Tonight is one of the most important events of Aliwan Fiesta 2015 at the CCP Complex- the crowning of this year’s Reyna ng Aliwan from among the twenty-one (21) Festival Queen contenders.
And while we tend to overlook its festivities more often than not, it cannot be denied that the festival focus gives the whole pageant a more traditional color, what with the ladies parading in their dazzling costumes and trying to outshine one another in the process. There are no swimsuit segments here – just pure joy in the appreciation of each region’s colors and celebration.
And as usual, I have short-listed my favorites to win the crown. Two of them are actually familiar names and faces to you, dear readers. One is Gazini Christianna Jordi Ewamer (or Gazini Ganadaos, if you will) representing the Sinulog Festival of Cebu. The other one is Alexandra Faith Garcia for the Dinamulag Mango Festival of Zambales. The former was in Miss World Philippines 2014, while the latter took part in Mutya ng Pilipinas 2014.
The three other ladies in my Top 5 are Jaymie Lou Palermo Pagulayan from Bato Art Festival of Luna, Isabela, Errolha Lynn Seballos from the Tuna Festival of General Santos City and Stephanie Abellanida from the Halad Festival of Midsayap, North Cotabato. Their photo grid is right below.
Cindy Madumma during last year’s Miss Tourism World in Venezuela
Tomorrow afternoon from 1pm to 6pm at the Icon Hotel in North EDSA, Quezon City, the 3rd Preliminary Screening of Miss Tourism Philippines 2015 will be held.
If you’re interested and have met the qualifications stated above, then make sure that you present yourself in the same. Who knows, you might just be the girl to follow Cindy Pacia Madumma (left photo) who represented the country at the Miss Tourism World 2014 Finals held in Venezuela.
This one’s happening tonight at the Hotel Pontefino in Batangas City
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Tonight at 6:00PM, the annual Swimsuit Fashion Show and Resort Wear Competition of Miss Philippines Earth 2015 will take place at Hotel Pontefino in Batangas City.
This year’s Official Candidates will compete to win the medals alloted for the special award. Expect an event that will bring out the most physically fit and the most summer chic among them.
If you’re residing somewhere in Batangas City or taking a quick weekend break there, see if you can buy tickets to watch the competiton. Refer to the contact number above to know more. ;-)
This fun run will happen starting at 5:00AM tomorrow. Be fit and run with the girls!
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. The schedule of the Miss Philippines Earth 2015 Official Candidates in Batangas City will be hectic to say the least. After tonight’s Resort Wear Competition at Hotel Pontefino (which is very likely to finish late, with some socials still following afterwards), they will need to wake up very early to make time for the “Run for Earth with Miss Philippines Earth“. Here, they will need to negotiate a 3K Run alongside the registered joiners of the event.
This Fun Run is for the benefit of the Calumpang River Rehabilitation.
Starting line will be at the SM City Batangas Parking Grounds. Assembly time will be 5:00AM. ;-)
The winning entry – “The Manuvu Princess” by
Jay-R Gamboa Flores from Isulan, Sultan Kudarat
When fellow blogger Remus Mark Carballo ran the ProudlyFilipinoMade National Costume Design Contest in his site, I had much interest in reviewing the submissions and felt a lot of pride in seeing the chosen winners in the same. Its advocacy is “…to promote the use of Filipino-made designs for Miss Philippines’ national costume and evening gown in international pageants specially Miss Universe…” It really goes to show that – once given the right break – the creative genius of the Filipino can really shine through in the global pageant stage.
Winner of the contest (the top placer’s design is on the left) is “The Manuvu Princess” entry by Jay-R Gamboa Flores from Isulan, Sultan Kudarat. The judges include fashion designers Santi Obcena, Mac Taug and Joseph Aloysius Montelibano.
I took the liberty of sharing the four (4) other designs which made the Top 5. Check here to see the post about the winners.
Yes, they are both former Bb. Pilipinas beauty queens. And yes, they are best buddies as well.
