THE MISS UNIVERSE SAGA – THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE (SERIES 5 OF 5)

THE PERIOD OF RESURGENCE: 2011 TO PRESENT

by Rolando Rafael

In 2011, the organization went back to choosing another cerebral candidate over other many facially superior girls – Shamcey Supsup. Note that there seem to be a pattern here. In 1999, Mirriam had fallen because of a cluttered answer. Her successor is a very intelligent girl who is said to easily answer questions even with eyes closed - Nina Ricci Alagao. Nina Ricci failed to follow-up on Mirriam’s success. On the other hand, Shamcey improved Maria Venus Raj’s performance. What was the big difference? Shamcey, despite training locally showed that she can improve on the aspects that her critics pointed out. She was even able to evolve and patented a walk, tsunami walk that made her distinctly unique in the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant in Brazil. Although she did give a very credible answer, she wasn't that much at par among the judges as they opted for a more unassuming pretty girl from Angola.

In 2012, the organization went the same route. They selected Shamcey Supsup’s first runner-up, Janine Mari Tugonon who was very much maligned in pageant forums and discussion boards. Janine possesses a not so astounding facial beauty but she has the goods in between those two ears of her. But many still did not believe her. What was really admirable with this girl is that there was a nary of any rebuttal from her as she silently went into her training and lo and behold, she was everyone’s word of mouth with her patented walk, the Cobra walk. She was like Shamcey who was distinctly unique and with her answer to the final question and answer; she was everyone’s Miss Universe despite the fact that Miss USA was crowned the winner.

THE PRESENT: In celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Binibining Pilipinas, 50 candidates were chosen recently and were selected through an intensive screening process. The following are the selected official candidates:

1.        Ria Rabajante

2.        Maria Bencelle Bianzon

3.        Zandra Flores

4.        Nicole Kim Donesa

5.        Maria Sofia Gloria Mustonen

6.        Yvette Chantal Mildenberger

7.        Maria Ivy Kristel Gonzales

8.        Abbygale Monderin

9.        Katherine Anne Enriquez

10.    Anna Carmela Aquino

11.    Anna Carmina Antonio

12.    Camille Carla Nazar

13.    Charmaine Elima

14.    Mary Rose Pujanes

15.    Pia Wurtzbach

16.    Joanna Cindy Miranda

17.    Carin Adrianne Ramos

18.    Christine Paula Love Bernasor

19.    Hannah Ruth Sison

20.    Bea Rose Santiago

21.    Lourenz Grace Remetillo

22.    Ellore Noelle Punzalan

23.    Leona Paula Santicruz

24.    Cassandra Naidas

25.    Merry Joyce Respicio

     
26. Anna Fernandina Buquid

27.    Vania Valiry Vispo

28.    Mercegrace Raquel

29.    Pauline Quintas

30.    Maria Theresa Gorgonio

31.    Maria Angelica De Leon

32.    Cindy Abundabar

33.    Parul Shah

34.    Grace Yann Apuad

35.    Theresa Marie Fenger

36.    Angel May Villafuerte

37.    Ma. Teresita Alaine Baccay

38.    Mariz Ong

39.    Mutya Johanna Datul

40.    Jan Helen Villanueva

41.    Ariella Arida

42.    Jacqueline Alexandra Mayoralgo

43.    Rhea Nakpil

44.    Gabrielle Monique Runnstrom

45.    Imelda Schweighart

46.    Amanda Noelle Navasero

47.    Aiyana Mikiewicz

48.    Angeli Dione Gomez

49.    Herlie Kim Artuque

50.    Maria Cristina Ann Pascual

The girls have their own claim to beauty and fame and it would be really difficult to choose three winners from these girls. But with the momentum that was set in the last three years, will the formula finally effective? In the next issues we will discuss the merits of the girls.

