Miss U fans cheer for bets
Pageant fans all over the world have descended here to cheer for their bets competing at the “most prestigious” beauty pageant in the world or universe.
During the 65th Miss Universe preliminary competition on Thursday, fans came to the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena armed with flags, banners and football horns called vuvuzelas as 86 candidates sashayed in their swimwear, evening gowns and national costumes.
The loudest cheers went to the hometown rep Maxine Medina, who stunned the most in her glittering vinta-inspired costume complete with a mother of pearl studded headdress that reportedly cost P1M.
The 26-year-old model and interior designer was clearly in her element, looking none the bothered she was causing a little stir on social media right after she said former First Lady Imelda Marcos “invented the terno” in a video aired early in the show.
Meanwhile, other countries that had the strongest cheerleaders were Thailand, Venezuela, USA, Colombia and Sierra Leone. The latter has turned out to be a sentimental favorite of Pinoy pageant fans after designers from Cebu responded to her call for sponsorship being the first-ever Miss U candidate from her country.
How the contestants fared in the preliminaries somehow served as a preview of who will comprise the Top 12 and eventually take over the Miss U crown from Pia Wurtzbach on Jan. 30 at MOA Arena.
And it’s not just the beauties who have their eyes on the prize. The faith remains equally strong among their supporters.
“(My daughter) will win. She will win, in the name of Jesus!” Kathy Romero, mother of Miss Ecuador Connie Jimenez, told The
STAR. Romero, who traveled for a total of 36 hours with her husband and other family members, was seen cheering in Spanish from inside the venue to the MOA entrance steps.
For Riza La Paz, Miss New Zealand 2015 first runner-up, Miss New Zealand Tania Dawson’s being half-Filipino is an advantage.
“(Her being half-Filipino) helps in a way because the pageant is held in the Philippines. She has family supporting her and it was easier for her to come over here and for us to support her,” said La Paz, who was born in the Philippines but grew up in New Zealand.
Francesca, sister of Miss Germany Johanna Acs, admitted they were a bundle of nerves last Thursday.
“But I think she did it perfectly. We love her evening gown. It was different from the others because everybody had sparkling (ones). I think her face is really pretty and she really showed that and her national costume was great,” she said of her older sister who wore a miniature castle on her head as her national costume. “I think ours was pretty unique. We were really scared because it’s hard to handle that, it was heavy. We thought she didn’t have to walk but she had to. But she handled everything perfectly.”
Miss Puerto Rico Brenda Azaria Jimenez’s mother, also her namesake, said, “Brenda works very hard to bring to Puerto Rico the sixth (Miss Universe) crown after Dayanara Torres. I am excited because I know that my daughter is doing her best to obtain the crown. We traveled for more than 36 hours, more than a two-day (trip), but we are very happy to be here.”
Miss Mexico Kristal Silva’s supporter Andres Moreno, on the other hand, said of his bet: “Her dream was to be here. You know, she came to the Philippines for Miss Earth and was Top 8. And she applied again for Miss Mexico and she was accepted. That transmits that she wants the crown. For me, she is the master, and I’m proud to follow her.”
As for the supporters of Miss Venezuela Mariam Habach, they know what they’re going to do on coronation day. Francisco Fernandez, who came with his friends, told The STAR: “I think we will be celebrating because we’re gonna win!”
To these foreigners, Philippines is the place to be for Miss Universe.
Francesca said, “We love it here. It’s crazy! I think it’s the best country to do this pageant because everybody is so enthusiastic and everybody is so nice whenever we go out for dinner. I can’t believe that there’s another country better for this pageant.”
Francisco, for his part, said, “I feel like I’m home. Actually, there are many similar things like food, the people and the weather.”
A second timer to the Miss U show, he shared that the first time was in Las Vegas in 2015 when Wurtzbach won. “It was unbelievable! Actually, I was already expecting she would win the crown when she was in Top 5.”
“I think she did very well as Miss Universe. It was a very hard year for the Miss U organization,” he added, referring to the transition of the pageant to new owners WME/IMG, “Everybody loves her.”
These foreign pageant fans readily conceded it’s tough to compete with the Filipino pageant fandom.
That Pinoys are among the biggest pageant fans out there is no empty claim, said Jose Pepe Merel, who’s dubbed in Mexico as a “beauty pageant historian.”
Jose, who also teaches at the National University of Mexico, said it’s “very, very expensive” to travel all the way to the Philippines. But he claimed it’s been worth it.
“The difference here is that I think, the most strong fans in the world are the Filipinos. Really! Stronger than Mexicans. For example, in Miss World last December in Washington, 30 percent of the audience was from the Philippines, that’s incredible! Another example was in 2006, in Los Angeles, where a lot of Mexican people live, so you can say, we are like the owner of the state. But when Philippines appeared, they were ‘woooh!’ (Cheering was more wild). Maybe the whole country traveled to the beauty pageant!” Jose said.
Jose, who has not missed any live staging of Miss U since 2001, proudly showed The STAR his personal scrapbook of 40 autographed photos of Miss U winners, including the Pinay queens Wurtzbach and Margie Moran, Miss U ’74. He only lacks Gloria Diaz’s so he’s hoping he’ll meet the Miss U ’69 while in Manila.
He said, “It’s my hobby, it’s a very big hobby. Everybody knows I’m here. I support the girls in Mexico, it’s my passion. I’m happy to follow the beauty pageants. Miss Universe is the best week of the year for me!”