The shot was taken in Zambales by Life+Style Photographer Louie Arcilla.
If you love the swimsuits, head on over to The Luxe Resort to find out more.
And if you guessed (without quickly scrolling down to this point) that the babe in black is Bb. Pilipinas Pilipinas Tourism 2014 Parul Shah and the one in white is Bb. Pilipinas World 2007 Maggie Wilson-Consunji, then you’re absolutely right.
When news floated last year that Mr. World will become an annual event instead of every-other-year, the development was welcomed by pageant fans all over. And with Sam Ajdani (photo above) already announced as the Philippine entry to Mr. World 2015 (simultaneous with the selection of John Spainhour as last year’s bet), the anticipation for the next edition grew even more. What’s more, there were even talks that the country is bidding to host here in Manila.
But why the return to silence once more? It’s like everything is back to square one without any sign/s of life coming from the organizers. I hope that the concerned individuals can give us an update just to get an indication that things are still being actively drawn for Mr. World 2015.
I wouldn’t want to see all the preparations of Sam going to naught. :-/
The three (3) reigning winners of Miss Grand Thailand. Pla (middle) represents two (2) titles.
The fifty (50) Official Candidates of Miss Grand Thailand 2015 have been presented to the media in Bangkok the other day. Led by Pageant Owner Nawatt Itsaragrisil and three of his reigning winners – Miss Grand Thailand 2014 (and also Miss Supranational Thailand 2014) Parapadsorn Disdamrong, Miss Intercontinental Thailand 2014 and Miss Intercontinental 2014 Patraporn Wang and Miss Tourism Thailand 2014 Warangkanang Wutthayakorn – the top placer will be Thailand’s entry in the next Miss Grand International scheduled for the last quarter of 2015.
As we all know by now, the Miss Earth franchise is no longer part of this pageant. So I can already smell a new one being introduced in the upcoming months.
I will post the promising contenders in a future feature. ;-)
The variety of festival costumes and contenders are more than rnough to draw anyone in. Photo credit: Collin Yap
There are two perfectly good reasons why Reyna ng Aliwan continues to be a crowd-drawer at the CCP Complex year after year during the Aliwan Fiesta. And this edition is no exception. Aside from the beautiful ladies vying to be the best among the best Festival Queens, the equally gorgeous costumes are more than enough to satisfy any stone-cold member of the audience.
I just wish that the makers of the National Costumes of our pageant representatives will take an inspiration or two from the celebratory attires of these ladies.
Do you agree, dear readers? ;-)
All photos in this post are courtesy of Collin Yap.
One of the latest shots of Bb. Pilipinas Universe 1993 Melinda “Dindi” Gallardo (Photo courtesy of thefilam.net)
It is quite interesting to note that Bb. Pilipinas Universe 1993 Melinda “Dindi” Gallardo is back in the Philippines. For good. According to the article by Ricky Lo published in his Funfare column on the Philippine Star, she will welcome offers to work on TV projects, but is more keen about producing and directing a movie that will be sort of her way of paying back to the industry that has been so good to her after completing her pageant reign more than twenty years ago today.
Dindi admits to being wiser now, after the last few years of her life in the US went downhill in most aspects and was anything but a bed of roses.
So do we see her appearing in one of the upcoming teleseryes soon? I bet she will.
In the meantime, let us reminisce on the highlights of Bb. Pilipinas 1993 when she was crowned Bb. Pilipinas Universe 1993. Everyone thought that the competition between her and eventual Bb. Pilipinas World 1993 Sharmaine Ruffa Gutierrez was a fight to the finish, but it was her biggest night alright. She had the top crown in the bag even before the winners were announced.
courtesy of A Tribute to Dindi Gallardo
Below is a video featuring parts of Dindi’s participation during the ultra-tough Miss Universe Pageant 1993 won by Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico.
