Perhaps, next to the President, the country’s bet to the Miss Universe pageant is the most scrutinized public figure in the Philippines.
Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Maxine Medina has been under a lot of pressure since she won the local crown. She possesses impeccable beauty and confidence, but her command of English is her Achilles heel. She was strongly urged to avail herself of an interpreter, but this was negated by criticism declaring that Filipinos don’t need interpreters. Poor Maxine. On top of the burden of representing the country and defending the crown in one’s home court, she must probably have gone back and forth until the very last minute about whether to speak in English or Filipino for the Q&A. It’s a conundrum only for a Miss Philippines!
Despite the advice that she got from her supporters, Maxine decided to ditch the interpreter she had on standby. As a result, Maxine blurted an unimpressive answer, which failed to secure for her a slot in the top three.
Filipinos expressed their disappointment through humor. Twitter user Martin Nicholas asked, “On a scale of 1 to Maxine Medina’s interpreter, gaano ka kauseful today?”
After the pageant, a more serious post-mortem article from ABS-CBN’s online website remarked Maxine had an ace card that she failed to use.
But was it truly an ace card?
A quick browse of Maxine’s YouTube videos before the pageant shows otherwise.
In several interviews and talk shows, it seems Maxine was neither fluent in Tagalog nor English. She is most coherent when she speaks in Taglish. That is, she starts to speak by blurting the few English phrases she has mastered, but when elucidation is needed, she begins to mix in some Tagalog words and clauses interspersed with a few English conjunctions and phrases. It’s not that she’s trying too hard. I believe she is just used to expressing herself that way. After all, that is her generation’s preferred way of communication.
So, did Maxine really decide to do away with her ace card? My guess is she didn’t really have one. She was not comfortable, or worse, she must have been incapable of speaking in straight Filipino.That clearly shows in her answer when she was asked nights before if she would use an interpreter. She replied she would most definitely use English, but was open to speaking in Tagalog just in case.
And that’s the point. Filipinos have long fretted about losing our edge as an English-speaking nation when that should be the least of our worries. What is deeply troubling is that we are also beginning to lose the capacity to speak fluent Filipino. The reason for this is that for many middle-class and upper class Filipinos, the use of our national language — the one language that should serve as the medium where we can naturally express what we truly feel — is just a backup option, a just in case, a language to be used if one runs out of English.
Our great philosophy, sociology and language teachers pounded on us that not all languages are the same. Each one reflects a particular way of living that people can call uniquely their own. A language system is the key to the wisdom of one’s culture. The Miss Universe beauty pageant is supposed to be a celebration of those diverse cultures. It is a time to show off not just beauty but the grace and elegance bestowed by one’s heritage. It is not a job interview. It is not the time to show off one’s English-speaking abilities, or a time to prove over and over again how we have blindly allowed ourselves to be remade in America’s image.
Maxine should never be faulted for the weakness of our culture. It is just unfortunate that destiny has chosen her to show Filipinos what we have become — a people that can communicate in two languages but cannot illuminate or inspire in either one or the other. If Maxine has many bashers, it is simply because people have a natural tendency to detest the reflection they see in the mirror.
The interpreter last January 30 was indeed a symbol for something suffering from unrequited love. Although it’s always there whenever we need it, we are ashamed of it, look down on it, take it for granted, and pretend we can survive without it. Call that tragic lover by its proper name: the Filipino language.