Philippines’ Crowning Moment in 2015 International Beauty Pageants

By: Jovie Calma

 

It is noted that beauty pageants have been popular in the Philippines since they were brought to the country by the American colonial government in the first half of the 20th Century. Since then, our home country followed beauty pageants as passionately and as wildly as boxing. National beauty pageants in the country are taken seriously with tremendous interest of the Filipinos as a celebration and a mere reflection of the culture.

It has pageants everywhere for all ages. There are a bevy of titles for straight and gay men and women, transgenders, transsexuals, crossdressers, little girls and boys, housewives and grandmothers. From the various Little Miss Philippines, That’s My Boy, Mr. Handsome, Miss Gay Philippines, etc., to the numerous small-scale beauty pageants held in every school, barangay, city, municipality or province.

It’s evident how many pageant enthusiasts and mothers will do anything to train their daughters to become future beauty queens. From the walk, the talk, the gown, the talent, and of course, the physical attributes and the wit. Likewise, I had a fair share of unforgettable experience as a beauty queen myself during my youthful days. For every occasion held in local communities, there is bound to be a beauty pageant and will produce impressive candidates to compete in national beauty pageants who will then represent the country for International Beauty Pageants.

Last year, 2015, was an amazing year for the Philippines as it holds an impressive record winning as the country’s representatives have snagged prominent spots on the international stage. These beauty queens have definitely given the country a big boost in the global beauty pageant circuit, as their placements made the Philippines as the only country with finalists in every major international beauty pageants.

The “Big Four” international pageants are Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International and Miss Earth. The Philippines has won all of the Big Four titles, more than once. It was in 1969 when the first man landed on the moon and it was also then, when the 18-year-old Ms. Gloria Diaz was crowned as the most beautiful woman on the planet as the Miss Universe, the very first for the Philippines. This crowning glory sparked the interest of the Filipinos in beauty pageants. So far, the Philippines has snagged one Miss World title with Megan Lynne Young as the title holder in 2013, five of Miss International, Gemma Teresa Cruz-Araneta (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), and Bea Rose Santiago (2013), three of Miss Earth, Karla Paula Henry (2008), Jaime Herrell (2014) and Angelica Ong who beat out 85 beautiful ladies for the crown winning the title of Miss Earth 2015 succeeding the Philippines Jamie Herrell, at the pageant’s coronation night held in Vienna, Austria on December 5, 2015. Miss Philippines Ann Lorraine Maniego Colis was crowned 2015 Miss Globe in Toronto, Canada on October 8th making history as the first-ever Filipina to win the title. With the Miss Universe, Gloria Diaz paved the way for the Philippines in 1969 followed by Margarita Moran in 1973. Since then, the most coveted crown was elusive and after 42 years, the 26-year-old model Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach won the 2015 controversy-marred pageant.

But how did Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach start? I met Jonas Gaffud in Miami. He’s the CEO of Mercator, a large modeling agency in the Philippines where Pia had her training. Jonas was gracious enough to share his blog, which chronicles Pia’s journey for Miss Universe. Jonas shared: “Pia and I had three encounters in 2012 before I took her under my wing as an aspiring beauty queen. I first saw her in a restaurant with her friends. I told her she could join a pageant but she had to undergo series of trainings. She said yes, but I never heard from her again. I saw her for the second time during the Star Magic Ball. She was a young, carefree, happy-go-lucky girl. She did not even recognize me, so I assumed she really wasn’t interested. Her ambition was to become a TV and movie star. The third time I saw her was in a mall in Makati City, my favorite hangout with my friends after work. I saw her walking with her friend, Harley. I called her over and scolded her for snubbing me at the ball and she apologized.

Then I asked her, “Are you serious about the pageant? You could win you know.” To which she replied, “Really? I could join?” This was the first time I saw her eyes sparkle with genuine enthusiasm. I assured her she could win, but not without conditions. I told her she had to train very hard. I was quite surprised when she exclaimed, “Finally, I have something to do with my life!” because she was already in showbiz at that time, but I later found out that she just finished shooting a soap opera and did not have any other project anymore.