Stephanie Joy Abellanida, representing the Halad Festival of Midsayap, North Cotabato, was named the fairest of them all and upended the bid of the more experienced pageant joiners like 1st Runner-Up Alexandra Faith Garcia (from the Dinamulag Mango Festival of Zambales and one of three (3) 2nd Runners-Up Gazini Christiana Jordi Ewamer (from the Sinulog Festival of Cebu). The two other ladies who were proclaimed 2nd Runners-Up are Vianca Louise Marcelo (from the Singkaban Festival of Bulacan) and the entry from Bambati Festival of Isabela.
Ms. Abellanida effectively broke the six-year winning streak of Cebu – Sian Maynard, Rizzini Alexis Gomez, Rogelie Catacutan, Angeli Dione Gomez, Jamie Herrell and Stephanie Aberasturi – in the annual competition.
When Bb. Pilipinas International 2015 Janicel Lubina went home to Puerto Princesa, Palawan for her homecoming parade and visit, she also made sure that time was alloted for a bit of rest and relaxation in one of the nearby beautiful islands.
Together with her KF team and a few friends, they hied off to Cowrie Island to enjoy its sparkling waters. Now, the shots in this page were not part of a photoshoot. It just goes to show that even with point-and-shoot digicams, our Queen registers so beautifully well that the images need not be filtered for maximum effect.
Janicel is smoldering hot from all angles. She only needs to flash that winning smile and everything will be alright. ;-)
The Thirty (30) Official Candidates of Miss Tiffany's Universe 2015
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Except for a few who really blew my mind with their very feminine looks, aura and overall Thai appeal, I still find the remaining candidates of Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2015 with a couple of nicely-concealed giveaways. But I can overlook those ‘natural slips’ because the effort they poured into transforming their individual selves is nothing short of amazing.
One of them will win the crown on May 8 and become the representative of Thailand in Miss International Queen 2015. And I bet the ultimate victor will come from the dozen contenders I short-listed below.
Truth be told, I originally had a 13th girl on the list because she has a striking face. Her body leaves much to be desired, however. If major improvements can be made to her proportions, then I can also predict #15 ฐานันตรา เบกิน as a title gunner.
But for now, I can see one among #5 ญาดา คงศรีเจริญ, #17 กัญญพัชร สินคำคูณ, and #24 ดลณพร ผาพบูรณ์ as possibly the successor of Nissa Katerahong.
Winners all (left to right): Chelsie Marie (Earth), Kumiko Lycah (World), Josh Ona (Universe), Maria Vodka Dee (Asia-Pacific) and Kristine Coronel (International) Photo credit: Jory Rivera for OPMB Worldwide)
The fairest of them all - Josh zona (Photo credit: Jory Rivera)
After Ms. Tiffany’s Universe 2015, here comes Ms. Gay Philippines 2015. While the former won’t have its finals until May 8, the local counterpart had its crowning night last Friday at the CAP Aiuditorium in Legaspi Village, Makati City.
From among thirty-eight hopefuls, five beauties (5) were crowned with their corresponding pageant values:
Universe – Josh Ona from Batangas
World – Kumiko Lycah from Bohol
International – Kristine Coronel from Angeles City
Earth – Chelsie Marie from Caloocan City
Asia-Pacific – Maria Vodka Dee from Iligan City
Interestingly enough, all major parts of the country were represented among the winners – Northern/Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Metro Manila.
This pageant is not a precursor to the Miss International Queen in Thailand. Should anyone among the new titleholders decide to qualify for this tilt, then a separate group handles the selection of entries who will go to Pattaya.
Congratulations to all the new Gay Queens of 2015! :-)
This coming Saturday, May 2, I will be off to my next judging stint after being invited to sit in the panel (with the real celebrities) for Pasalamat Festival Queen 2015 happening in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental (via Bacolod City).
I always love regional beauty contests and how such events have evolved through the years. Aside from the very good production values, the candidates have also become fiercer and more competitive. What’s more, they really become solid training grounds for lovely ladies who dream of making it to the big pageant leagues here in Manila.
