Will Czarina join the Miss World Honor Roll?

After wreaking havoc in Northern Luzon, Typhoon Juan is now causing heavy rains in Sanya, China, where the 60th Miss World contest is going on, with the grand finals set for this Saturday, Oct. 30. Too bad that it’s not televised in the Philippines so we won’t be seeing how our bet, 2010 Bb. Pilipinas-World Czarina Gatbonton, will fare. We won’t see if, as she promised, she will need no interpreter in the Q&A (that is, if she finishes that far) and will answer the questions in straight English. Czarina has been training (speech, poise and grace, etc.) since early this year when she won the crown (together with Venus Raj who pulled a “major, major” accomplishment in the Miss Universe pageant by placing fourth runner-up, which was good enough; and Krista Kleiner who is now also in China for the Miss International contest scheduled Nov. 7),

 But Juan isn’t succeeding in dampening the spirit of the 115 contestants. The originally expected number was 119 but, according to Funfare’s “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas, Miss Slovenia got sick in China and flew back home while delegates from Taiwan, Fiji and Dominican Republic didn’t show up.

Current title-holder is Kaiane Aldorino of Gibraltar.

Celso also reported that in the pageant’s 60-year history, two winners have died, Petra Susanna Schurmann (1956) from Germany and Rosemarie Frankland (1961) of United Kingdom; one was dethroned, Marjorie Wallace (1973) of USA, but wasn’t replaced by her first runner-up, Evangeline Pascual of the Philippines, who politely said no; and two resigned, Helen Morgan (1974) of United Kingdom four days after she won (Morgan placed first runner-up to Spain’s Amparo Muñoz in the Miss Universe pageant held in the Philippines in 1974); and Gabriella Brum (1980) of Germany the day after she was crowned.

Celso said that as of Oct. 20, Czarina ranks No. 18 among the Top 20 bets in the Global Beauties’ Great Wall of Beauty, with Misses Botswana, Norway and Russia among those leading. Declared the first two semi-finalists as fast-track events winners were Miss Puerto Rico Yara Lasanta who won the Beach Beauty Award and Miss Northern Ireland Lori Moore who won the Sports Competition.

The Big Question is: Will Czarina bring home the Philippines’ first Miss World crown (quite a tall order, huh?) and join the Honor Roll on this spread?

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