Will Pinay teenager win Hadid’s model search?

When Making a Model with Yolanda Hadid (MMWYH) premieres on the Lifetime Channel on Jan. 17 next year, you might notice that one of the contestants looks like a Filipina — and, indeed, she is! She’s none other than Breanna Bunevacz, 14, daughter of David Bunevacz and Jessica Rodriguez, who is following in her mom’s footsteps to a modeling career and, why not, into beauty pageants.

Yolanda Hadid must be familiar to showbiz-watchers because she’s the ex-wife of David Foster, the famous composer who helped build up Charice/Jake Zyrus and who heads the jurors on Asia’s Got Talent (AGT). The Fosters are good friends with Dr. Vicki Belo and husband Dr. Hayden Kho, and they have been here a few times, once even had dinner at Vicki’s place where the Fosters had the pleasure of listening to other Filipino talents. When Vicki opened a Belo Clinic outlet in Glendale, California, a few years ago, the Fosters were among the special guests.      

Fondly remembered for her appearance on the TV show Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Yolanda is co-hosting MMWYH with her daughters Gigi and Bella (by Yolanda’s first husband Mohamed Hadid) who, like their mom, are “among the biggest supermodels in the world” (as a US paper described them).

Now in New York with their moms (called “momagers”), the six aspirants are undergoing a training program focused on the physical, mental and emotional strength needed to create a successful brand as a model, something Hadid and her children know all too well. Like the moms of the five other girls, Jessica is hands-on in guiding Breanna. At stake in the eight-episode reality-TV show is “$5,000 for their future careers and a management contract with Hadid, plus the potential opportunity to be represented by IMG models in New York.”

The girls are facing tough competition which is, according to Hadid, “more cutthroat than Real Housewives” as you will see on the show.

“Supermodels aren’t born overnight,” Hadid was quoted as saying, “and neither is a successful personal and working relationship between mother and daughter.”                                                                    

With her experience as a model and a beauty contestant, Jessica can give Breanna valuable tips and pointers.

Why blame Pia?

There they go again. Here we go again.

One week after the 66th Miss Universe Pageant was held with 92 beauties competing, netizens are finding faults and scapegoats why our bet Rachel Peters made it only to Top 16 then the Top 10 semi-finalists, and losing to South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, the second from that country to bag the crown after 39 years (after Margaret Gardner in 1978).

Like when Kuh Ledesma, Lea Salonga and Manny Pacquiao sat as judges and our candidates (Maria Lourdes Gonzalez in 1991, Janine Tugonon in 2012 and MJ Lastimosa in 2014 respectively) lost, Pia Wurtzbach as one of the judges in the just-concluded Miss U pageant is being “blamed” for Rachel’s loss.

Come on, guys. Pia’s was only one vote and I suppose as a former Miss U, she was fair and objective in selecting who would be “it” and she was above the kababayan mentality. We can’t win them all, you see. What counted was that Rachel did her best and she represented the country well. Unfortunately, another candidate was adjudged to be better than her. The trouble with us as a people is that we can’t accept defeat, we don’t know how to lose, so when we do lose we scream that we are either “cheated” (as what also happened during elections) or somebody “sabotages” us.

A true beauty queen, Pia has ignored the bashers and instead in her soc-med account congratulated the new Miss South Africa:…A well-deserved win! We can’t wait to witness your journey as Miss Universe, and Rachel: Thank you for making us proud. Sitting on the other side, it was so nice to witness as Miss Philippines perform and have the loudest cheer in the crowd. Keep your head up. We’re all proud of you.

Enough already, Pia bashers! There’s always a next time, so better luck next time!

Brazilian crowned 2017 Miss Asia Pacific Int'l

Francielly Soares Ouriquez, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, was crowned Miss Asia Pacific International 2017 Thursday night at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World ManilA, beating 41other “beauties in diversity.”

A pre-pageant and crowd favorite, 25-year old Francielly, a Human Resources Management graduate, is busy with “We Are All Children,” an organization that partners with Hope House Institute that helps the orphaned children in Brazil.  

During the preliminaries, she bagged the Best in Swimsuit, Best in Festival Costume, Miss Sheridan Beach Resort and Spa awards and was second runner-up Best in National Costume.

Francielly received the new crown from outgoing queen Tess le Conge of the Netherlands. MAPI President Jacqueline Tan-Sainz said, “It was designed by Manny Halasan and is made of brass metal, coated with silver and adorned with a luxe mix of rhinestones and Swarovski crystals. The intricate design perfectly embodies the organization’s cause on beauty in diversity as seen through the hard frame, harmoniously blending with the soft curves of its lines. The crown, like its predecessors, is an elegant figure of strong presence, glamour, and beauty that shines from within.”

Declared runners-up were Acacia Walker of New Zealand (first), Valeria Alejandra Cardona Urbina of Honduras (second, also Best in Evening Gown and Miss Movenpick), Morgan Doelwijt of the Netherlands (third) and Ilene Astrid Cañete de Vera of the Philippines (fourth).

The other beauties who made it to the top 10 were Kimberly Porras Boza, Costa Rica; Yuki Sonoda, Japan; Anundari Dashdorj, Mongolia; Katering Medina, Nicaragua and Chanelle Soncini, South Africa. The remaining top 15 semi-finalists were Yhully Bell Gómez Zúñiga, Colombia; Lydia Simonis Tariu, Cook Islands; Farah Kamal Abouseda, Egypt; Patricia Seminario Valdiviezo, Peru and Viktoriya Dashieva, Russia.

Voted Miss Congeniality was Australia’s Louisa Brown, Lydia Simonis Tariu of Cook Islands was Miss Photogenic and Hasini Samuel of Sri Lanka was Darling of the Press.

The judging panel included Supermodel Tweetie de Leon-Gonzales, health and wellness guru Cory Quirino, fashion entrepreneur Mags Cue and 2009 Mr. Gay World Philippines Wilbert Tolentino.  

Co-hosted by Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez with anchors Sam YG and Sam Oh, the finals will be telecast tomorrow, Dec. 3, over Fox at 9:20 a.m. and ABS-CBN at 9:45 a.m.— Celso de Guzman Caparas

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)