Marigona "Gona" Dragusha (born 23 September 1990) is an Albanian pageant titleholder from Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

 who placed as the 2nd runner-up at the Miss Universe 2009

Miss Universe 2009

Miss Universe 2009, the 58th Miss Universe pageant, was held at the Atlantis Paradise Island, in Nassau, Bahamas on August 23, 2009. It was the first time back to back victories in Miss Universe history: Stefanía Fernández of Venezuela, was crowned Miss Universe 2009 by outgoing titleholder Dayana...

 pageant, only behind the eventual winner, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

's Stefanía Fernández

Stefanía Fernández

Stefanía Fernández Krupij is a Venezuelan beauty pageant titleholder who won the Miss Venezuela 2008 and Miss Universe 2009 titles. She earned a Guinness record by being the first Miss Universe winner who was crowned by a compatriot....

, and the 1st runner-up Ada de la Cruz

Ada de la Cruz

Ada Aimée de la Cruz Ramirez is Miss Dominican Republic 2009 and Miss Universe 2009 first runner-up.-Biography:...

 from the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

. Dragusha won her national title, Miss Universe Kosovo

Miss Universe Kosovo

Miss Universe Kosova is a national beauty pageant that sends representatives from Kosovo to the Miss Universe pageant since 2008.-History:On April 4, 2008, Fadil Berisha, the photographer of Miss Universe’s official photos, hosted the inaugural "Miss Universe Kosova" pageant where Zana Krasniqi...

, on April 4, 2009. Besides her native Albanian language

Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

, Marigona speaks Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, in which she announced on air before the Miss Universe pageant: she learned the language entirely from watching Spanish-speaking "novelas" (soap operas).

External links

• Miss Kosovo Universe 2009