First Miss Universe crowned in the Philippines

On July 21, 1974, exactly a year after from when Margie Moran was crowned Miss Universe 1973, the Philippines was all eyes on the Miss Universe pageant held in Manila, Philippines.

Four Miss Universes graced the event; Armi Kuusela of Finland who during her reign and  duties as the Miss Universe (1952) in the Philippines met and married a Filipino tycoon Virgilio Hilario, Silvia Hitchcock (1967), Philippines first Miss Universe Gloria Diaz (1969), and the beautiful and poised Margie Moran waiting for the next lucky girl who would continue the legacy of being Miss Universe.

 A total of sixty-five (65) candidates from different counties and territories vied for the crown including Philippines' very own Guada Sanchez. She made it to the magic 12 but apparently lacked showmanship and regal bearing to catch the judges fancy.

At the end of the event, Spain's Amparo Muñoz was announced the winner making her the first Miss Universe to be crowned in the Philippines. If only on that note, she could have been declared the third Filipina Miss Universe.

The Search for the third Filipina Miss Universe

On July 21, 1973,just four years and two days after from when Gloria Diaz was adjudged Miss Universe 1969, another Filipina, Margarita Moran got another crown to bag for her country, making the Philippines the third country -- next to United States and Brazil -- to win the title twice since its inception in 1952.

Aside from the double Miss Universe titles, Philippines, by that time also held the record for the most number of Miss International crowns, putting Philippines as one of beauty-pageant powerhouse countries alongside United States and Brazil.

On that note, the Philippine government with no less than the first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos herself made it a point to host the pageant the next year in Manila.

The whole country was excited, thinking that the third Filipina Miss Universe gets to be crowned in Miss Universe 1974 in Manila.

And so the search started for the third Filipina Miss Universe.

#3rdFilipinaMissUniverse

Bb. Pilipinas 1995 pageant throwback

Bb. Pilipinas 1995 winners: Reham Snow Tago (World), Gladys Dueñas (International) and Joanne Quintas (Universe).

It has been 19 years ago but I can still vividly remember how the Bb. Pilipinas 1995 pageant interview went about. A lot of candidates struggled Edu Mazano's antics putting them on the spot. There were no training camps yet like that of Kagandahang Flores or Aces and Queens to prep the ladies for the dreaded interview portion.





This is a pageant portion that Philippines gave much focus as opposed to fitness (swimsuit) and grace (gown). Reason why Philippines barely made it to the Miss Universe finals in more than two (2) decade
It's a good thing that Bb. Pilipinas Organization finally realized that a pageant like that of Miss Universe is a competition of "form". The dimension of the competition only becomes a competition of "being" during the Final 3 or Final 5.

MJ For The Win

After Desiree Verdadero's "almost-there" performance in the 1984 Miss Universe as 3rd Runner-Up, Bb. Pilipinas started to focus on the candidates aptitude in the interview as opposed to fitness (swimsuit) and grace (gown), forgetting that the Miss Universe pageant is still a competition of form versus being. They forgot that the wit and maturity of the contestants only gets considered during the finals interview portion or in the case of recent MU pageants, the Top 5. 

In 1985, we sent Joyce Burton, a very smart girl with a very good communication skills but failed to place in the semi's as she somewhat deviated with the Philippines' "Filipina" brand. Then there was Liza Berroya, a MENSA member who aced the interview portion in 1992 Binibining Pilipinas but unfortunately landed 42nd in MU 1992 after garnering an average of 8.3333 --  a composite score or average from her Swimsuit's 8.13, Interview's 8.53, and Gown;s 8.34.

And who could forget the high hopes we had for now-lawyers Zorayda Ruth Andam (2001) and Anna Theresa Licaros (2007)?

It was only, after Venus Raj that Philippines was able to regain its brand consistency that it regained it's powerhouse accolade as proven by its 4 year Top 5 placement streak. With that said, there are only 2 possibilities for Mary Jean Lastimosa (MJ) during the Miss Universe (MU) 2014 pageant. 

1.) Not able to place in Top 15/16 for reason of losing its consistency with that Filipina look brand, or,
2.) Snag the MU 2014 effortlessly. 

Why? She's got the right timing having a perfect package (looks, fit, grace and wit) that Nina Ricci Alagao once had, that if not because of bad timing (Abu Sayyaf terrrorism) could have given India's Lara Dutta a run for her money during the MU 2000.

2013: A Lucky Year for the Philippines

2013 was indeed a lucky year for Philippines in the international pageant arena. Lucky, not because our representatives brought home crowns left and right but because we have achieved a certain level of brand stability.     

When judges make a shortlist of Final candidates (placers), they make it a point that the final list is balanced in terms of culture, race, geographical location, potential market for sponsors, and most of all, a story which could sensationalize the win.

Having said that, there are countries which define the competition. In the case of Miss Universe; Venezuela, USA, Colombia, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Brazil. India achieved the same status in the 90's but after the Miss Universe pageant was reformatted in 2001, India's performance has been very dismal for failure to re-brand their candidates too. Philippines was once a powerhouse in the 70's too. But when latinas were considered IN, Philippines lost it's ground and took awhile to regain it.

Whilst most of the time the ladies from these countries do not emerge as winners, they always make the cut and help define the dimension of the competition. Take the case of Venezuela who placed 2nd Runner Up consecutively in 1993 and 1994, while Colombia making a three-peat as 1st Runner Up in 1992, 1993 and 1994.

This simply means that, comes deliberation on the final round, there's always a contestant who stands out amidst these powerhouse countries ready to snag the crown. In the event that this stand-out or early favorite fails to sustain the competition, that is when an accidental winner is chosen -- Gabriela Isler, Miss Universe 2013 and Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Universe 1999 among them.

What's the common ground between Miriam Quiambao and Ariella Arida then? The hesitation in the eyes when answering the question. The question and answer portion is not about who speaks better English than another. It's all about taking on the challenge wholeheartedly without hesitation. This holds true with other international beauty pageants.

International beauty pageant winners in the past and even the most recent have the same pattern and strategy in answering the question - being conversational and exuding confidence and grace amidst pressure. Melanie Marquez,Chelsea Smith, Alicia Machado, Brooke Mahealani Lee, Mpule Kwelagobe, Lara Dutta, Riyo Mori and Olivia Culpo. If their names don't ring a bell, look them up on Youtube and see for yourself how an eventual winner acts and looks like.

Hopefully, we stop the argument that just because our representative is making it to the Top 5 (especially in Miss Universe) is already good enough. We have to the make sure that in the event the dimension of the competition changes from how they look to how they talk, we can take up the challenge and bring home our third Miss Universe crown.