by Jetset Alejandro
It took a while before
I came out of a review of the Miss Universe 2012 owing to the demands of the
holidays. Some of my friends were asking me why I am so quiet about the results
of the pageant and that I did not start shooting everyone in the hip after Miss
Philippines managed only to finish first runner-up position. More so, her win
would have been very significant since Miss Philippines’ paternal grandparents
are from the same place of the first Philippine Miss Universe, Gloria Diaz. It
would have been doubly significant if she won. But fate would not have it.
However in essence, history was repeated. Janine ended up first runner-up and
she was an alumna of the oldest Philippine school, The University of Sto. Tomas
while in 1999, an alumna of the same school ended up second to Miss Botswana. I
am referring to Miss Mirriam Quiambao. Well, so much for those trivia. Let us
proceed to reviewing the Miss Universe 2012 beauty pageant.
INTRODUCTION
OF THE CANDIDATES:
The candidates walked
on the ramp coming from different places and were donned on Sherri Hill smart casual
dresses. The candidates did not really introduced themselves to the audience
but as they walk down the ramp you would hear the candidates through a
voice-over introducing themselves as they walk and as the camera focus on them.
I just felt that with the style, it takes away the excitement and I just felt
that the excitement did build up in going to the next part of the show.
Once the candidates
were all presented, the hosts were also presented. The main hosts were Giuliana
Rancic and Andy Cohen. I found both hosts very capable and very professional.
There was good professional rapport between the two of them.
The pageant annotator/commentator,
Jennie Mai was also very competent and there were no slip-ups that were noticed
on them as compared to previous editions of the pageant.
THE VENUE AND THE
STAGE:
The pageant was held at
the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It
was the fourth time the pageant was held in Las Vegas. It was first held in 1991,
then in 1996 followed by 2010. The stage was quite small with the ramp so short
and but the Christmas concept is admirable. It added liveliness to the somewhat
boring pace of the pageant.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE
TOP 16
Venezuela
was called first. She was quite surprised and she even looked at her sash if
she was really Miss Venezuela. What an act! But truthfully, the night seems to
augur well for Miss Venezuela. She was such a beauty. She was radiant. She was
ready to take the crown.
Turkey
came
on next. I was not surprised about the inclusion of Turkey. She was just there
hovering around our personal Top 24 candidate. She was charming. She was
splendid. She was simply great that night.
Another candidate that
did not surprise me is France. She
was in our pageant follower/writer Arnulfo Distor’s final list. She’s a beauty
and Arnulfo sees in her a enigmatic personality.
Peru
is
another candidate who is hovering in our list. However, she was eclipsed by
Miss Paraguay when we were making our Top choices. What I noticed with Peru is
her radiantly beautiful face.
Russia
is another in our hovering list. She may or may not qualify to the Top 16. But
she did! However, I would like to say that I love Miss Russia much more during
her national pageant. She has that naturally radiant innocent face. Although
she still possesses those sterling qualities, there seem to be problem with her
styling. She seemed to be much bigger also during the Miss Universe pageant.
Mexico
is considered by one of our writers as one of the Trump cards. Whether she is a
Trump girl or not, Mexico showed grace and confidence when she was called to
join the Top 15. She was simply resplendent.
Poland
is another girl that used to be in our Top 16 in our second round of choices.
She was still in the list but she slipped out of it when we did our prediction
list. Miss Poland was quite surprised when she was called to join the semifinalists.
She was a tall girl and she was both great and stunning that night.
I can just smile when Hungary was called. During our own
deliberations, she was one in my personal list but she was later delisted when
the choices of our survey respondents came in. She was fascinating as well as
attractive.
When Miss South Africa was called, I was ecstatic
as she is one of my personal favorites to enter the Top 16. She had a very regal
countenance and she had this aura of a winner stance already when she walked to
her place in front. She has this “my destiny” bearing when you look at her.
Miss Philippines is an overwhelming crowd
favorite. It seems like her performance is buoyed further by the crowd. Her
sterling performance is surely something to watch out for as we go further in
the competition.