THE MISS UNIVERSE SAGA – THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE (SERIES 4 OF 5)

2001 – 2010 THE YEARS OF STRUGGLE

by Rolando Rafael

THE CEREBRAL CHOICES: The most common denominator of this period is that majority of choices are cerebral candidates. This can be seen in 2001 (Andam), 2002 (Agustin), 2005 (Cabrera), 2006 (Ramos), 2007 (Licaros) and 2009 (Manalo). Among these winners of the Bb. Pilipinas Universe title, 3 are from UP (Andam, Ramos and Licaros), 1 from University of Asia and Pacific (Cabrera), 1 from AMA Computer University (Agustin) and 1 from Assumption College (Manalo). These candidates are known to be the intelligent types and that their selection was practically based from the experience that we almost made it in 1999 and that we lost because our candidate bombed out in the question and answer portion.

THE VENEZUELAN EXPERIMENT: Also during this decade, after the debacle in 2000 where our candidate was not sent to any training program because she was said to be the perfect candidate. We have to lick our wounds as we realize that we have gone full circle. Our winner in 2001 was sent to Venezuela but with less encouraging results. So in 2002, there was a sudden turnaround and another experiment was hatched – the Colombian experiment.

THE COLOMBIAN EXPERIMENT:  There seem to be a big question when the Philippine franchise holder for Miss Universe shifted her gears and took her winners for Colombian training only after 2 tries. First it was Mirriam Quiambao who almost made it and second was Zorayda Ruth Andam who was only triumphant as a first runner-up in the National Costume category. After Zorayda, succeeding candidates were sent to Colombia (Karen, Carla, Maricar, Giona, Lia, Anna Teresa, Jennifer and Pamela) for training. There were questions asked? Why Colombia? Why not pursue Venezuela instead? Reasons like, Venezuelan training is very expensive and that Filipina winners are not ready for the surgical enhancement programs of Venezuela. Although eventually, Venezuela stopped training foreign girls when Amelia Vega, Miss Dominican Republic who trained under Osmel Souza won Miss Universe in 2003. Then why Colombia? Colombia has not produced a winner for so long and that their golden period was not 1992-1994 did not produce a winner. While Venezuela was churning out runner-ups and title holders and is competing with the United States in terms of the number of winners. What was the common denominator for Karen, Carla, Maricar, Giona, Lia and Anna Teresa as a result of their Colombian preparation? They were cooked! Karen was cooked just enough. Carla was neither here nor there. Maricar lost her radiance and zest. Giona looked like she’s in a daze and had always a bad hair day. Lia was practically “mulattized” (pardon the term – it was derived from the word mulatto!). This period was labeled by a blogger (Bragitto) as TRIPLE C – Colombia, Cumbia and Cubao. Colombia where the training was held and Alfredo Barraza helped in the training and dressing the girls. It is alleged that he dresses the girls with poorly designed and made gowns and styles them very badly so that the Colombian candidates will shine over our candidates. Cumbia refers to those gowns and dresses worn by the candidates from the dress boutique of the Aranetas where there is nothing fashionable about it and lastly Cubao refers to BPCI and Madam Stella Araneta and her staff who are said to be caught in a time warp.  Pamela was again sent to Colombia but this time, there was no “mulattization” done. She was said to have undergone some slimming sessions and pasarela training. And again, the dreadful 3 C’s were very apparent and pageant fans were roaring when they saw her in an uninspired gift wrapper concept gown.

THE RIGHT BUT CONTROVERSIAL CHOICE: The year 2010 selected Maria Venus Raj, a Filipino-Indian beauty who was disqualified after discrepancies in her public pronouncements and what was written her birth certificate surfaced. It was the very first time the “pageantlandia” went up in arms and gave her a resounding support and thus, the first time the organization was nudged from their earlier decision. Venus was not sent to Colombia. A local team trained her.  Venus Raj went on to charm the people in Las Vegas even getting some comments from Osmel Souza of Venezuela that the Philippines sent a strong girl this time. The pageant fans went gaga over this girl most especially when she was chosen to be in the Top 5. After her debacle however in the question and answer portion, she was again back into the bashing board but Venus practically closed the decade with hope and more hope and probably more changes.  

