The Miss América Latina pageant was founded in the early 1980s. The first edition was held in 1981, when it was open to only Latina contestants in Miami, Florida, United States. It’s a local competition to select a representative of Miami to a contest in Mexico.

In 1983, the contest went international due to the enthusiasm of the Latin press, which greatly participated in the promotion of the contest. In 1983, the title of this contest became « Miss Latin America ». 

The year 1986 marked the official separation of the US national competition from the international competition. Delegates from the states with the largest Hispanic population in the United States, who initially participated jointly with the delegates from Latin American countries for winning the title of « Miss America Latina « , competed for the first time with each other for the right to represent the Latino population of the US in international competition.

A new dimension for Miss Latin America del Mundo arises from the year 2002, when participation is opened to worldwide.

With the vision of promoting culture Ibero-American in the world beyond the geopolitical borders that define “Latin America”, the first delegates from Europe participate. In 2006 they join two more delegates to the representation of Spain with the participation of the Islands Canaries off the coasts of Africa and Catalonia. This increasing expansion led to the decision in 2008 to rename the contest « Miss Latina America del Mundo ».

The goals and deals of these pageant remain to date: highlighting the values of women Latina and her development efforts through higher education, as well as collaborate with charities and the promotion of tourism.