My smile went further
when Miss Croatia was called after
Miss Philippines. I told myself, she is not the candidate that everyone is
talking about not to be called in. She was still the beautiful face that
launched a thousand ships. But I noticed that Miss Croatia seemed to be
lackluster when she was called in despite a loud applause coming from the
pageant fans rooting for her.
My smile turned to further excitement and
elation when one of my considered front-runner, Brazil was called to the Top 16. She was both stunning and splendid.
When Kosovo was called, I am of the impression
that she deserves the placement. She has a beautiful face. She projects well.
And she is dazzling.
And much more excitement
when Australia was called to join
the Top 16. Miss Australia was sparklingly good. She was radiant and she had
this face that can launch a thousand ships.
I was rather surprised
when Miss India was called to the
Top 16. I got this suspicion that she was the one that topped the internet voting.
Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen was focused who was so happy and overjoyed
with the inclusion of Shilpa in the Top 16.
Before USA was
announced, the camera panned into the side where Miss Puerto Rico was standing. I saw a smirk on her face. She probably
accepted the fact that she was not going to be called because the host country wasn't called out yet. And true enough, the last candidate to be called was Miss USA.
Miss USA brought the house down when she was
called last among the Top 16. She was of course the crowd favorite owing to the
fact that the pageant is being held in American soil. Her great personality
radiates and this personality overpowers others when they are beside her.
THE JUDGES were then
introduced and they are as follows:
1. Diego Boneta – a Mexican singer and actor
2. Kerri Walsh Jennings – American professional volleyball player. An Olympic medalist as a beach volleyball player.
3. Scott Disick – A businessman ; works for General Nutrition Center, Inc.
4. Nigel Barker - Sri Lankan-English former reality show personality, photographer, author, spokesperson, filmmaker, and former model. He is best known for his participation as a judge and photographer on the reality show America's Next Top Model.
5. Brad Goreski – Style Director for Rachel Zoe, Inc.
6. Claudia
Jordan – American television and radio personality. She is primarily known for
appearing as a model on the U.S. version of Deal or No Deal, and for competing
on Season 2 of the Celebrity
7. Pablo
Sandoval – nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda", is a Venezuelan professional
baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is
a two-time All-Star and has won two World Series championships with the Giants.
8. Lisa
Vanderpump – Restaurateur, Designer, Actress, and Humanitarian
9. Masaharu
Morimoto - Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef of America
10.
Ximena
Navarette – Miss Universe 2010 and a model.
THE SWIMSUIT
COMPETITION:
We saw all the
candidates in swimsuit and they had a small production number and this finally
introduced the top 16 candidates in the swimsuit competition.
When Venezuela came out, my impression on
her is that she is leading the competition. When I watched the preliminary
competition, Miss Venezuela was number 7 among the favorites of the people we
have surveyed. When we deliberated in Queentessence, she was number 4 in our
list. During the pageant night and the final review for this pageant, I have inkling
that she was number 1 in the list of the judges. Why? She was so marvelous and
a delight to watch. She was mesmerizing in the swimsuit round. Miss Turkey did just fine with her swimsuit
round. But from the way I saw her do her poses, I just have the thought that
she would probably be axed in the next round.
Miss France is simply stunning in the
swimsuit. She had a fantastic catwalk while Miss Peru should have capitalized her height and beautiful body, by maximizing
exposure such as doing a great catwalk. She
was flirtatious though.
Miss Russia appeared voluptuous. She however
appeared ethereal in that swimsuit. Miss Mexico
on the other was great. She has that drop-dead gorgeous body. She was good on
the ramp.
Poland
is another candidate that should have seized the swimsuit competition to favor
her. She has the height, the body and the charms. But instead she churned out a
lackluster performance. On the other hand Hungary
nailed her swimsuit round. She was oozing with confidence and sex-appeal.
South
Africa is so divine. What more could we say? She aced the
swimsuit round. On the other hand, the crowd was rapturous with Miss Philippines. She was great all
throughout the swimwear presentation. I did not even notice the change in her
walk as she said in her interviews that the straps in her heels loosened. She
is perfect in her catwalk.
Miss
Croatia is such a tad. She gives an uninspired walk. Miss Brazil was another divine
appearance. She is so elegant. She is so lovely.