THE MISS UNIVERSE SAGA – THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE (SERIES 3 OF 5 PARTS)

The Decade of Adjustment – 1991-2000

 By Rolando Rafael

From the faltering decade, we can see that the candidate the Miss Universe is looking for is a complete package – beauty, poise, fitness and wit. In that period we saw some pearls but they were not that polished and hence, they did make an etched into the pageant fans’ consciousness but in general there is the feeling of emptiness for a performance that could have been much better and worth it.

I cannot even find a term to describe this decade as there are so many things happening during this time. But I placed it as a period of adjustment. It is a long adjustment because the organization did not seem to learn from its lessons. The decade was highlighted with the following:

First: In 1991, they crowned a petite lady oozing with sex appeal. She is a bomb. She is radiates the X-factor but later she was dethroned because of questionable papers. This episode was to be repeated 7 years after with Tisha Silang. And the year thereafter, it was followed by another similar occurrence. They say history repeats itself but such event occurring three times in a decade means something. It does not bid well for an organization because the mistakes are repeated all over and over again. I do not have anything against foreign-bred Filipinas joining the national competition. In this open and competitive world let them compete and eat the pie if they are qualified but to undermine the screening process, that is the question. The screening committee should have placed their foot forward at once so as to give way for more preparations for the candidates chosen. Given for example those replacements for the title holders, they had the least preparation for their pageants. The one most important thing is being psychologically prepared for the pageant – but some are just lost when they are there.

Secondly:  There seem to be no hard and fast rule to who should be the replacement if someone is dethroned. In the case of Anjanette Abayari, she was replaced by Miss Alou Gonzales who seemed ill-prepared to take on the role as the new competitor for Miss Universe. During that time, the representative to the Miss International was Patty Betita, a seasoned fashion model who was practically ready to take on the role. But an unheralded Alou Gonzales who was remarked by one Filipina who judged during that time that she gauged the unpreparedness of our candidate that time. Alou ranked miserably in the preliminaries. On the other hand, during the time of Tisha Silang, the first runner-up Jewel Lobaton replaced her and went on to compete in the Miss Universe with disastrous results. The year after, Miriam Quiambao who was Binibining Pilipinas-World replaced Janelle Bautista with remarkable results. It is understandable that the organization reserves the right to send the appropriate candidate to the international pageant but pageant observers say that there should be a guiding rule so that it may not appear that such was just a result of whims and caprices.

Thirdly: Note that in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998 and 2000, our candidates registered very low scores in the evening gown segment. In 1994, pageant followers even said that Charlene was overly scored in the evening gown segment as she was much better in other gowns that befit her physique. Liza Berroya’s scores are in average. But I am not going to discuss here her interview scores. Her evening gown score is just average and she used a gown that is not really fashion forward. Same goes with Dindi Gallardo in 1993. In 1997, Abbygale Arenas would have been in the Top 10 had she used a much better and appropriate gown for herself. The moment that they saw Abbygale in her gown during the preliminary competitions, many already thought that it would be her downfall. That gown was described as hideous to say the least. The composite scores tell us that she did well in the swimsuit and the interview. In 1998, Jewel Lobaton defied conventions. The organization was said to be as irate with her as she did not use the prescribed gown. She used the gown of her designer friend, a simple white corset gown that did not do her justice in the midst of formidable competition which Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad and Tobago won during that year. Her so-so performance was again the source of the battle cry of pageant fans they said there were more girls that were much deserving than her to be sent to the Hawaiian edition of the Miss Universe. It was also because of what Jewel did that the organization started having all the girls sign a contract which stipulates that all the outfits that they will use will be provided for by them and any deviation to what is dictated in the contract will be dealt with legally. In 1999, they provided a Halston signature gown for Miriam Quiambao with almost a victorious result. But in 2000, they sent a strong girl but clothe her freakishly  and the result is also freakish.

