The blossoming of Cynthia Thomalla

CEBU, Philippines — Seemingly having picture perfect lives, an onlooker might think that beauty queens have everything handed to them on a silver platter.

With various titles and an international crown among her laurels, the very first Asian and Filipina to be crowned Miss Eco International, Cynthia Magpatoc Thomalla recalls her journey to the crown in a quick visit to the Queen City of the South to thank those who believed in her since day one a month after her victory in Cairo, Egypt.

“It’s so hard to explain how it feels. Everything right now is pretty amazing. I never thought a crowning moment could be that powerful despite only lasting seconds. My life has changed a lot. Now I have more responsibilities and tasks. Everything happened so fast, it’s surreal. I still don’t know how to thank all the people who helped me. I feel like I’m still inside a dream,” Cynthia tells The Freeman.

The Sinulog Festival Queen 2016 and Reyna ng Aliwan 2016 title-holder is a tourism and events management alumna from STI Maasin. Born to a German father, Cynthia is a stickler for time. With a Filipina mother from Southern Leyte, she is family-oriented as most Filipinos are.

Despite being the youngest daughter among five siblings, 23-year-old Cynthia is not at all naïve, valuing experience and independence a lot. Saying that she was not the typical “bunso” who was coddled, Cynthia took on independence early on.

At nine years old, Cynthia’s family migrated to Macrohon, Southern Leyte from the German countryside. For her, the move to the tropics was the beginning of her life. While her older sisters decided to stay in Germany, Cynthia saw how independent they had become, and had eventually followed their footsteps at 19 years old, leaving the comforts of Leyte to see how she would fare in Cebu all on her own.

“I look up to my sisters. To me it doesn’t matter how old you are, you should learn to be independent and have experiences of your own. It’s part of growing up. You can’t stay in the same place your whole life. I mean, unless you want to, but it’s different when you try new things,” Cynthia says.

During her time in Cebu, Cynthia was either in school, at home in Gorordo, or trying to get casted for fashion shows.

If she hadn’t invested herself in pageantry, the beauty queen muses that she would have been a flight attendant. Originally wanting to become a dance performer when she was younger, and then a flight stewardess, Cynthia was introduced to the pageant circuit at the suggestion of her mother.

“Everything was difficult: from how you act on and off the stage and the camera. Everything matters. I’m really not into public speaking, it’s not really something I’m into a lot but because it’s part of the job I took that as a challenge. But really, I’m not one to carry conversations,” Cynthia recalls.

She used to be insecure about her weight and height, but thankfully had learned how to work around those thoughts. Because of her many experiences in competitions, she’s also learned to stop comparing herself to others.

An emotional person, Cynthia tends to cry things out the night before a pageant to prepare herself for the result and to let go of any lingering heavy feelings to make sure only excitement is left for the big night. An avid traveller, she wants to experience the places she goes to as a local. Much like a cowboy, she doesn’t mind commuting and constantly seeks adventures.

Cynthia admits that she used to be a pessimist, but throughout the years, she’s learned to become optimistic. She used to be someone who took other people’s thoughts about her a bit more seriously than what was healthy. But now a full-fledged beauty queen, she has accepted the scrutiny that comes with being a public figure.

“Being a beauty queen is already part of who I am. I am makulit, I’m silly but you can’t take that with you in pageantry. When it’s time to be responsible, then the switch is on: I have to be poised and be careful. I don’t mind the scrutiny. As long as there is respect, then no problem.”

She is now responsible in advocating for the environment, with the Miss Eco International organization working with the United Nations in their efforts of protecting and preserving natural resources. Often tasked to reach out to the UN and writing letters, Cynthia often finds herself challenged with what she has to say. Although sustainable and responsible tourism is still a thrust, the technicalities and the science of environmental issues and how to address them is something Cynthia needs to constantly study up for.