Miss
Kosovo is also another beautiful girl but she seems
wanting because of an unsure walk. Miss
Australia is a revelation. What an hourglass figure coupled with a
saccharine sweet personality.
Miss
India looks hefty although she tried hard to make a
difference in her catwalk and poses. Miss
USA is another marvelous occurrence -very radiant and very comfortable in
her presentation.
When the candidates
occupied their positions in the Group of 16, I noticed that Miss South Africa
seems to be dwarfed by other candidates in terms of presence. Miss USA
overpowers her with her presence. Is this a portent to tell of what is going to
be next?
So based on their
performances in the swimsuit round, I predicted at this point that Miss Turkey,
Peru, Poland, Kosovo and India will be eliminated. They were joined by Miss
Croatia who was a front-runner but for one reason or another did not seem to
have the zest of showing a competitive stance.
THE TOP 10 CANDIDATES:
They were called in no
particular order - Australia, Russia, Brazil, France, Venezuela, USA, Hungary,
South Africa, Mexico and Philippines.
With performer Train
doing the musical number, the candidates competed for the evening gown segment.
Miss
Australia walked with a white bustier gown with appliqués in
the bodice. It was complemented with a long-flowing hairstyle that the pageant
annotator/commentator Jennie Mai took note of very well. She strutted the runway
very comfortably. She was a shoe-in to the Top 5 for when I saw her so full of
radiance.
Miss
Russia had a little moment of discomfort at the start of
her walk but she skillfully glided on stage. She wanted to showcase the
swimsuit cut of the gown which was attached to a blue skirt. I believe this is
not a gown that would perfectly showcase Miss Russia onstage. At this point, I
have the feeling she will not get into the Top 5.
Miss Brazil had a gown that was perfectly designed and cut to showcase her curves
and her designer excellently created the gown for her. She confidently and
excellently walked through the runway. I have this feeling Miss Brazil topped
this segment of the pageant
Miss
France sported a cream colored tight hugging gown. The
silver appliqués in the bodice created greater highlights for Miss France. She
is exquisitely beautiful.
Miss
Venezuela is in a green ensemble. It was described by Jennie
Mai as an exotic dress which highlighted the sexy body of Irene. She
confidently walked onstage and with my first impression, she continues to wow
the audience superbly. She is now neck to neck in the evening gown segment with
Miss Brazil.
Miss
USA
used a red silk velvet ball gown with a very plunging neckline that highlighted
her cleavage. She tripped at mid-stage and like any trooper she continued her
walk without getting annoyed of what had happened. She is there to enjoy the
competition. Her gown is something “like it or not.” In my case, I do not like it. But in fairness,
Miss USA showed great personality and it surely radiated.
Miss
Hungary presented a very simple gown in the bodice but is
ornately made in the bottom with frills and frills of clothes. She looks very
charming and sweet as she competed in this segment of the pageant.
Now Miss South Africa is truly great in
that golden gown. She was mesmerizing and she was near perfection.
Miss
Mexico’s gown is too cluttered. It is too busy on all fronts
-the neck line, the bustier portion and the leg area. The designer just doesn’t
seem to know what to highlight in Miss Mexico’s beautiful persona. The way I
see it, Miss Mexico just doesn’t seem comfortable with the gown.
Miss
Philippines worked her gown. It was not a real
stunning gown so to speak but at the start, she took the fan-pleated full skirt
and showed it and people saw it through. She was simply stunning and people
went wild when she did her pose with the left hand in a wrist drop demeanor. It
was a very splendid and delightful performance.
From my own evaluation,
Venezuela, Brazil, Philippines and Australia just hit the Top 5 mark. It is a
battle between USA and South Africa for the last spot. Alas, Miss South Africa
was edged out and gave way for Miss USA to join the Top 5 and eventually won
the competition.
THE QUESTION AND ANSWER
PORTION
I will not delve deeper
into the merits of the answers of the Top 5 since one of our writers wrote an
analysis on their answers. It is not worth repeating here. The candidates
called to the Top 5 were Miss Venezuela, Philippines, Australia, USA and Brazil.
I still adhere to my first notion that it is Miss Venezuela who is leading the
pageant.