Fourthly: One must understand that intelligence or wit alone does not make a Miss Universe. You must have the gift of the gab. Take for example, Liza Berroya, a publicized MENSA member. Her interview scores were not that astounding as compared to the other candidates. She did just fairly well in the evening gown and in the swimsuit which is her lowest score. Note that Santos even had a higher interview portion than Liza Berroya. In the case of Santos and Damiles who were within the striking distance of the Top 10, they could have benefitted with a Venezuelan training and personality development that would improve their overall chance to gain a slot in the semifinals. Damiles was said to have a low score in the interview portion. During the 90’s you have to get to have the ability to talk and communicate so that everyone will listen. It would have been the case for Charlene Bonnin also, if she could have understood the question so well, she would not have made that answer as inane as that. And that debacle where Miriam choked in the end, she would have been the 3^rd Miss Universe of the country had she prepared for the question. The issue on the question had been lingering during the contest because one candidate was sent home because she was pregnant. Candidates usually prepare for an eventual question, but it seems Mirriam was caught offguard of when the question was asked. On the other, the last candidate of the decade for whom everyone will finally clip the crown on her head did not make it. Although she had all the qualities to make it, good body, beautiful face and an intelligence that can match Lara Dutta, she failed to make it to the Top 10. Some say she is ranked number 12. Insiders say Nina Ricci was side stepped by the organizers because she has an attitude and it turned them off.

On the fifth note, during this decade, Venezuela is on the rise, assaulting the sensibilities of the times in terms of beauty standard. The Philippines was neither here nor there in this decade. Our candidates are always missing the mark. The 1999 experiment was a success and we were expecting that the next candidate after Miriam will have the same great support like her. However, the debacle after Nina Ricci made the Binibining Pilipinas organization probably think on another level and we will see how things went kaput in the next decade. 

THE MISS UNIVERSE SAGA – THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE (SERIES 2 OF 5)

THE FALTERING PERIOD (1981-1990)

By Jetset Alejandro

This decade I term it as faltering decade or a decade of indecisiveness. It is in this year that the organization seems to have veered away from the template of the formalism years. It is a period of quandary too. In other parts of the globe, for example Venezuela has practically started their beauty machines. But in the Philippines, it is a disdain to know that someone had something reconstructed or this and that. If natural beauties like Chat Silayan can make a mark in the international arena, then the present formula would probably suffice.

So in 1981, we still saw how the judges went for the beauty and cerebral. Maricar Mendoza was chosen as Miss Photogenic and gave out a real good answer in the question and answer portion. She was already said to be in the winning column as she graduated from the University of the Philippines. Maricar was tall and beautiful by the standards of her time but she did not matter in the Miss Universe competition as a Venezuelan, Irene Saez romped off with the title. Irene went on to be a woman of substance and meaning in Venezuela when she entered politics. A Top 12 was chosen but Maricar fared badly in the swimsuit competition.

In 1982, another UP student, Maria Isabel Lopez who was outspoken and easily says what is on her mind was chosen to represent the country in Lima, Peru. She was probably the candidate ahead of her time.  With her wit and wide outlook in life, Maria Isabel should have been a very good ambassador for the advocacy of Miss Universe at that time. But Maribel failed in her swimsuit presentation and a Canadian took the spotlight in that year in the person of Karen Baldwin. Had the contest been held probably in American soil or in Europe, Maribel would had been a hit.

In 1983, the Binibining Pilipinas crowned Rosita Capuyon who is in the mold of the formalism candidates. She was beautiful but she has the aura of the previous decade. In this year, Miss New Zealand, Lorraine Elizabeth Downes a 19 year-old charming lady was crowned as Miss Universe.

A come backing candidate Desiree Verdadero was crowned as the new Binibining Pilipinas 1984 winner. Desiree wowed the audience with her Malayan beauty and confidence that radiated and exuded grace and oomph. If you look at Desiree, she was in the mold of Chat Silayan and yet, it seems that the Binibini is not following prototypes that would truly be surefire hits for the country.

