Cebu guns for sixth straight win in Aliwan pageant

CEBU, Philippines -  Cebu has a solid delegation in tomorrow’s Aliwan Festival Queen pageant, or Reyna ng Aliwan 2014, with three lovely Southern belles representing different religious and cultural festivals of our province.  

Miss Mandaue 2013 Steffi Rose Aberasturi, 19, will represent Cebu City’s Sinulog Festival in this beauty tilt that pits young ladies representing festivals throughout the country, as a highlight in the annual showcase billed as Aliwan Fiesta.

Aberasturi, who was crowned Sinulog Festival Queen 2011 was offered by Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) executive director Ricky Ballesteros to be last year’s bet, but the Tourism major at the University of San Carlos felt unprepared then.

“Now, here I am, very ready physically, emotionally and spiritually and ready to face a new challenge in my life and make the Cebuanos proud,” Aberasturi, an aspiring flight attendant, said. “With a great mentor, Jonas Borces, and the people who supported me, especially my family – they gave me more confidence and kept me going.”

She will don a festival costume designed by Malayka Yamas, the same designer responsible for last year’s Sinulog Festival bet and eventual Reyna ng Aliwan 2013 winner Jaime Herrell. Yamas described the gown as befitting that of Aberasturi’s angelic beauty, having a “heaven-inspired clouded balloon skirt, wrapped around with guardian angels with different musical instruments to represent love, peace and harmony. The body and wings are detailed with intricate patterns, flourished to perfection, and a crown to represent femininity, perfect for a queen.”

Bantayan Island’s Palawod Festival is sending a delegate to the pageant for the very first time, tapping Sta. Fe native Maria Gigante.

Gigante, 20, is Miss Cebu 2013 second runner-up and a Philosophy student at USC.  “At first, I was reluctant to accept because I thought it would mean additional expenses for our municipality on top of our efforts for rehabilitation after Typhoon Yolanda. But I decided to take it as an opportunity when I learned that my saying yes would mean that for the first time, Palawod would be represented in Reyna ng Aliwan; that the gesture would be highly symbolic of the Bantayanon spirit and its propensity to rise in the midst of devastation faster than everyone has expected,” she said.

The dusky charmer shared that the highlight of her pageant preparations was going home to Bantayan Island and being able to sit down and discuss the true meaning of Palawod Festival with those in-the-know. “My conversation with Vince Escario was what really put me in my gears for the competition, and it happened no less than two days before we left for Manila!” she revealed.

According to Gigante, the Palawod Festival started in the early 2000s when a few people in Bantayan Island decided to “remedy the notion most people shared about Holy Week as our fiesta, as Bantayan is widely known in the country for its Holy Week processions (crystal clear waters and breath-taking views aside). In those early years, the parish theme was ‘Duc In Altum,’ which locally translates to Palawod or in English, ‘to got to the deep.’”

She continued, “The term plays a significant role in our lives as people of the island. Fishing is our major means of life. However, it is also pregnant with philosophical undertones. According to Vince Escario, it was an invitation to deeply and constantly evaluate one’s spirituality and identity as a means of determining and molding our future, moving forward as a people. It is now important, more than ever, having known the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda, the Bantayanons have been able to fully practice to the full extent the true meaning of Palawod.”

Her festival costume, designed by Lemuel Rosos, depicts the grandeur of the flora and fauna. “It is reflective of the intricacies of the fathom below as details of the bouffant skirt reveal intertwining sea life. The textured kaleidoscope of under-the-sea magic is captured through the layered embellishment as faux corals, sea anemone, sea grass and sea weeds. The colors are radiant and light that usually is luminous as seen through the camera,” Rosos said.

Meanwhile, Lorraine Mitzi Ambrad was sent by the town of Dalaguete’s Utanon Festival.

Cebu’s track record in the Aliwan Fiesta not only includes the Hall of Fame for three straight wins by Lumad Basakanon but also five straight Reyna ng Aliwan titles.

Fifteen other candidates are vying for the title and the chance to serve as tourism ambassadors, highlighting the myriad attractions of our island-nation.

The pageant night will be held at the Aliw Theater outdoor stage on Friday, with a panel of cross-sectoral judges tasked to determine who will win the crown that was once worn by four national titleholders — Vera Eumee Reiter (Mutya ng Pilipinas 2006), Rizzini Alexis Gomez (Miss Tourism International 2012), Angeli Dione Gomez (Miss Tourism International 2013) and Mary Jean Lastimosa (Miss Universe-Philippines 2014).

The 2014 Reyna ng Aliwan will receive P100,000 plus prizes in kind. Last year’s reigning queen, Jamie Herrell of Cebu (who is trying her luck in next month’s Miss Philippines Earth pageant), will turn over her crown during the awarding ceremonies following the grand parade on April 26. – VAB