Leisly Figueroa, a 38-year-old Venezuelan teacher, appeared on the Costa Rican television show “¿Quién quiere ser millonario?” broadcast by Teletica. Figueroa won a prize of 1.2 million colones, which she plans to use to purchase plane tickets and visit her nephews in Brazil after nine years apart.
Before participating, Figueroa shared her personal story with the audience about what it meant for her to be on the well-known quiz show. She explained that as a child in Venezuela, she dreamed of joining the program when it was popular in her home country.
“In my country, Venezuela, this program was very popular in the past, but unfortunately they closed the channel and the format disappeared. I always watched it and thought: ‘Wow, the people who are there are super intelligent. Who can go there?’” said Figueroa.
She added: “I used to say I would love to participate, but I didn’t feel at that level. Besides, I was very young.”
Figueroa said that after moving to Costa Rica she discovered that the show also aired locally. “When I saw it here, I was surprised. I thought it was a program exclusive to Venezuela. I didn’t know it had international fame. So then I said: ‘How nice, they also have ¿Quién quiere ser millonario? here.’”
The program is hosted by Ignacio Santos and airs every Tuesday at 8 p.m., featuring contestants who answer questions for cash prizes.
Figueroa explained how watching each episode became part of her routine once she had access to national television at home. “When we finally got access to national television at home, I started watching the entire program. I wanted to know how it worked from inside, see the host and understand its dynamic.”
“Living this experience was already a dream come true for me,” she continued. “No matter what happened next; just being here made me feel like a winner.”
Figueroa lives in San Rafael de Poás de Alajuela and was the first contestant featured during Tuesday night’s episode.