In 1985, a tall, svelte, mestiza Joyce Fellosas Burton was crowned as the winner in the pageant. All hopes were pinned on this girl. She does not fit the mold of an exotic brown Filipina but everyone loves a mestiza in the country. They embraced the girl for her good qualities. She could have given Miss Deborah Carthy-Deu of Puerto Rico a run for the crown. But there are reports that the Miss Universe Organization had just asked her participation and just enjoy the pageant as she cannot present a Philippine passport are true, then this is really a big injustice to all Filipino pageant fanatics. No one is really coming out to clear this issue but the fact that she did not have preliminary scores flashed onscreen my prove credence to these gossips in whispers.

A new hope to win the title of Miss Universe in 1986 has become paramount as the Philippines showed the world its brand of courage and bravery through the People’s Power Revolution. The Philippines is the darling of the world because of its historical event. But the Binibining Pilipinas failed to capitalize on that event as it sent a very weak candidate and in the annals of Philippine Pageant history garnered one of the lowest scores in the swimsuit category which was 6.86. Despite of whatever sterling qualities that Violeta had, she was never able to regain her fighting stature after that very low score in the swimsuit. Besides, Barbara Palacios Teyde of Venezuela was so formidable.

In 1987, a tall, long legged, fair-skinned and a very sociable girl was chosen to represent the country after the debacle in 1986. Geraldine “Pebbles” Asis represented the Philippines in Singapore where she was a semi-finalist. She was one of the front-runners at that time. She was number 5 in the preliminaries but in the final five, she was eased out because of a very low score in the interview. Geraldine is a mix of the formalism period and this indecisive period as she was educated in an exclusive school that is administered by nuns. She was taught to be prim and proper but as she went into her higher education, she became her gregarious self which made her good stead as she was able to reach out to more people most especially in the entertainment world that she has chosen to work for during her early career years.

The year 1988 saw the selection of the unheralded Perfida Limpin. Coming from the year where the Binibini selected a fair-skinned candidate, this time, Perfida fitted the criteria selection of the common but beautiful Filipina. She participated in the Miss Universe pageant in Taipei and the result was the so-called Asian Invasion. Unfortunately, Perfida was not part of the Asian domination. Many pageant aficionados say that had Perfida won at the time where the pageant is held in North America or in Europe she would have been a very big hit but since it was held in Taipei where the fair-skinned ladies are much more appreciated, she was relegated to the sidelines with the other Asian candidates that had predominantly dusky colors.

For 1989, the organization opted to go back to the dusky, intelligent but tall Filipina. Sarah Jane Paez was crowned as the Binibining Pilipinas Universe at that time. With those qualities, however, Sarah failed to make it to the Top 10. A beautiful lady from Holland with the name Angela Visser was crowned in Cancun, Mexico. In a retrospective show done, when Sarah Jane was interviewed, she said that she lost the confidence in herself when she saw the other candidates during her time. She became an instant fan and she was in awe with the other candidates. She lost competitive self in the pageant and hence, she never recovered. I have heard other Philippine candidates talk about this phenomenon and with Sarah talking about this, the reality of going through more intensive type of personality training should be in the offing. Added to this, she had good scores in the swimsuit and interview but her gown presentation was way way off.

For the year 1990, Germelina “Gem” Padilla was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Universe. This time, the organization opted for a tall, fair and intelligent Filipina. Gem as fondly called by her family, friends and fans, is a Political Science graduate from the University of Sto. Tomas. Had the format been a Top 12 or a Top 15/16, she would have made it since she ranked 12^th in the preliminaries. Her lowest score is the evening gown segment. With Gem Padilla’s closing the decade with a near inclusion to the semi-finalists circle, hopes were high that the Binibini will chart a course of repeating the past successes of the defining and formalism periods.

