Body talk with Vangie Pascual

Believe it or not, but more than three decades after she won the right to represent the country as Miss Republic of the Philippines in the 1973 Miss World (she finished first runner-up, the highest honor so far won by the country in that international contest and could have taken the crown when the winner, USA’s Marjorie Wallace, was dethroned) Evangeline "Vangie" Pascual still fits the swimsuit she wore in that contest, a precious souvenir she hangs in her cabinet.

How does she do it (keep that well-proportioned body)? Read on.

When she relinquished her crown, Vangie joined showbiz for one year and starred in a dozen films, including The Game of Death (her first, with Ramon Zamora, then the reigning martial-arts superstar), Golden Triangle (with Japanese actor Shoji Karada), Babaing Kidlat (as the country’s first Wonder Woman) and Mediavillo with FPJ.

Her acting career was rudely interrupted by marriage that took her away from the limelight for 18 years which she spent "mothering" her three children: Nino Antonio, going on 29, a pre-school teacher in San Francisco; Mark Jethro, 23, with a double degree (Culinary Arts and Hotel/Restaurant Management); and Eggpie, 22, B.S. Psychology graduate who’s now taking up Nursing.

Two weeks after her husband (name withheld upon Vangie’s request) died in 1994, Vangie was invited to co-host the radio program Affairs of the Heart with Fr. Bob Garon (who has left the priesthood and gotten married) for one year, to while away her time and help in her healing/grieving process, and then she moved to DWIZ to host Echoes of the Heart (taped as live Mondays through Fridays, 2 to 2:30 p.m. and "live" on Saturdays from 3 to 4 p.m.) which is marking its 10th anniversary next February. (She also writes a similarly titled column for Mirror magazine.)

In its July 2004 issue, Mega Magazine named Vangie one of The 10 Most Beautiful Women of 2004, along with Phoemela Baranda (commercial model and Paolo Bediones’ co-host on the GMA show Extra Challenge), Zsa Zsa Padilla, Vivien Tan, Bea Valdes (interior designer), Margie Moran-Floirendo (1973 Miss Universe), Mia Nolasco Cuenca (general-manager of Luxasia, Inc.), Wendy Puyat-Hotung (graphic designer), Iza Calzado and Abbygale Arenas-de Leon (1997 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe).

Two Mondays ago, Vangie walked into Little Asia Restaurant (on Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City) to greet the young restaurateur Charlemagne Lim (Little Asia owner-manager) a happy birthday and made heads turn, making (especially) Charlemagne’s contemporaries wonder who she is. Businessman William Go, one-time Mr. Slimmers World, gasped and said, "Ricky, you should do a ‘body talk’ with her. It’s amazing how she could look as beautiful and as shapely as she did 30 years ago!"

Good idea. Here we go:

What were your vital statistics when you were Miss Republic of the Philippines?

"36.5-26-36.5. I weighed 124 lbs. I stood 5’9"."

What about when you joined the Miss World contest?

"I was asked to gain 15 lbs. So I weighed almost 140 lbs. I was fuller because that’s how they wanted it daw in London (where the contest was originally held). There daw, they wanted the women voluptuous. My waistline became an inch smaller (25). But when I came home from London, I went back to my original weight."

Have you grown taller?

"No. I still stand 5’9"."

How are you able to maintain your beauty-queen figure?

"I’m basically a sports person. Not a day passes without me working out, rain or shine. I start my day with stretching for at least seven minutes, right in my bed as soon as I wake up, the way a cat does. And then I do the treadmill, also in the house, even for only 15 minutes. I used to swim every morning at the Manila Polo Club, doing 40 laps in one hour. Now, I run around the Amoranto Stadium almost everyday. If you see a tall woman running in the Amoranto oval, wearing a Walkman, that’s me. I listen to OPM, songs by Sharon Cuneta and other local artists."

What about your diet?

"I’ve cut down on carbo. I actually follow a seasonal vegetarian diet which I’ve been doing for six years. My birthday is on Nov. 29 and I usually hold it in a ballroom. There’s plenty of food, of course – all kinds. I’ve made it a point not to eat meat starting on Dec.1 and six months from then on. Not even during the Christmas parties and family reunions when they serve ham and other calorie-laden goodies. I avoid meat; no beef, no chicken, nothing."

How much liquid do you take?

"I used to take one big mug of coffee and around three or four glasses of water. But I’ve changed that because it made me feel bloated; it stretched the stomach. I still take lots of liquid but not at one time, around 10 to 11 glasses taken throughout the day."

How much sleep do you get a night?

"A minimum of five hours. I take power naps in the afternoon."

How do you cope with stress?

"I pray. I’m a practising Catholic. Every now and then, I visit the Blessed Sacrament."

How do you pamper yourself?

"I go to the spa every Saturday – at Ellen Lising’s Beauty Center (West Avenue branch). There, I get my massage, my facial, the works."

What about your outlook in life?

"It’s very important. I’m a positive person. Having three children and being a single mother, I can’t afford to have a negative attitude. When my husband just died, my friends turned my house into a salad bar because they sent me food and flowers and all kinds of salads. I grieved but I moved on fast."

How are you as a mom?

"Friendly. But I have rules. My children can talk to me about anything anytime. I encourage them to be open to me."

How’s your love life?

"Ah...fantastic!"

And your nightlife?

"Okay. I get invited to diplomats’ parties. I attend the national-day celebrations of different countries. That’s about it."

On your show, Echoes of the Heart, you dish out pieces of advice and words of inspiration.

"More than that. People ask for more than just solutions to their emotional problems; some ask for help for financial problems, such as burial expenses, and job references."

You’re like a politician.

"If you see just one person smiling after a show, you look forward to the next show, and the next...It’s fulfilling to make even a little difference in the lives of other people. You can’t quantify the feeling you get when you make even one person happy."

What parts of your body are your favorites?

"My mouth. My shoulders. My breasts."

Is there any part that you think needs some improvement?

"My thighs, I guess, which are getting a little bit flabby. But I’m constantly working on them."

By the way, why did you refuse the Miss World title when Marjorie Wallace was dethroned? (Reason: Marjorie’s boyfriend, Peter Revson, relative of the owners of Revlon, died in a car accident. Marjorie went berserk, running in the raw on the beach, and she refused to fulfill her obligations as Miss World; she was even romantically linked to Tom Jones.)

"You know, the crown was for that country. Initially, they didn’t give it to the Philippines. So when Marjorie Wallace was dethroned and they were giving it to the Philippines, I thought it was stooping too low for the country if I took it because it wasn’t meant for the Philippines in the first place."

Thirty-one years after Miss World, how do you look at beauty contests?

"Beauty contests are still relevant. They’re an effective way of selling one’s country. It’s a woman’s way of telling the world that she’s beautiful and she’s a Filipina and she can stand tall beside any woman from any part of the world."

What’s your fondest memory as Miss World first runner-up?

"The trips, the people I met, especially the men who spread out the red carpet and gave me all the proposals – the prime cut, they say – and being first on the line."

Where’s your crown?

"There was no crown. I didn’t get any. Only a scepter, a sash and a trophy."

Briefly, what advice can you give a prospective beauty contestant?

"Do it not for yourself but for the country...because you want to make a difference."

What about marrying again?

"It would be wonderful."

For companionship?

"For whatever it is. I’m open, loving and accepting."

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