However, when she was
called to answer the question given to her, she tried hard to answer in her
fractured English and the meaning of her answer was literally lost in the
forest so to speak.
Miss Philippines’ in a
response to a question given by Nigel Barker seemed to underscore why Miss
Venezuela should win Miss Universe. This time, Janine gave an answer that is
universally and politically correct but alas; the girl with the best answer did
not get the top plum.
Miss
Australia gave a very emphatic answer with the question about
being fat. And I cringe on her answer as she said that as long as she feels good
with herself, she is not going to follow others’ advice just to look good.
Well, the question is double-edged and it could be received positively and
negatively by the audience. In this day and time where everything is very
competitive and even weight is an issue, in real life, do you think Miss
Australia will even think about this even if she feels good about herself.
Now what about Miss USA? A lot of pageant pundits and
fans think that she won over a much better answer because she is honest, damn
honest and simplistic in her answer. Gone are the answers that are thematically
structured and well-thought of. It is now the time for real and simple answers.
Oh, oh, oh. Well, it is Miss Universe and it is an American pageant…Sour
graping? Hahahahaha….
Miss
Brazil sealed her fate. She gave a standard answer to a
question that had been asked in many pageants that I have watched. It was a
question that was rewritten and re-asked many times. It was an answer that was
given many times. What more could we ask for? Well, she could have given a new
twist to her answer but she managed just that.
THE
FAREWELL WALK
Outgoing Leila Lopez
was in a yellow ensemble and gave a farewell walk and speech. I do not know how
to react with Leila. She had the longest reign as Miss Universe and although
she was smiling all throughout, she seemed tired and seemed like to say, it is
finally over.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF
WINNERS:
After Miss Philippines
gave the most plausible and the best answer, everyone was expecting her to win.
However she did not. The announcement was quick.
FOURTH RUNNER–UP: Miss Brazil
THIRD RUNNER–UP: Miss Australia
SECOND RUNNER-UP: Miss Venezuela
FIRST
RUNNER-UP: Miss Philippines
MISS
UNIVERSE 2012 : MISS USA
POSTSCRIPTS:
1.
This edition of Miss Universe was really
done in a small scale. The production was scaled down and yet they tried to
give the whole presentation a new feeling- the Christmassy feeling.
2.
Camera men may be so mean. It focused on
the face of Miss Puerto Rico who gave a smirk prior to the announcement of Miss
USA as the last and the final candidate to the Top 16.
3.
Miss USA shown not clapping after Miss
Philippines gave a resounding answer to her question.
4.
Many people are still left wondering why
Miss South Africa did not make it to the Top 5. It could have been her instead
of Miss Brazil. But we will feel empty and disheartened too that Miss Brazil is
left out because it was our contention that there is a diamond in her for the
picking and we were not wrong after all. It would be too much to ask for Miss
USA since she was the eventual winner. Suffice to say that the pre-pageant
favorites do not make eventual winners. In this case, Miss South Africa, Miss
Puerto Rico, Miss Paraguay and Miss Netherlands were unlucky. At least Miss
South Africa entered the Top 16 and Top 10.
5.
Many fans point out that what is the use
of the Question and Answer portion if it is not the determining point of who should
be the eventual winner. If it would be the overall performance of the
candidate, then it would be useless to select the Top 5. The concept of a
reality show from the Top 16 wherein they compete and show that they have the best
bodies, walk and poise in the swimsuit segment. Then they are trimmed to Top 10
to compete in the evening gown. Then with the Top 5 in the evening gown they
are asked of the question to get the best of them all. So it is dumbfounding to
say that they were evaluated as to their overall performance.
6.
When emotions are already down and we
get to simmer down and analyze what happened, it would come down to the point
that the choice is still personal. All the different judges have their own
personal choices. They have different tastes. They have different likings. They
have different thoughts. Although the choice of Miss Philippines over Miss USA
is the populist choice, the judges probably felt that Miss USA adhered more to
the qualities and characteristics of what the Miss Universe Organization is
looking for.
7.
This is just a pageant and a contest.
There are winners and there are losers. Some winners are magnanimous in victory
while some losers are purely sore. Well, the pageant is over. There is another year
to look forward to. The search is already on for the contenders to the throne
for 2013.