This period underscored certain facts. First, the ideal beauty changes through different milieu, culture and perspective. We cannot standardize beauty.* Something beautiful in Africa may not be beautiful in North America. Take for example, in 1984, Desiree Verdadero’s dusky beauty was such a hit in Miami, Florida. Pebbles Asis was very much appreciated also in Singapore because of her fair complexion. On the other hand, Perfida Limpin was totally unappreciated in that Asian invasion in Taipei. Second, a big percentage of our candidates during the period did not make it to the semifinalist circle because of very low scores in the swimsuit competition. ** The third phenomenon is a recurring issue until the present time, the evening gown. A poorly designed, made, fitted evening gown would spell disaster to a candidate even though she can weave herself into that gown.*** Fourthly, the communication department! The communication department does not make a complete candidate. But it contributes greatly to her ability to expound her ideas and thus be a very good mouthpiece for the organization searching for its queen, in this case, the Miss Universe.**** And lastly, a great personality! Our candidate should be able to charm her way to the crown and not cower in fear or hide in their shell in the face of threat or formidable competition.

Things have greatly changed from the defining and formalism period with this period. Modern day icons of beauty have emerged and the country’s beauty pageant machinery seems to be stagnating during this period. I have termed the period as an indecisive period as I do not feel that we have stagnated during this period. There were attempts to be at par with the other countries in their aim to maintain being in the leader board of beauty. But up to what extent? Shall we follow the lead of Venezuela who is into reconstructive surgery? Shall we further follow them to develop a well-rounded candidate?

During this period, a lot of countries train their candidates in personality development – social graces, speech and communication, language of the place where the pageant is to be held, hairstyles, make-ups and appropriate clothes and fashion. When other countries are taking the lead, the Philippines has a patchy performance in all these aspects. But if you take a review of the decade, there were other private entities that have propounded the concept but it never materialized. We wanted so much but we were so much less when gauged in totality. 

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*http://lacritique.net/article/standardization-beauty 

**http://www.ehow.com/how_2240711_choose-beauty-pageant-swimsuit.html

***http://www.wikihow.com/Model-Beauty-Pageant-Evening-Gowns

****http://www.abilia.org.uk/userfiles/46188/ABILIA_Export_Communication2.pdf

THE MISS UNIVERSE SAGA – THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE (SERIES 1 OF 5)

By Jetset Alejandro

I was 9 years old when Gloria Diaz conquered the universe and became the first Filipina to give the country pride about the famed beauty of its women. Pride was much greater in the paternal side of Gloria as she acknowledged half of her heritage that she was from La Union and that her father is from the idyllic town of Aringay. I can vividly recall all the elementary pupils from the town lined-up the streets where the motorcade will pass through and when the motorcade arrived, I broke from the line and ran to the old Spanish church of more than 400 years old where there will be a thanksgiving mass in her honor. Pride set in every one’s heart because she showed that she was one of us. More so, I was beaming with pride because I am part of those relatives rejoicing in a feat that someone from their kind won in an international contest.* People looked highly at Gloria because of the grandeur, cultured ways and spunk that emanated from her. There was never a sign of irritation from this girl who was catapulted to a Greek Goddess stature by her countrymen. As a young kid of 9 years of age, my passion for beauty pageants started with Gloria.

Every news item is lapped up whenever there is a pageant that is held in the country. We have to wait for the national newspapers to feature the results of the pageant. Televisions were black and white by then and slowly they evolved into colored viewing until this present time when the internet has almost taken over viewing pleasures in pageantry.

Year in, year out, we were monitoring what is happening in the pageant world. Beauty pageants all over the world are becoming popular and such rabid following can be felt in the Philippines. The turning point for Philippine pageantry is when the second Miss Universe from the Philippines was crowned in Greece, Miss Maria Margarita Moran. The following year, the pageant was held in the Philippines where Miss Spain Amparo Munoz Quesada was crowned as Miss Universe. Under the Marcos regime, the Philippines was being promoted as a new haven of peace, discipline and beauty. It is a place where the true, the good and the beautiful reside.

