Cristina Reyes was born on August 26, 1981[3] into a Catholic family, the daughter of doctors Xavier Reyes Feijoo and Cristina Hidalgo de Reyes. She has two younger brothers, Xavier and Belisario Reyes Hidalgo. She studied at Las Mercedarias Catholic school,[4] and was named queen of the city of Guayaquil in 2001.[5] She studied law at the
Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil and earned a master's degree in Political Action from
Francisco de Vitoria University in Spain.[4]
She competed at
Miss Ecuador 2004 where she placed 1st Runner-up and gained the right to represent her country at
Miss World 2004 in
Sanya,
China. Although she did not make the first cut at
Miss World 2004, Reyes placed in the top 10's Beauty Beach and top 20's Talent competitions. In 2005, Cristina was selected to compete at
Miss Earth 2005 in
Quezon City,
Philippines; she placed in the top 16 at the final night. It was the first Ecuadorian classification in this beauty contest.
Her first appearance as a reporter on television was on the program Ventana a la Calle, hosted by Kenneth Carrera, who was later replaced by Reyes when he became involved in politics.
In August 2017, she accused the Legislative Administration of inefficiency in an interview, which caused her to be sanctioned in January 2018 with a 10-day suspension without pay.[14] In response, on January 16, she filed a protective action with the
Judicial Branch [
es] to counteract the measure.[15] A week later, Judge Lucila Gómez dismissed the sanction, accepting the protective action in her favor.[16]
On January 8, 2019, Reyes was retained as the third member of the Legislative Council (CAL) with 79 votes in favor, 27 against, and 11 abstentions, following the resignation of
Luis Fernando Torres [
es].[17]
Before the elections in February 2021, she requested unpaid leave from the assembly so that she could take part in the elections. 42 other members also made the same request including
Wilma Andrade,
Esther Cuesta Santana [
es],
Mónica Alemán,
Dallyana Passailaigue and
Verónica Arias. During her absence her job would be carried out by her substitute.[18]
In the elections to renew the
Andean Parliament, held on July 14, 2023, she was elected President of the Andean Parliament for one year.[2]
Personal life
Reyes has two children. On August 26, 2021, she accepted a marriage proposal from Quito businessman Patrick Mitaz.[19]
Publications
Travesía (2000), collection of 62 poems, most with a romantic theme[20]