A Beautiful Nationalism

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Rose Marie Brosas, Bb. Pilipinas 1975 at Miss Universe 1975

The Philippines hosted the 1974 Miss Universe Pageant. As such, Manila did not only witness the gathering of the world's most beautiful women, it also had to employ its most beautiful citizens as usherettes, escorts and stage hands. The usherettes were donned in traditional mestiza dress, the symbol of the Filipina and of the Philippines.

One of the beautiful usherettes during the pageant is Ms. Rose Marie Brosas, a student from Makati. While doing her job, she dreamed of taking part of the contest. A year later, in 1975, at San Salvador, El Salvador, Rose Marie found hereself still donned in a traditional mestiza dress, but this time as a National Costume. She represented the Philippines in the 1975 Miss Universe Pageant.

There were 71 beautiful delegates from all over the world competing at the Gimnasio Nacional in San Salvador, El Salvador, 19th July 1975. Rose Marie made it through the first cut. She was the 5th to be called during the announcement of the twelve semi-finalists. The other semi-finalists were Haiti, Finland, El Salvador, Colombia, England, Japan, Israel, Ireland, Brazil, Sweden and USA.

Rose Marie Brosas is a beautiful person. She speaks her mind very clearly and spontaneously. I could only wish that host, Bob Barker, could have asked her more substantive questions during the casual interview for us to take a better peek at her mind.

Rose Marie wore a sleeveless red gown by Pitoy Moreno which spread like a butterfly. It was rather a fashion forward gown of its time. Most delegates wore gowns with sleeves. Rose Marie's gown help her exude her grace. She made it as one of the top five finalists. The other finalists were Finland, Haiti, U.S.A. and Sweden.

During the top five interview, Bob Barker said: "Each of the delegates will be asked a question of general interest not to test her education or knowledge but only to give the judges one last chance to see her in an ad-lib situation."

Ms. Philippines was asked: "If you become Miss Universe of 1975 what one individual other than your parent would have made the greatest contribution to your success and why?"

She answered: "Well I think it would be the judges because they were the ones who voted for me if I become Ms. Universe."

She answered well under pressure. Her answer had a simple truth in it. All the top five delegates deserved the crown. And as such, the fate of the winner lies in the votes of the judges. If the audience were to judge, the winner would have been Ms. Sweden. She received long applause every time she is called. But the audience were not the judges. The judges chose the beautiful Ms. Finland, Ana Marie Potahmo, as Miss Universe 1975 and Miss Philippines was Fourth Runner Up.

Miss Universe 1975, Ms. Finland Ana Marie Potahmo, and her court. Miss Philippines Rose Marie S. Brosas (far left) is Fourth Runner Up. Photo credit: http://www.globalbeauties.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Maria Rosario Silayan, Bb. Pilipinas 1980, at Miss Universe 1980

The 1980 Miss Universe top 5 finalists. Miss Philippines Maria Rosario Silayan is 3rd Runner Up.
Photo Credit: Norman's Blog

One thing great about Maria Rosario Silayan, Binibining Pilipinas 1980, is that her beauty radiates from within. She was beautiful from inside and out. She was beautiful physically and more so when she spoke her heart and mind. She was very intelligent and can engage in any conversation on almost any topic. She represented the Philippines in the 1980 Miss Universe pageant held in Seoul, South Korea.

There were 69 beautiful delegates from all corners of the globe. And Rosario's journey towards the top five was hell of an exciting ride. While front runners USA, Sweden, Scotland, New Zealand almost effortlessly secured for themselves the top four (4) slots. Ms. Philippines literally had to brace up against Misses Canada and Puerto Rico for the last slot. During the preliminary competitions, Ms. Philippines placed 6th while Puerto Rico and Canada placed 3rd and 5th respectively. Fortunately, all the preliminary scores were nullified and the top twelve contestants had to compete anew in finals before a new set of judges.

The first category was interview. Here, Miss Philippines showed remarkable wit and charm. She was also very calm, confident and spontaneous. She answered the questions with whatever pops out of her mind. She ranked 4th in the interview while Misses Canada and Puerto Rico placed 6th and 7th places respectively. The second category was swimsuit, where Miss Canada made a considerable margin against her two close rivals. Miss Canada ranked 5th, while Misses Philippines and Puerto Rico tailed off at 6th and 7th places.