THE FORMATIVE PERIOD IS ALSO THE DEFINING PERIOD = 1964 – 1970

After Lalaine Bennet’s 4^th runner-up placement in the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant in 1963, Binibining Pilipinas became the new franchise holder for selecting the Philippine representative to the contest in 1964. For this seven-year period, the Philippines saw the entry of its representative three times to the semifinalist position. One eventually becomes Miss Universe which was in 1969 as we have discussed earlier. This period in Binibining Pilipinas history can be aptly called its formative years. I call it the formative years because it is a term for a period of growth and development. Some people say that a formative period is a transition period. But in more ways, it could be more of a defining period for the Binibining Pilipinas as their achievement in 1969 really established the foundation for selecting the most appropriate and deserving girl to represent us in the pageant.

THE FORMALISM PERIOD = 1971-1980

If we look at the years of 1971 -1980, there is a common denominator of the Philippine candidates that participated in the Miss Universe. This is a year where formalism among the candidates is observed. When we talk about formalism, it refers to the adherence to structured standard of the time as dictated by culture, tradition and mores. Take the case of Vida Doria in 1971. She was described as saccharine sweet, lovely and a paragon of primness, beauty and grace. Fashion designer Luis delos Santos describe her as very classy and beautiful in a Filipina way. In 1972, we sent Armi Barbara Crespo who was in every essence the paragon of the “Dalagang Pilipina” immortalized in the song with the same title. Armi was every inch the prim and proper type. She wore a long-sleeved polka dot dress with her hair made in a bun at the topmost side of her head. She moved with grace and fine movements. In 1973, Margie Moran continued the trend. She was simple yet graceful. She is structured and organized and she on that stage in Greece, she exemplified the gracefulness of a swan for which to some writers the Gods and the Goddesses of Greece bestowed her crown because of her Goddess upbringing.

 In 1974, Guadalupe Sanchez represented the country in the pageant where she played host.  Guada was described as snobbish yet regal as she exuded the air of royalty. In 1975, another favorite of mine was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Universe Rosemarie Chiqui Brosas who was 4^th runner-up in the Miss Universe during her time. Chiqui was very cultured. She has this very sweet and vibrant countenance and she moves with queenly demeanor. In 1976, Lizbeth de Padua, summa cum laude from UP Los Banos represented the country in the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant held in Hongkong. She was fashionable. She walked with grace. She talked with so much eloquence. In 1977, Anna Lorainne Kier jolted the pageant world winning the Bb. Pilipinas Universe title with a short hair. But still she was every inch the candidate that exemplified the regality of the Filipina at that time. She exuded grace and elegance.

In 1978, Jennifer Cortez was adjudged as the winner. It would seem that this is the transitional year to a decade of realism. Jennifer is spunky and egregious. She was practically a deviation of the formalism years. Although Jennifer was a very gracious person, she did not shine in the pageant.

Tempered probably by the result of the choice in 1978, in the year 1979, Criselda Cecilio who was simple, charming and refreshing was chosen to represent the country in Perth, Western Australia that year. She has a pleasant and a beautiful face with matching wit and eloquence but with the formidable competition at that time, she failed to make a dent in the competition.

In 1980, the Binibini went back to the time and tested “formal” beauties with the selection of Ma. Rosario Silayan. She was an epitome of grace and queenly demeanor. She was adjudged 3^rd runner-up in the pageant.

Note that in the formalism years, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975, the Philippines had a 4-year streak in the Top 5. After 4 years, the Philippines was back in the scene when the Chat Silayan garnered a 4^th place position in 1980. In 1971, it is also noteworthy that our candidate was chosen by the press to be Miss photogenic. In the formalism years, we had a 50% batting average in entering the semifinals and the Top 5 and we had a 10% performance rate in garnering the title of Miss Universe.

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* On the side, recalling those years, I feel the angst of my town mates when the majestic church crumbled during the July 11, 1991 earthquake that happened in Northern Luzon.