A gallery of Misses Philippines in the Miss U tilt, 1952-1963

It’s Miss Universe season again.

On Aug. 23, the 2010 Miss Universe will be chosen at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas where it was also held back in 1991 when Kuh Ledesma was one of the judges and Bb. Pilipinas Alu Gonzalez, Kuh’s lookalike and sister of actress Suzanne Gonzalez, was the country’s bet.

“Will 2010 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Maria Venus Raj bring home the country’s third Miss U crown (after Gloria Diaz in 1969 and Margie Moran in 1973)?” asked Funfare’s “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas.

Beauty-watchers ask the same question year in and year out, don’t they? The closest that the Philippines got to bagging another Miss U title was in 1999 when Miriam Quiambao finished first runner-up to Miss Botswana.

“I’m sure the controversy surrounding the dethronement and eventual reinstatement of Venus will make many people, hopefully including the judges, take a good look at her,” added Celso who has compiled a list of the Misses Philippines in the Miss U contest from 1952 to 1963 before the Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI) got the franchise and began sending representatives in 1964, with the late Myrna Panlilio-Borromeo as the first representative.

• 1952 — Miss Philippines Teresita Torralba Sanchez left Manila for L.A. via Honolulu on June 19, 1952 at 7:45 p.m. by Pan American Airways Strato Clipper. She was joined by Miss Hong Kong Judy Dan who arrived earlier in the afternoon from Hong Kong. Teresita was immediately rated as a dark horse; she fainted during the finals but recovered before the announcement of winners. Ramon Valera and Mademoiselle designed her wardrobe. Judy was third runner-up to 1952 Miss Universe Armi Helena Kuusela of Finland, the first title-holder.

• 1953 — Miss Philippines Cristina Monson Pacheco left Manila for L.A. via Honolulu on July 6, 1953 by Pan American Airways Strato Clipper. Cristina and her co-delegates visited the Universal International Studio and met top Hollywood actors including Jeff Chandler.

• 1954 — Miss Philippines Maria Blesilda Mueller Ocampo was in London when Boys Town Philippines received the confirmation from Oscar Meinhardt, executive producer of Miss Universe Pageant, that she was an official delegate to the pageant. From London, Bessie flew to L.A. and arrived there on July 11 with the European delegates. Bessie was adjudged one of the 16 semi-finalists, the only delegate who listed in her bio that she’s a professional cook. After the pageant, Bessie, Miss Japan Mieko Kondo and Miss Texas Betty Lee and 12 other delegates were offered jobs as showgirls at $150 a week in a fancy Hollywood nightspot, Moulin Rouge Supper Club. Only Lee accepted the offer.

• 1955 — Miss Philippines Yvonne Berrenguer de los Reyes left Manila on July 12, 1955 for L.A. (via Honolulu) on board Pan American Airways. She brought wood carvings and presented them to Mayor George Vermillion of Long Beach, California.

• 1956 — Miss Philippines Isabel Escobar Rodriguez paid a courtesy call to President Ramon Magsaysay in Malacañang Palace before she left for L.A. via Honolulu on July 10, 1956 at 11 p.m. by Pan American Airways. 

• 1957 — Miss Philippines Mary Ann Carmen Philips Corrales left Manila for L.A. via Honolulu on July 6, 1957 shortly before midnight by Pan American Airways. She’s the only Philippine delegate in memory to bring along a personal beautician.

• 1962 — Miss Philippines Josephine Brown Estrada left Manila for Miami, Florida by KLM flight via Tokyo and San Francisco. She was seen off at the Manila International Airport by her good friend, Susan Roces.Josephine, who speaks fluent English and Spanish, served as an interpreter to some Latin American delegates. Josephine’s first starring-role movie, June Bride (opposite Eddie Gutierrez), was shown on June 23, 1962, a few days after she left for the pageant. After the pageant, Josephine continued her showbiz career; she was chosen by the Department of Foreign Affairs as an official Ambassadress of Goodwill to the 1965 Berlin Film Festival. She was our lone delegate to the 1965 David de Donatello Film Festival in Italy. In 1966, she received the Ciriaco Santiago Memorial Award from the FAMAS.

• 1963 — Miss Philippines Lalaine Betia Bennett left Manila on June 29, 1963 for Tokyo and stayed there for a week to fulfill some engagements before proceeding to Honolulu and San Francisco. She was among the first 13 official delegates to arrive in Miami Beach, Florida. Lalaine placed third runner-up to Ieda Maria Vargas of Brazil. She married her official escort in the pageant, Felix Skievasky, a US Naval Officer of Polish-Filipino descent, on Sept. 7, 1964 at the San Marcelino Church in Manila. Felix died in a plane crash in 1973. 

(Note: The Philippines didn’t send any candidate from 1958 to 1961.)

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