Miss Colombia Stuns With Answer About Saving a Dog

The interview portion of a beauty pageant can be a make-or-break moment. A bad answer can make you lose the entire competition, despite your talents and good looks, while a good reply can demonstrate intelligence, quick thinking, and charm—earning you much more than the crown. For Tatiana Castro, who competed in Miss Colombia 1994, her thoughtful answer not only helped her win the title; it continues to spark conversations over 30 years later.

On the final round of the competition, Castro was posed the following question: “A museum is on fire, and you have the chance to go in only one time. Before you, you have some famous paintings of this museum, and the guard’s dog. Which one would you save?” Without missing a beat, Castro exclaimed “Oh my God! The dog!”

The contestant then elaborated. “The paintings are art. Art is to be given away, like love and peace. Animals, plants, and people are life. Life is to be kept.” Her answer made the entire audience erupt in cheers, as the camera pans to people cheering, clapping, and raising their arms in approval. Only minutes later, Castro was crowned as Miss Colombia. The title allowed her to compete in Miss Universe the following year, where she made it to the top 10 in the competition.

Fast forward three decades, and Castro is now a successful speaker, financial coach, author, and a mother of two. In a recent interview with CityTV, she looked back at the beauty pageant that shot her to stardom, saying she stands by her answer to this day. For her, her iconic answer was part of her growth as a person, adding that life should be respected and protected.

Her answer once again sparked conversations after Miss Universe shared a subtitled video of her response in her native Spanish, which earned a nod from Castro herself. One user confessed, “I wouldn’t be able to come up with such an answer if I knew the question three months in advance,” while others praised her for having her heart in the right place. One commenter put it simply by saying, “If you don’t have a soul to save a dog, you truly wouldn’t have the capacity to admire or understand art.”