Their majesty: Showbiz’s other beauty queens

Did you know that the late Tita Duran (Teresita Durango) was once Miss Mabini Elementary School, that former child star Lillibeth Vera-Perez (now Ampil) was Miss La Salle in 1972, that Jackie Lou Blanco was Miss La Salle in 1979, that the Sampaguita comedienne Matimtiman Cruz (Maria Josefa Cruz) was Miss Batangas in 1937 and Bb. Ilang-Ilang ng Silangan the same year, that Edna Luna (Bituin Edna Miñon Luna) was once Miss San Antonio (Cavite)?

Showbiz has more "other beauty queens." Here’s the list drawn by Funfare’s "other beauty expert" Celso de Guzman Caparas:

• DAISY HONTIVEROS — She was the first winner of the Miss Intercollegiate Girl of the Philippines (1934-35), a contest sponsored by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines. Daisy is best remembered for her portrayal of Candida Marasigan in the stage and film versions of Nick Joaquin’s Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Daisy and her husband, National Artist Lamberto Avellana, formed the Barangay Theater Guild in 1939.

• OLIVIA CENIZAL (Gloria Ruiz Maigue) — She was Miss Mindanao in the 1951 Miss Philippines contest sponsored by Philippine Airlines. A public school teacher from Imus, Cavite, Olivia was already married for four years to composer Josefino Cenizal when she had her movie debut in Palahamak in 1955.

• ELEANOR MEDINA — She was 1953 Miss Visayas (runner-up to Miss Philippines Cristina Pacheco) and 1953 Miss Silvana Mangano of the Philippines. She played the title role in Ang Babaeng Kalbo (1953) and second lead in Si Og sa Army (1954).

• GLORIA ROMERO (Gloria Borrego Galla) — She pocketed P3,000 as Princess of Visayas, third runner-up to Queen of the 1954 National Fair Maria Teresa Larrazabal. One of the candidates in that contest was Imelda Marcos (later to be named Miss Manila). Gloria was also a runner-up in a beauty search in the Riverview High School in Mabini, Pangasinan, her hometown.

• PILITA CORRALES (Pilar Garrido Corrales) — She garnered 335,650 votes to place second runner-up in the 1956 search for the Goldwyn Girl of the Philippines. Winner Pamela Anders got 666,000 votes in the contest conducted as promo for the premiere of the Hollywood movie Guys and Dolls at the Lyric Theater on April 13, same year.

• MARLENE DAUDEN — She was a finalist in the 1956 Goldwyn Girl of the Philippines. Discovered when she was featured on the cover of a magazine, Marlene was tagged as The Sophia Loren of the Philippines. She was named Miss Philippine Movies in 1967.

• MELDY CORRALES (Imelda Saguinsin Corrales) — She was also a finalist in the 1956 Goldwyn Girl of the Philippines. She was discovered for the movies by Luis Gonzales, screen-tested in the Gloria Romero starrer Hindi Basta Basta (1955) and introduced in Rhodora (1956).

• SHIRLEY GOROSPE — She is the first Miss Philippines-USA (1956). Part of her prize was a visit to the Philippines (1957) where she won the heart of Zaldy Zshornack whom she later married (Zaldy died a few years ago). She and Zaldy became a popular loveteam who starred in several movies, produced mostly by Premiere Productions.

• CARMEN SORIANO — She was already in showbiz when she won the Miss Manila and the Martine Carol of the Philippines titles, both in 1957. She was an extra in LVN Pictures’ Pilipino Kustom, No Touch; 1-2-3; Ibong Adarna; No Money, No Honey; and Walang Sugat, all in the mid-’50s. She blossomed into a star in her own right, starring in Love and Devotion; My Love, Forgive Me; and Somewhere My Love.

• MARITA ZOBEL (Mary Ann Blanche) — She placed second in the Pretty Girl contest conducted by Sampaguita Pictures in 1957. The winner, Milagros Jamir, was introduced in Pretty Boy (topbilled by Romeo Vasquez). Marita’s first movie was LVN Pictures’ Bad Boy, starring Lou Salvador Jr. (James Dean of the Philippines). She played the title role in LVN’s Si Marita at ang Pitong Duwende.

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)