It’s Miss U season again

It’s again the time of year when all eyes are glued on the 70-plus beauties from around the world competing in the 2002 Miss Universe Pageant (grand finals will be telecast live by RPN 9 on Thursday, May 30, at 9:30 in the morning, with a replay at 7 p.m. same day; with The STAR among the sponsors).

As usual, like in past years, we hope – and pray? – that our country, which has been Miss Universe-less these past 29 years (the last – the second, actually – Filipina Miss U is Margie Moran-Floirendo who won in 1973), will grab back the coveted crown, currently held by Denise Quiñones of Puerto Rico.

Also, as usual in this time of year, beauty-loving and beauty-crazy Filipinos love to hear Miss U anecdotes, even if they’ve been told and retold. Here’s a report from Funfare’s "beauty experts" Joey Cezeare, Gery Yumping, Francis Calubaquib and Felix Manuel:

The heat is on in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where 75 gorgeous ladies from around the world gather to compete for the title of Miss Universe 2002. The Philippines has so far two Miss Universe title-holders, five runners up, one finalist, and six semi-finalists.

This year’s Philippine entry is 19-year-old Computer Science student at AMA University, Karen Loren Medrano Agustin. Karen, who stands 5’ 7" and measures 35-23-35, first joined the Miss Global Queen Philippines pageant last year. She was among the semi-finalists.

She’s the eldest daughter of Rodrigo Agustin, a master mariner, and Emma Medrano, a Senior Budget Analyst at the House of Representatives. Karen was not among the crowd favorites during the Bb. Pilipinas pageant. But with her sultry, exotic looks and lots of wit, she bested 22 other aspirants.

But did you know that some of our former Philippine bets to the Miss Universe who finished as finalists had their own unforgettable experiences? Some of them were also not popular locally during their time. But they turned out winners in the international beauty scene. Here are brief unforgettable experiences of some of them:

Let’s start in 1963 with 5’9" tall Lalaine "Bing-Bing" Betia Bennett, 19, an American mestiza from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, who was already a movie actress when she won third runner-up to dark horse Brazil’s Iada Maria Vargas. She was the first Filipina to land in the magic circle (of five finalists). But did you know that in 1962’s Miss Philippines contest she was Miss Luzon, first runner-up to Cynthia Ugalde who was our bet in that year’s Miss International pageant?

In 1969, sultry 18-year-old convent-bred Gloria "Glory" Aspillera Diaz bagged the Miss Universe crown while Astronauts (Apollo 11) conquered the Moon. The 5’ 5" tall Glory, with perfect measurement of 34-24-34 (at 118 pounds), was also among the 10 Best in Swimsuit. But did you know that Glory first joined a modeling Quest (for June Dally Watkins – Australian fashion designer) in 1968, where she was only a runner-up to Maricar Azaola (who happened to be Glory’s runner-up in the Bb. Pilipinas Pageant a year later)? Glory joined showbiz and has just recently won her third acting trophy as URIAN Best Supporting Actress for the movie, Batang West Side.

Another convent-bred beauty was 19-year-old Maria Margarita "Margie" Roxas Moran who put back the Philippines on the Miss U map in Athens, Greece. The 5’ 6" tall Margie (36-25-36) was also voted Miss Photogenic. According to another former Miss U, "she’s got poise and regal bearing." Margie nearly did not make it to the 1973 Bb. Pilipinas Pageant because her parents objected to her joining and insisted that she finish her studies first. But her former beauty queen grandmother, Nieves Moran (former Carnival Queen), gave Margie the go-signal. The rest is history.

Then in 1975, reluctant Bb. Pilipinas-Universe winner, Rosemarie "Chiqui" Singson Brosas, 18, stirred controversy when she joined other Binibini candidates just in time for the press presentation at Manila Hilton. Some of the insecure candidates threatened to withdraw. But Chiqui remained unaffected and poised. She stood out. She was among the favorites in the 1975 Miss U pageant held in El Salvador where she won fourth runner-up to dark horse Anne Marie Pohtamo of Finland.

In 1980, there was another reluctant Bb. Pilipinas winner, Maria Rosario "Chat" Rivera Silayan, 21. She got bored after finishing B.S. Nutrition at Philippine Women’s University. Chat, daughter of the late veteran actor Vic Silayan, was the last to sign up during the final screening. She was left behind by her plane to Seoul where the Miss U was held. Nevertheless, Chat won third runner-up to Miss USA Shawn Nichols Weatherly of South Carolina.

The last Filipina to finish as Miss U finalist was 22-year-old Physical Therapy graduate Miriam "Am" Redito Quiambao. She originally won the Bb. Pilipinas-World title but she replaced Janelle Joy Delfin Bautista as Bb. Pilipinas-Universe when the latter was disqualified for questionable citizenship. Prior to the Binibini, Miriam joined the Miss Physical Therapy search during her college days at UST. She was first runner-up.

It was only during the Miss U preliminaries that Miriam got noticed when she tripped during the long-gown competition. She cried after that incident but the crowd sympathized with her. She became an instant favorite. She won first runner-up to Botswana’s first-ever Miss U candidate, Mpule Kwanalobe. Miriam also won as Miss Clairol. She’s currently hosting GMA’s Extra-Extra and Unang Hirit.

So there you are. It seems Karen has something in common with other former Binibinis who landed as Miss U finalists. We only hope for the best and, who knows, she might be our third Miss Universe. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.