Blogger crowned My Pretty Mama 2018
A27-year-old makeup artist and blogger bested 10 other mothers to win the My Pretty
Mama 2018 crown during the coronation held Saturday at
The Stage of Emall.
Lyssa Amor Diaz, a mother of a four-year-old boy named
Shin, took home P50,000 worth of prizes. She also won the most number of awards, such as Best in Evening Gown, Best in Production Number, Alberto’s Choice and The FREEMAN’s Choice.
The mothers competed in the pre-pageant talent competition, and showed their fire throughout the coronation wherein they strutted down the stage for their production number, walked elegantly in their modern ternos, and exuded confidence and strength in their warrior queen ensembles. The festival costume segment in previous editions was replaced this year with the warrior queen category to stress our mothers’ courage and fortitude. In the final category, the finalists also presented their wisdom in a preliminary interview.
After the modern terno competition, 11 candidates were cut to six finalists, and being Freeman’s Choice, Diaz, from Apas, Lahug, Cebu City automatically catapulted herself onto the Magic Six. Alongside Diaz in the top six were 39-year-old real estate agent Jeanelyn Genabe from Babag, Lapu-Lapu City; 31-yearold businesswoman Anna Saycon from Bacayan, Cebu City; 35-year-old businesswoman Leni Gaspan from Liloan; 24-year-old-singer and second year travel management student at Cebu Technological University Grace Montejo from Lawaan, Talisay City; and 27-year-old professor and laboratory preceptor Fleur Sumalpong from Basak, Pardo Cebu City.
During the preliminary interview, Diaz, who was not fully recovered from a reeling fever the night before, was asked what she would like to change in her past.
“If I were to change something in my past, it would be to rest during my second pregnancy,” Diaz began. “I was a career woman. I am a career woman and I worked hard as a mother and as a pregnant woman. But I lost my child because of that. So if I would be given the chance to turn back time, I will rest so I can be with my baby right now.”
For the final question and answer portion, the finalists were asked how they plan to contribute to the My Pretty Mama organization should they become the next queen.
Diaz answered, “What I can contribute to the organization is that first and foremost, I believe the crown comes with great responsibility and that is to award mothers for all the hard work, sacrifices, and efforts that they did for the family. So I would do that. And at the same time, I would promote my own advocacy which is to help all the other mothers, empower them, especially those who are experiencing depression.”
Diaz, who says she joined the competition because of the cause behind it, is now tasked to encourage love and selflessness, and