We called all the girls who wanted to join our camp, Aces and Queens, to be briefed about our scheduled trainings in poise, walking, interview and fitness. One of those girls was Ariella Arida, who came to my office to apply as a model. I told her I wanted her to join the local pageant instead. We began training the girls later in 2012 but we had to cut it short because we were prepping Janine Tugonon for Miss Universe that was to be held in December of that year. I had high hopes for Janine to win the Miss Universe crown because I was confident after finishing strong two years in a row (Venus Raj and Shamcey Supsup). I felt I was finally beginning to figure out how to train the girls to be their best for this particular title.

Of course, as we later on witnessed, Janine almost won the crown and settled for First Runner- Up. Getting so close really made me hungry for that crown. During the 2013 screenings, it was Ariella and Pia who went first. I knew that pageant fans and organizers would notice them already. During the course of the pageant from January to March, Pia would always top our list of contenders. The only reservation we had was that she looked very mestiza (because of her half-Filipino, half- German lineage).

We thought that a dusky girl would have better chances of winning the Miss Universe Philippines title. That was Bb. Pilipinas’ 50th year and we really prepared our best. I was gunning for a fourth shot at the top title. We were thrilled that a handful of our girls made it to the top 5: Pia as First Runner-Up, Cindy Miranda as Miss Tourism and Ariella Arida as Miss Universe Philippines. (Ariella eventually got the third runner-up honors in Miss Universe held in Moscow, Russia, our country’s fourth consecutive top 5 placement – quite an impressive feat already at that time).

I advised Pia to be a good first runner-up. I encouraged her to consider another shot. She told me, “Sasali talaga uli ako hanggat makakuha ako ng korona.” (I will keep on joining until I win a crown).

As we were preparing our girls for the 2015 tilt, Pia was in London healing her broken heart. I knew she wanted to join for the last time because of the age limit. We were just waiting for her to say so but we already went ahead and trained other girls. When she came back, she was out of shape, as she gained a lot of weight while she was away. I was very disappointed and was very frank with her.

I asked her how come she wanted to join again but did not have the discipline to keep herself in shape. I guess my disappointment was magnified because we really wanted her to win and it was her last chance!

So we took her in again anyway and just hoped for the best. We knew it was a tough battle because that batch was particularly strong. I went to the Miss Universe Pageant in Miami earlier this year (January), to accompany Ariella Arida who was picked as the Miss Universe web host. Our representative that time was not from our camp and it was a blessing in disguise because I was not under any pressure. I was able to have access as an insider and I got to be more objective about how the whole thing goes.

While watching the finals, I kept imagining who was the strongest girl in our camp that year, and who has the best chance to be Miss Universe. The questions kept floating in my mind – until a friend in Los Angeles, Renz, asked me the same question aloud: “We have been doing great in Miss Universe lately, so who do you think is likely to get that elusive crown?” All of a sudden, the picture was getting clearer and clearer, I closed my eyes, I remembered her face, and slowly I answered back, “It’s Pia Wurtzbach.”

Congratulations to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach as the newly crowned Miss Universe 2015! You’re a living proof that “third time is a charm”! Thank you for sharing your mantra “Never settle when you can dream bigger”.

After many years of being trapped in the Top 10, we finally claimed the crown and embraced the most coveted Miss Universe title!

To Mr. Steve Harvey, I would like to commend you for stepping up and acknowledging your mistake. You can easily walk away but took the responsibility. I admire your courage and humility. To all my Pinoy kababayans, I’ve worked with Mr. Harvey and his crew in several fashion segments here in Chicago and he’s very humble and generous.

We’re proud of you Pia, your commitment to win the crown is a reflection of your tenacity and perseverance- you’re an inspiration and truly a pride of the Philippines! What a great way to end 2015 and reach for our dreams and aspirations as we welcome 2016! May the force of our new Miss Universe triumph and victory be with you all!

Congratulations to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach as the newly crowned Miss Universe 2015! Confidently beautiful with a heart! Photo credits: Nuno Photography

VT/CPRTV’s Jovie Calma’s photo opportunity with Jonas Gaffud, CEO of Mercator where Pia Wurtzbach had her training.