The last category was the evening gown. Miss Philippines nailed this category with her elegance and grace and an unforgettable serpentina blue gown designed by Renee Salud. She made a very high score, second only to Ms. USA who was the judges' favorite. Eventually, Ms. Philippines secured a comfortable spot at the top five (5). She ranked fourth (8.196), with USA first (8.640), New Zealand second (8.361), Sweden third (8.268), Scotland fifth (8.192). Misses Canada and Puerto Rico were waylaid.

The last round of competition was the question and answer where each of the top five will draw from lots a question and was required to answer it immediately. Ms. Philippines answered the question well and so did other finalists. There was no more scoring at the question and answer portion. The Judges were only asked to ranked the five finalists in their order of preference.

Naturally, the judges' favorite, Miss USA, Shawn Nichols Weatherly won the crown. She deserved it though for she managed to maintain a clear margin from the rest of the delegates in all categories and in all phases of the pageant. Ms. Philippines was declared 3rd Runner Up, also great finish! When all the 69 beautiful delegates deserve the crown, to be at the top five(5) was already a great achievement.

Rosario was a pride of the Philippines. She was an unforgettable face, a beautiful heart and a smile that's endearing to the heart.

Note: Rosario died at the age 46 on April 23, 2006 due to colon cancer.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Ma. Desiree Verdadero, Bb. Pilipinas 1984, at Miss Universe 1984

At the outset, there's nothing special about Ma. Desiree Verdadero, Bb. Pilipinas 1984 and the Philippine representative to Miss Universe 1984. She's not the most beautiful woman in the Miss Universe pageant. (There were lots of incredibly beautiful women from among the 81 representatives. Misses Germany, Sweden and Venezuela are but few examples.) Neither was she the most intelligent, and at the coronation night, she wasn't as bubbly.

But there's something about her that other candidates did not posses. Desiree had an irresistible charm. This charm is very natural to her that everything she does on stage seemed so charming. This charm is present in her eyes, in her smile, in her walk, in her answer and even in how she wear her hair. This charm made her one of the strongest contenders in the pageant.

This charm was first noticed by the first set of judges who judged the preliminaries. Desiree ranked second to Ms. Sweden in the top ten. This charm was again noticed by the final set of judges during the coronation night where she ranked third to Misses Sweden and Venezuela in the top five.

Besides the charm, Desiree had an incredible body. She possessed a shapely body which was revealed during the swimsuit competition. She ranked third place (tied with Miss Germany) at the swimsuit competition. Her Filipiniana-inspired colorful long gown, designed by Renee Salud, was unforgettable. She also ranked third place at the long gown competition.

The most deciding factor of the competition was the question and answer portion where the top five finalists were asked the same question. The question was: Should you be the Miss Universe, you will be a symbol to young women and girls all over the world, what would like to tell them?

She answered: "Well all I want to tell them is being Miss Universe is pride and I'd like to spread peace and goodwill to all nations."

The answer was good. But there were better. Miss Sweden and Miss South Africa answered the question superbly. Miss Sweden, Yvonne Ryding, eventually won the crown. Miss Philippines was 3rd Runner Up.

It was a great finish for Desiree and for the Philippines. It was a tough competition and being at the top five was already a great honor. The Miss Universe 1984 was held at James L. Knight Convention Center in Miami, Florida, USA on July 9, 1984. There were 81 representatives from all over the world.

3rd Runner-Up Desiree Verdadero (Philippines), Miss Universe 1984 Yvonne Ryding (Sweden) and 2nd Runner-Up Carmen Maria Montiel (Venezuela). (Photo credit: http://normannorman.com/)

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Pageants Unite the Nation

There are only few events that unite a rather diverse Filipino society. The list may include: (1) an impeachment trial, (2) Pacquiao's boxing match and, (3) an international beauty pageant. People from all walks of life, young and old, stop and watch beauty pageants wherever they are and whenever they can. Though, unlike any of Pacquiao's boxing matches that free highways from heavy traffic, beauty pageants shut beauty parlors to a holiday.

As the world progressed, beauty competitions faced issues of irrelevance and women exploitation., among others. Pageant organizers eventually reaffirm the pageants' relevance by pushing for advocacy like environmentalism, women empowerment, international cooperation and beauty with a purpose. This drastically changed the face of the pageants and it became tougher and tougher as countries do not only send beautiful women, they also send those with careers, intelligence and with genuine advocacies.

The success of a candidate is also considered as an achievement of her country. One can often hear a successful candidate saying that her crown is her gift to her people. It is also uncommon to see state flags waved by the audience as their candidate is called.

Here are some of the most beautiful Filipinas who conquered the world stage.