In this ongoing search, Eighteen (18) fresh and young faces are out to win the title from last year’s Reina Jamaica Jimenea. And a few among them have already started raising my level of interest.
Reina Jamaica Jimenea - Pasalamat Festival Queen 2014
And as for the early favorites, top of my head at the moment is #7 Halimatu Yushawu who has a pretty unique Filipino-Ghanaian mix. There is also #14 Timmy Julie Calumba who has very youthful teen idol looks.
I would include #1 Kennyveb Casabuena and #5 Carolin Buhat in the short list as well. Even short-haired #10 Sam Gergiana Yu could be a promising contender.
Let’s see who among them will be the real deal by next weekend. ;-)
P.S. This early, I would to thank GMA-7’s Jojo Nones, TV5’s Ryan Benitez and Tita Kitchie Benedicto-Paulino for the invite and opportunity to judge “Pasalamat Festival Queen 2015″.:-)
How time really flies! I was recently chatting online with Miss Manila 2014 KC Halili who told me that the search for her successor will be starting soon. And she admits to being a mixed bag of excitement and sadness that her reign is about to end. But then again, she fully knows that the next lucky lady will have a productive year ahead, what with all the projects she initiated and needs only to be continued.
If you are interested in applying for the competition, below are some of the things you need to know.
Here are the basic guidelines and qualifications for Miss Manila 2015:
In celebration of this year’s Araw ng Maynila, the city government of Manila, under the decree of Mayor Joseph Estrada, is holding a beauty-and-brains search where the best of the best will be ultimately crowned “Miss Manila” on June 24, 2015, 7:00 p.m., at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). The proceeds of this year’s pageant will benefit the Ospital ng Maynila and the City of Manila Dialysis Center of MARE Foundation, Inc., a non-profit institution headed by its Chairperson, Dra. Luisa Loi Ejercito-Estrada. This year’s Pageant Director is Ms. Jackie Ejercito-Lopez.
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Applicant must be a naturally born female;
2. Applicant must be a citizen of the Philippines at the time of application. For this reason, applicant must submit a National Statistics Office (NSO)- issued birth certificate;
3. Applicant must turn at least eighteen (18) years old during the reign of Miss Manila 2015 as defined in Clause H (5), and no more than twenty-five (25) years old on the date of application;
4. Applicant must be at least 5 feet 3 inches tall;
5. Applicant must be single, has never been married, divorced or had a marriage annulled or declared null. She must have never been pregnant, whether or not such pregnancy resulted to actual birth;
6. Applicant must be a high school graduate, and at the time of application, enrolled in or graduated from a reputable university or college;
7. Applicant must be of good moral character and must have not been convicted of any crime, or currently facing prosecution for violation of any law. She must not have at any time engaged in prostitution or any act similar or related thereto;
8. Applicant must have good poise, pleasing personality and engaging charm. She must possess beauty of face and proportionate body structure;
9. Applicant must be proficient in Filipino and English;
10. Applicant must be able to exhibit good knowledge of the history and culture of the City of Manila; and
11. Applicant must meet any one of the following criterion:
a. Born in the City of Manila;
b. Resident of the City of Manila. For this purpose, applicant must submit a certification from the barangay where she resides;
c. Either parent must have been born in the City of Manila. For this purpose, applicant must submit the NSO-issued birth certificate/s of her parent/s;
d. Either parent must be residing in the City of Manila. For this purpose, applicant must submit a certification from the barangay where her parent/s reside;
e. Student of a university/college in the City of Manila for at least two (2) years. For this reason, applicant must submit a copy of her transcript and/or diploma from said university/college;
f. Any relative within the third (3rd) degree of consanquinity must be residing in the City of Manila. For this purpose, applicant must submit a certification from the barangay where said relative resides; or
g. Working in the City of Manila for the past two (2) years. For this purpose, applicant must submit a certificate of employment.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. During the recently-concluded Aliwan Fiesta 2015, three (3) Festival Costumes really stood out in my eyes when the Reyna ng Aliwan 2015 candidates paraded in their meticulously-executed celebratory attires for the big event. And it would make me very happy if I get to see one or all three being worn by our beauty queens during their respective international pageants.
