OF CHAOS AND CONTROVERSIES IN PAGEANTRY

by Raphael Porciuncula

Complaints are not new about the pageant milieu. It may range from how the candidates are chosen to how the winners are selected. Just recently, even the very popular Miss U.S.A. Beauty pageant that selects the representative to the Miss Universe pageant was alleged to be favoring certain candidates to win and that there was a ready list that will be announced to comprise the Top 5. One tends to agree with the choices after watching the Miss USA 2012 Beauty Pageant, and that the complaining candidates are but part of the whining losers wanting to create a big buzz for themselves. And to think, the organization that is holding this pageant carries a solid reputation all over the world. Pageant pundits think that scenarios like these are part of the marketing strategy for the pageant – to be talked upon and create controversies so that TV ratings will increase in the way the producers expect them to be. They say, it is all part of the word so-called “business.”

But these controversies occur worldwide. The Filipinos have a penchant to see the smallest of all controversies about pageants. Read any pageant fora and for sure you will pick all the noises that go with a pageant. Year in and year out, the Filipino pageant fans will always have something to say about it. Just recently, I read in a lot of Facebook postings that some fans still wonder why a certain candidate did not win in a pageant way way back in 1982. Some people cannot move on and to see the candidate they are talking about had moved on and lead either a secluded or a glamorous life.

In retrospect, I have experienced handling a regional pageant that almost led to the walk-out of the tabulating committee. We even had a computerized judging system because the organization that tapped me to handle the pageant wants a transparent competition. But since the pageant intends to send the winners to the national pageant, majority of the judges were from the national pageant organization. After the preliminary competition, while waiting for the results as it is being printed, one of the members of the national pageant organization stood up and went onstage and started announcing “their” choices for the semifinalists. A melee almost happened but cooler heads prevailed and judging system was followed. I understand the feelings of the tabulating committee because it is their reputation that is at stake. From that time on, I kept my distance from that pageant organization.

It seems like I have veered into the original intent of this write-up. What I am pointing out here is that it is not only pageants that had controversies. There are a lot of activities that had controversy written all over the walls. But pageants tend to be very overt activities; hence, they can easily be seen and felt. More so, if the beauty pageants have become part of the national psyche, then expect that people of that nationality will have their good time talking about it.

In a recent pageant snafu, I call it a snafu because however you see it; it is a chaotic or confused situation that the Philippine candidate went through in his participation to the Mr. Model Universe pageant that was held at the Dominican Republic. The Philippine representative situation should not have been publicized had the website “Belleza Venezolana” intimated that the organization conducting the pageant would disqualify Mr. Philippines. And of course, the news had gone viral and it was the buzz that almost snatched the news of the selection of the new Miss World Philippines. Then this was followed by the news that Mr. Philippines will participate after all. Yes, he participated but it looks like it was a token participation. In an attempt to be transparent, the Mr. Model Universe organization published the scores the candidates got during the competition and Mr. Philippines’ scores were way down in the ranking and even last in the organization’s rating. It was very obvious; he just participated for the sake of participation. In the Filipino language he is “salimpusa”. Then the pageant winner was questioned by a lot of candidates as one picture told it all. Then this was followed by an article of Hawaii’s representative to the pageant questioning the credibility of the winner and in so doing the credibility of the pageant too.

Note how the other candidates turned their backs when Mr. Dominican Republic was announced as the winner of the pageant. Mr. Hawaii Universe Model aptly described this photo as "a picture paints a thousand meanings."

The Philippine resultant participation is just waiting to happen. The Philippine organizers did not have the foresight that this is a possibility to happen. In 2011, they were not able to participate because of visa issues and even had their franchise fee forfeited because they did not foresee the problem. It is therefore imperative that they have made the necessary adjustments in their schedules, finances and even ticketing and visa preparations for their candidate. In the end, knowing fully well that the candidate will come in late, and then they should have called off the participation and avoided a great embarrassment in an international soil. Added to this, critics have been widely giving warnings to would be franchise holders for this pageant and yet a few care to listen.

 Another pageant case in view is the Miss Asia Pacific World Competition. It has become common knowledge to everyone that the first edition of the pageant in 2011 was a wreck as many pageant participants complained about how the pageant was handled. It was in complete disarray. And to think the winners were dethroned one by one. And in the next edition, I was wondering they still held the pageant. Seventeen candidates participated and they even had seven winners. The Philippine participant was handpicked and wonders of all wonders, she was not even considered among the 10 semi-finalists.

Miss India (Newly crowned Miss Asia-Pacific World 2012) and her court

Although we all know pageants attract controversies and may even create controversies, we should be more circumspect in participating in. We should only participate in reliable and highly reputable pageants backed with highly respected organizations. We should always think that the sash that we are carrying is our country and if an embarrassment happens, our country becomes also the fulcrum of eternal damnation among pageant fans.