The entire country takes its beauty pageants seriously... A bevy of Filipina beauties have made their mark in international contests abroad over the latter part of the twentieth century and even the twenty-first as well. The very first Filipina to reach this stature was Gemma Cruz during the nineteen sixties. This statuesque great grand daughter of Jose Rizal made the country proud when she won Miss International in Long Beach, California in 1964. The country rejoiced when she was proclaimed winner of the esteemed pageant. She is the daughter of Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil and niece to writer Leon Ma. Guerero who trace their ancestry to Dona Maria Rizal our national hero's sister.
Then came Gloria Diaz who in 1969, at the tender age of 18, won the Miss Universe Pageant. She outsmarted her closest rival, Miss USA (Joan Van Ark... yes, the actress in Knots Landing). She was asked what she would do if she had the opportunity to meet the astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin. She replied that she would take them out on a date. Gloria is one of a brood of twelve; eleven of whom are women. Her other sisters have carved out a name for themselves. The other Diaz, Rio (now deceased) was also a beauty pageant titlist (Mutya ng Pilipinas)... Gloria eventually re-invented herself to become an accomplished actress and the mother of another beautiful Filipina - Isabel Diaz Daza.
In 1970 Aurora Pijuan, a math major from the St. Scholastica's College won the Binibini'ng Pilipinas local pageant. She was sent to Osaka, Japan and brought home the title of Miss International. This makes her the second Filipina to win the title. She is mother to broadcaster TJ Manotoc and daughter Mavis. Currently She is involved in Gawad Kalinga. Ms Pijuan's olive skin and patrician good looks and sharp mind are what made her win the crown.
Maria Margarita Roxas Moran won the Miss Universe crown in 1973. She is a granddaughter of Philippine President Manuel Roxas. A student of Maryknoll College, Margie as she is more popularly known, joined the local beauty pageant upon the prodding of friends and family. Her coronation was quite memorable as she was proclaimed winner in the colloseum in Athens, Greece. She was also that year's recipient of the Miss Photogenic special prize. She tried dabbling in film and eventually settled into married life in Davao City after marrying a scion of the wealthy Floreindo clan. Currently, she is the president of Ballet Philippines and is also a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity providing housing for Manila's urban poor.
Melanie Marquez won for the Philippines the Miss International Award in 1979. She won the local pageant while she was working as a fashion model for some of Manila's top couturiers. After winning the title, she dabbled in films as an actress, producer and tv host and celebrity. This runs in her genes as her father is noted director Artemio Marquez. Eventually she also represented the country in the Supermodel search garnering the Ms Clairol prize and the second place slot. She also competed in the MRS Universe competition in India. Melanie is known for her humorous one-liners. She however, for back all the chiding and took up and finished her degree in Law. She is currently married to an American lawyer. Her son, Mark Lapid is currently head honcho of the Philippine Tourism Authority.
The next lady to bring home a crown and title is Precious Lara Quigaman. She is the fourth Miss International winner and the most recent one to win in 2005. Her win in the local pageant elicited controversy with the gown of her choice. Nonetheless, she won the honor of representing the country in the Miss International pageant in Japan. She was based in Bristol England to overseas Filipino workers. She spent part of her childhood in England and Bahrain and then took up higher studies at the University of Sto. Tomas. Precious was a web designer/writer and eventually entered the glittering world of showbiz. She has done soaps on ABS CBN and have been sought after as host, anchor woman and endorser.
Shamcey Supsup, this year's entry to the Miss Universe Pageant came so close. Declared third runner-up, Shamcey showed great promise as she led the standings until the last five girls were chosen. Her response to Vivica A. Fox's question whether she would change her religion for the man she loves was classic Miss Universe. Shamcey is a licensed architect. A topnotcher in the Architecture Licensure Exams, she graduated magna cum laude at the University of the Philippines Architecture class of 2010. She hails from General Santos (a kababayan of Manny Pacquiao).
Shamcey joins a list of other beauties who made great strides in competitions. Among them: Eva Reyes, Evangeline Pascual, Ruffa Gutierrez and Venus Raj (last year's fourth runner-up). Congratulations, Shamcey! Job well done!!!
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