Ex-Miss Universe to judge this year's contest

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Former Miss Universe Amelia Vega, who in 2003 became the first Dominican to win that title, will be part of the judging panel for the September 12 contest for this year's beauty queen in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Vega is going through an important period in her singing career given that her first album - 'Agua dulce' - went on sale last month.

It is getting lots of playing time on the most important radio stations in Latin America and the US, a situation that has led her to being tapped as a backup singer for stars Chayanne and Marc Anthony in her native Dominican Republic.

She wrote three of the 10 songs on the album - "Por ti", dedicated to her uncle Mario Polanco, who died in 2010, "Dentro de ti" and "Segunda oportunidad" - and performed a duet with merengue star Johnny Ventura entitled "Tocame la tambora".

Vega is a backup singer on the concert tour her uncle Juan Luis Guerra is currently making in Latin America.