National Shooting Sports Foundation Hosts Annual Trade Show In Las Vegas
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

In May 1928, an 18-year-old woman from Mexico made history after winning the title "Miss Mexico" in the first contest held to crown the most beautiful woman in the country.

Maria Teresa Landa was born on October 15, 1910. She was the daughter of a middle-class family who sent her to pursue her studies in a state school. As a student, she was a beautiful and intelligent young girl.

At a young age, Maria Teresa graduated from La Escuela Normal and became a qualified orthodontist.

On March 8, 1928, the young woman's grandmother passed away. Maria Teresa and her family attended the funeral, where she met General Moises Vidal-a 34-year-old revolutionary.

Vidal and Landa began an intimate relationship soon after their first meeting. They were often seen out and about in the city and frequented fashionable restaurants in the capital. The teenager's parents were against their relationship, citing their age gap and the general's lower class level.

Winning Miss Mexico

On April 28, 1928, the Mexican newspaper Excelsior announced a beauty pageant in Mexico City. The winner would be crowned and sent to Galveston, Texas, to represent the country in an international beauty contest.

Maria Teresa's participation caused a grand commotion after she posed in a bathing suit for a photo shoot. Mexican conservative groups called her "shameless" and "ambitious." The uproar caused by her picture earned her the coveted title of Miss Mexico.

She was paraded around the city in a float despite facing disputes within her family. Her father stopped talking to her after seeing her photographs, while General Vidal became increasingly jealous of her attention.

She was sent to Texas but failed to secure the crown. However, she was offered multiple job offers, which she rejected. She quickly returned home to Mexico, where she and Vidal secretly married on September 24, 1928.

Murder and Trials

On August 25, 1929, the same newspaper that announced the contest published a story that revealed the husband's bigamy and adultery. According to Excelsior, the general had married a woman in Veracruz in 1923 and had two children. The first wife was also named Maria Teresa.

On the morning of August 25, 1929, the beauty queen, heartbroken, confronted the general. She took her husband's Smith & Wesson 44-caliber pistol and threatened to end her life.

"I can't take it anymore. I'll kill myself," she shouted.

Vidal tried to persuade his wife to put the gun down. Carried away by anger, she fired six shots at the general. Two bullets hit the general's face, and four others hit his body.

She was arrested shortly after the crime. But she would only speak to a federal judge or her lawyer.

Jose Maria Lozano, the former Minister of Public Instruction, defended Landa despite the aggravating circumstances. Their defense presented the young woman as a victim of society and abuse.

In court, she always wore an all-black garb-thousands of people tuned into Miss Mexico's trials. The prosecutor painted Maria Teresa as an immoral and shameless killer. He showed those present photos of the defendant that showed her wearing minimal clothing.

Lozano, also known as the Prince of Speech, claimed the shooting was self-defense. He also said Landa was consumed by grief by the dishonor Vidal's adultery brought her.

According to reports, Maria Teresa's beauty had a hypnotic effect on the people who attended her hearing. No one could look away as she addressed the court and the jury, where she acknowledged murdering her husband.

After her short speech, the public started cheering and clapping, with many bursting out into tears. The jury decided that the former beauty queen was not guilty. Miss Mexico walked free.

Despite being acquitted, Maria Teresa retired from public life. Instead, she never remarried and devoted her life to teaching history at a school in Mexico City.

Want to read more?