“I think the common way to address environmental problems is to educate the people first, and encourage them to start with themselves. If you’re the only person doing the right thing while a million other people are doing things wrong, there won’t be much of a difference. I really hope to make a huge impact to the organization, and to make sure to leave something as the first Asian and Filipina to win the Miss Eco International crown,” Cynthia quips.

People might raise an eyebrow at Cynthia’s international win and compare it to more well-known pageants, dismissing her title as low-tier. But for Cynthia, she  thinks that a crown has no meaning when one isn’t able to live up to the responsibilities that come along with it.

“People say Miss Eco International is a minor pageant but for me, it doesn’t matter which national pageant or international crown you win. We still worked hard to represent the Philippines, and that itself is already something. Winning a crown is not that big of an achievement, if you can’t fulfill your duties and make much of a difference,” Cynthia reasons.

Although wanting to win the Miss World Philippines crown, Cynthia can’t say that she bemoans her placement, sharing that the opportunity has allowed her to grow. She has learned so much from the experience and even gained genuine friendships among her Miss Eco International co-candidates.

After her time in Cebu, Cynthia decided to move to Manila for Miss World Philippines, all on her own all over again. As she prepared for the competition, she was ushered into the care of fellow Kagandahang Flores beauties, Binibining Pilipinas World 2007 Maggie Wilson and Miss International 2013 Bea Santiago, who became her big sisters, often mentoring her and being the ones she could lean on when she got homesick.

Just a ways before her international competition, many Filipino pageant fans had turned their backs on the supposed pageant darling after Cynthia was dragged into a narrative that had initially nothing to do with her. Fans of recently crowned Miss Universe Philippines Catriona Gray came for Maggie and Bea after their online exchange about who should have won the Best Swimsuit Award (which went to Catriona). By association, Cynthia received a lot of bashing, to an extent where pageant fans mistook a post of her and her friends laughing at a video for an indirect dig at Catriona.

“My friends apologized to me but it didn’t matter. I know what happened, and I’ve met Catriona before. Everyone knows she deserves the crown. But my mom had been really worried, she was afraid that I would break down. So I sat with my family and told them my side, and asked them to stay quiet.”

“As for those who think I should stop hanging out with Maggie and Bea, why would I give up people who were there for me at my weakest? People have made up their minds and they don’t want to listen so what else do they want me to do?” Cynthia explains.

“We should be more mindful about the things that we say. If you don’t like them [friends], we all have our own different minds so just focus on what you want to do with your life. You can never please everyone. It’s not that I totally don’t care about what people say, it’s just that I am now better at telling which issues to care about and which ones to save my energy on instead.”

With Maggie, who gave her styling and personality tips as a mentor, Cynthia says that it made a difference to have a friend teach you the ropes on how to better yourself.

“The best thing about having friends as a mentor is that they know how to tell you the truth no matter how hard it is. With Maggie, knowing the experiences she’s been through, she does have the right to tell me what is wrong. It’s such a big blessing to have her. She’s not just a mentor who tells you what to do, but she also listens to what you want and how you feel. It’s a really good thing and that it really matters when you and your mentor have a good relationship,” Cynthia says.

As someone who has mentored others before, Cynthia says that values are very important, that humility and gratitude goes a long way in the industry.

Cynthia reveals how Miss Eco International could be her last crown for now, as she would like to focus on her reign as well as broaden her horizons. But she’s not closing her doors on pageantry completely. It’s just that she would like to try new things, go back to sports and see the world.

With a P500,000 Regal Films contract among her MWP 2017 prizes, Cynthia also says that she would like to dabble into acting. Her first agenda is to be part of a romantic comedy.

The Miss Mandaue 2015 first runner-up will be returning to Egypt mid-June until July for the Environment Day celebration among the Arab states, and looks forward to learning more about Egypt since they didn’t get to dig into the historical details during her Miss Eco International trip.

As someone who has been attacked for the littlest things, the self-confessed adventurous soul has a few words for women who would like to pursue things outside of their comfort zones: “If you want to be an empowered woman, you can do it in any way you want. As long as it’s something you want to experience, and something that is in your heart.”