024, Mora attended the Miss Universe Mexico 2024 coronation ceremony at the Canciones Convention Center in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. She met the winner María Fernanda Beltran Figueroa.
On October 5, 2024, Mora filmed her Voice for Change video for Miss Universe 2024 at the Edificio de la Administración del Canal de Panamá in Panama City. On October 29, 2024, she arrived in Mexico.
Mora was supposed to represent Panama in the 73rd edition of Miss Universe and compete against 128 other candidates on November 16, 2024. Roku, Telemundo, TV Azteca and USA Network will broadcast the coronation ceremony live from the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico.
However, on November 1, 2024, Mora was disqualified from the competition while she and her fellow candidates were preparing for the Gala de las Catrinas, a pre-coronation event that celebrated the host country’s Dia de los Muertos. On November 2, 2024, she released a statement explaining her disqualification.
According to Mora, she left the room where the candidates were supposed to stay while preparing for the event. She acknowledged that it was against the rules of the competition but said the punishment was too severe.
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