A beauty pageant watcher’s dream come true

Watching the 2005 Miss Universe Pageant in Thailand recently proved to be the realization of a long-cherished dream for this beauty pageant aficionado. I remember distinctly 11 years ago. I vowed that if and when the pageant will be held in a proximate location, I would be there to personally witness the event.

Working as a researcher for ABS-CBN during the 1994 Miss Universe pageant upon the prodding of my college friends – John Lapus, Roxy Liquigan and Louie Andrada, who were already working for the station at that time, made me postpone my nursing career. I was about to start at UST Hospital around April then. I literally had to beg my nursing directress to allow me to start three months later to give way to my ABS-CBN stint. As the most junior staff member in the station, I was never assigned to cover big events. I envied those who were always there where the action was.

A decade has passed. I have moved on professionally. Yet my dream of seeing the Miss Universe pageant seemed elusive as ever. I have seen countless national and international pageants here and in the United Kingdom, where I worked for four years, but my long-cherished dream has never found fruition.

Upon learning sometime in 2004 that the pageant would be held in Thailand, I, together with friends planned what I considered the trip of a lifetime. As the pageant drew near, most of my friends had other priorities. I, together with a fellow pageant aficionado, pursued and persevered to reach Bangkok. It seemed that there were always impediments along the way that tried to prevent us from reaching our destination – overbooked flights, expired passports and unexpected events affecting our social and family circles.

Finally, on the night of May 27, we finally reached Bangkok. I immediately scoured newspapers for news articles about the pageant and almost all of them featured mostly the western girls apart from Miss Thailand. It was also funny how I realized that hot, humid weather and spicy food never mix.

We hurriedly went to see the girls during rehearsals the following day. We arrived at the Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani shortly after lunch. We must have utilized all forms of transportation available in Bangkok – Tuk Tuk, bus, sky train, river taxi, etc. before we reached the venue. Gionna’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rod Cabrera, saw us and immediately added our names on Gionna’s guest list. I was very happy to see familiar faces in the field of Philippine pageantry at the arena. There were members of various Philippine-based pageant websites and members of the press as well.

Upon entering the venue, I was like a child visiting Disneyland for the first time. I could not help but marvel at the imposing sight of the elaborately-ornate stage and of course the opportunity to interact with delegates who I only saw in pictures and video clips.

Gionna, in her light blue dress, immediately approached us and was so delighted to see more and more kababayan arriving to support her. Her beauty stood out even if there were taller, more curvaceous, and more adequately- prepared girls in the batch. I had to pick out who stood out among the rest of the girls for our usual top picks for Funfare.

It was not easy, given 81 stunning beauties from all over the world. How I wish my fellow beauty experts were with me that time. Joey, Gery and Francis could probably ease the heavy burden I had to shoulder.

Miss Venezuela, Monica Spear Mootz, a cross between Lynda Carter and Amelia Vega (Miss Universe 2003), impressed me the most. Misses Canada, Puerto Rico, Latvia, Dominican Republic, USA, South Africa, Japan and Israel were charmers as well.

Weather in Bangkok that time of year was like Manila in many aspects. You get sunshine the whole day and get rained upon at night.

I was sick the following day!!!

On the day of the final dress rehearsals, people from all over flocked to the Impact Arena to witness the event. The venue was three-fourths full and the mood was very festive. The girls who landed as semi-finalists and the winners were drawn from a hat. It was already past 7 p.m. when the show finished and many were surprised to see that it was already flooded around the venue due to heavy downpour. I got home around midnight, after managing to get a cab three hours after the show. But I had to be back at the venue by 5 a.m. The girls had to be there by 4!

On the morning of the pageant, I was able to avoid the dreaded Bangkok traffic and arrived early at Impact Arena. The mood was even more festive than last night. People waving their flags and wearing their national costumes flocked to witness the Superbowl of pageants. Many of Thailand’s leading figures in politics and entertainment trooped to the arena, making local television and radio stations scamper from one place to another to get an exclusive glimpse of these people. Most of us there probably had nary a wink the night before.

The Filipino contingent was huge. It was very invigorating to see all of us united in supporting our bet. Huge flags and banners expressing support for Gionna were all over the place. Seeing this huge turnout of kababayan made me feel proud of our achievements in the pageant and in the global arena as well.

It was a reunion of sorts for Sweet, Roxy, Louie and little old me: Miss U ’94 veterans – we called ourselves.

It was indeed bittersweet to see Gionna eliminated and later declared Miss Photogenic. Latinas were unstoppable. Yet Miss Canada, an immigrant from a small town in Russia, overpowered them at the end. Seeing my sentimental favorite, Miss Venezuela fumble during the final question broke my heart. I remember feeling the same way when her compatriot, Minorka Mercado finished third in Manila.

The ABS-CBN trio knew I was ranting after the pageant. Shades of Miss U ’94? We just laughed and grabbed something to eat. Something not spicy this time.

While eating, newly-crowned Miss Universe Natalie Glebova passed by and as we called her name, she waved and smiled. This made us literally jump from our seats and leave everything to get exclusive pictures and videos of her.

Ten burly men guarded her and reprimanded those who tried to take snapshots and videos. They never deterred me from taking pictures of Natalie, I did not travel all the way to Bangkok to let this opportunity pass.

Natalie was very cordial and friendly. She tried to answer questions and smile for those 20 other people who gathered around her as she was being whisked off to the press conference.

I left Bangkok three days after the pageant. It gave me enough time to explore the city and its suburbs. My mom was laughing, knowing how much of a shopaholic I am, when she saw one new shirt and several keyrings in my luggage dominated by 10 kilos of newspapers, magazines, pictures and program books from the event. For someone who collects anything and everything about the pageant scene, this was akin to a treasure trove.

The Bangkok experience made me realize that the Miss Universe pageant has evolved into a fast-paced, highly-sophisticated search for the girl who would travel throughout the world, meet notable and accomplished people and experience one-of-a-kind mentoring and educational opportunities which will further advance her career.

Preparation is the key to succeed in the pageant. As early as now, we should be molding and honing prospective candidates in order for them to be ready to face formidable competitors in international pageants.

I would like to thank the following who made my dream a reality: Don Boettcher of the Miss Universe Organization, Salvador Manuel and Minda Manuel, Dulce Palting (Texas), Rey Evangelista (UK), Greg Gagatam (Sinai Travels), Roxy, Sweet and Louie, fellow beauty pageant experts Joey, Gery and Francis. A special sawasdee goes to the generous, hospitable people of Thailand who assisted me and gave me pictures and newspapers which featured the pageant.