My favorites were proudly presented by: 1) Reyna ng Aliwan 2015 Stephanie Joy Abellanida for the Halad Festival of Midsayap, North Cotabato, 2) Reyna ng Aliwan 2015 2nd Runner-Up Vianca Louise Marcelo for Singkaban Festival of Bulacan and 3) Reyna ng Aliwan 2nd Runner-Up Gazini Christiana Jordi Ewamer for Sinulog Festival of Cebu.
Don’t you just love them in the Edmund Chua images below? :-)
And the most practical but fashionable of them all for me was worn by Reyna ng Aliwan 2015 Stephanie Joy Abellanida for Halad Festival of Midsayap, North Cotabato (Photo credit: Edmund Chua for Fabmanila.com)
This one will happen tomorrow afternoon at the SM Megamall Event Center
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. If you’re up to cheering and supporting the Miss Philippines Earth 2015 Official Candidates in person tomorrow (April 28) afternoon, then head on over to the Event Center of SM Megamall starting at 5pm for the Greenbag Fashion Show of the pageant in cooperation with SM Markets.
Check out their individual creativity in transforming the green bags of the supermarket chain into a useful article of clothing or how they will innovatively incorporate the same while walking on the ramp.
Left to right: Miss Filipina Austria Earth Katja Kay Sabando, Miss Filipina Austria 2015 Sabine Langer and Miss Teen Filipina Austria Alexa Hornecke
A 22 year-old Filipina-Austrian beauty was crowned as the first-ever Miss Filipina Austria 2015 and will be flying to Manila come July to compete in Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 as the representative of the Filipino Community of Austria in the scholarship pageant. As for the title of Miss Teen Filipina Austria 2015, 14 year-old Alexa Hornecke was elected, along with Katja Kay Sabando for Miss Filipina Austria Earth 2015 (for Miss Philippines Earth 2016).
Sabine, who has an Austrian father and a Filipina mother from Bulacan, is quite excited about going again to the Philippines where she enjoys the beaches and the warmth hospitality of the Filipinos. She will bring with her the objective of knowing more about her mother’s roots and eventually promoting Philippine Tourism in Austria and other European countries.
Sabine will go to Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015, while Katja Kay Sabando will compete in Miss Philippines Earth 2016
Present during the crowning was the President and CEO of Miss Republic of the Philippines Lynette Padolina (photo below) . She is extremely pleased with the results and is looking forward to seeing Sabine compete in Manila for the bigger pageant event.
Ms. Lynette Padolina (rightmost) poses with the Founder/Chairperson of Miss Filipina Austria Rheena Eria (leftmost) and the winners of the pageant. (Photo credit: Felipe Uygongco)
Winners of the Pontefino event of Miss Philippines Earth 2015 are (left to right): Chanel Olive Thomas, Miss Pontefino Residences; Jona Sweett, Bronze, Resort Wear; Angelia Ong, Gold, Resort Wear; Danica Ebrada, Silver, Resort Wear and Diana Mackey, Miss Pontefino Hotel
She was removed from the roster. She appealed. She got reinstated.
And during the Resort Wear Competition of Miss Philippines Earth 2015 at Hotel Pontefino in Batangas City last weekend, Angelia Ong was somehow redeemed by showing the way in the segment en route to capturing the Gold Medal, ahead of Silver and Bronze medalists Danica Ebrada and Jona Sweett, respectively.
Inspite of such, I still feel that the pre-pageant is favoring two ladies from Nueva Ecija who are being seen by most as the likely top contenders to become Jamie Herrell’s successor. And they are Chanel Olive Thomas from San Antonio and Diana Mackey from Cabanatuan City.
At any rate, I am hoping Angelia can still recover some lost ground and give the perceived top entries a run for their money.
Image may be NSFW.
