Asian Beauties at the Very Best

Hello Everyone !!!

Tagal na no mga sis..... It's been a long time since I last updated this blog. May nakamiss naman kaya? Naku 2008 na pala at SUMMER na... Panahon na naman ng pag bi-beach. Outing galore na uli. Kayo? saan ang punta niyo???
Pero di yan ang topic natin… syempre tungkol sa beauty ang pag-uusapan natin. At dahil malapit na uling magsimula ang pageant season, atin pong gunitain ang tagumpay ng mga Asyana sa pandaigdigang patimpalak pagandahan.

Syempre nangunguna sa listahan ang pangalang Akiko Kojima. Kauna-unahang Miss Universe mula sa Asya at malayong Silangan. Taong 1959 nang manalo ang noo’y 22 anyos na si Bb. Kojima. Isa siyang modelo mula sa Tokyo, Japan.

Makalipas ang 6 na taon (1965), sinundan naman siya ni Apasara Hongsakula ng Thailand. Sa taas na 5 talampakan at 4 na pulgada, Si Bb. Hongsakula ang pinakamaliit na Kampyon ng Miss Universe.
Ang Pilipinas naman ay di pahuhuli, sapagkat atin namang nasungkit ang korona noong 1969 at 1973 sa katauhan nina Gloria Diaz at Margarita Moran (Paumanhin wala po akong pix ngayon).

Lumipas ang matagal na panahon bago muling nagkaroon ng Asian winner sa Miss Universe. 15 taon ang lumipas (taong 1988) bago nasundan ang pagkapanalo ng isang Asyana. Si Porntip Nakhironkanok ng Thailand ay nagwagi ng idaos ang patimpalak sa Taiwan. Tagumpay ang ganda ng mga Asyana ng taong iyon. Bukod kay Bb. Nakhironkanok, napasama rin sa Top 5 ang Miss Japan, Miss Korea at Miss Taiwan.

Taong 1994, nang idaos sa Maynila ang Miss Universe sa ikalawang pagkakataon. At ang mapalad na nagwagi ay si Sushmita Sen ng India. Di inaasahan ang pagkapanalo ni Bb. Sen. Siya ang “dark horse” ng gabing iyon laban kina Minorka Mercado ng Venezuela at Carolina Gomez ng Colombia.

Sa kaunaunahang pagkakataon din nag-double-win ang India sa pandaigdigang patimpalak pagandahan. Sa taon ding iyon ay nasungkit ni Aishwarya Rai ang korona ng Miss World. Si Bb. Rai ngayon ay kinikilalang pinakamagandang Miss World title holder.

Taong 2000 naman nang ang isang Pilipina ay hiranging Miss America. Si Angela Perez Baraquio ay kumatawan sa estadong Hawaii. Isa siyang guro at nagtuturo ng Physical fitness.

Last Year ay nasaksihan na naman natin ang tagumpay ng gandang Asyana sa pandaigdigang kompetisyon. Si Riyo Mori ng Japan ay itinanghal na Miss Universe at si Zhang Zi Ling naman ng Tsina ang nag-uwi ng titolong Miss World.

Sana ay magtuloy tuloy pa ang pagkilala sa kagandahang Asyana. Lalo na't Olympic year ang taong 2008 at ang bansang Tsina ang maghohost ng Pandaigdigang palaro. Go Asia Go!!!

Miss Universe 2007 (part 1) : Japan wins Miss Universe

May 28, 2007, live at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City the new queen of the universe was crowned. Riyo Mori, 20, a dance instructor from Japan bested 76 others for the most coveted Mikimoto crown. Completing her court are Brazil’s Natalia Guimaraes (1st runner up), Venezuela’s Lydimar Jonaitis (2nd runner up), Korea’s Honey Lee (3rd runner up) and USA’s Rachel Smith (4th runner up). This year’s pageant shows a remarkable success for the Asian delegates as they swept both major and minor awards. Aside from Japan’s triumph, 3 other ladies from Asia made it to the semifinal list and two others bagged the special awards.

After a pre-pageant judging held a few days before the final’s night, 15 ladies who stood out in the 3 pageant categories, namely the swimsuit competition, the evening gown competition and the Q and A, were named semifinalists. The lucky ones who made it to this lists are : Angola, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Slovenia, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, USA and Venezuela. 4 Asians, 4 Latinas, 4 Europeans, 2 Africans and Miss USA.







The 15 semifinalists were made to compete in the swimsuit round.

Their scores are as follows:
Japan : 9.599
Brazil : 9.560
Korea : 9.458
Tanzania : 9.223
Angola : 9.150
USA : 8.995
India : 8.548
Mexico : 8.527
Nicaragua : 8.171
Slovenia : 8.163
Czech Republic : 8.113
Denmark ; 7.969
Thailand : 7.940
Ukraine : 7.900

The ladies in the bottom 5 were eliminated and those who remained made up the Top 10 finalists. After the elimination, it was quite obvious that the European delegates delivered a weak performance as all 4 of them were eliminated together with Miss Thailand.

Those who made it to the Top 10 were then made to compete in their evening gown.

The result of their performances are as follows :

Brazil : 9.599
Venezuela : 9.510
Korea : 9.183
Japan : 8.943
USA : 8.754
Tanzania : 8.488
Angola : 8.363
Mexico : 7.850
India : 7.825
Nicaragua : 7.674

Once again, the bottom 5 were eliminated. This time the 2 representatives from Africa were axed together with hometown girl Miss Mexico. Advancing to the final 5 were Brazil, Japan, Korea, USA and Venezuela. To decide who among the top 5 will become Miss Universe, they were made to compete in the question and answer portion. All 5 made good answers but the one who impressed the judges the most is Miss Japan. With the aid of an interpreter she said that in her life as a dancer she has learned how to be happy, patient and positive and that is what she wants to teach the future generation.

After the Q&A, the winners of the night were announced.

4th Runner up : USA – Rachel Smith
3rd Runner up : Korea – Honey Lee
2nd Runner up : Venezuela – Lydimar Jonaitis
1st Runner up : Brazil – Natalie Guimaraes
Miss Universe 2007 : Japan – Riyo Mori

Mori’s triumph is her country’s second after 48 years. The first Japanese to be crowned Miss Universe is Akiko Kojima in 1957. Kojima was the first Miss Universe from Asia and the Far East.

Denille Lou Valmonte : Bb. Pilipinas Int'l 2006

This is Denille Lou Valmonte, our official representative to the 2006 International Beauty Congress (a.k.a. Miss International). She is 24 years old and is an entrepreneur. She is a Hotel and Restaurant Management graduate from the Philippine Polytechnic University and presently runs her own food catering business.

She won the Binibining Pilipinas International title last April. Her shapely body and resemblance to Holywood actress Lucy Liu was her ticket to winning the said title. She is now in Japan, together with 56 other girls from around the world, competing for this years Miss International Pageant which is scheduled to have its finals night on November 11 in Beijing, China.

With her good looks and charm, Filipinos are hoping for a back to back victory after Precious Lara Quigaman's triumph last year.

Good Luck Denille. May you bring us home the glory one more time.

Miss World 2006 - A Summary

Last September 30, 2006, The Miss World Organization crowned its new queen, Tatana Kucharova, 18, from Czech Republic. Kucharova bested more than 100 ladies from all over the world. She is a model and student, and wished to pursue a career in media someday. She is the first from her country to win the Miss World title.

1st runner up is Ioana Boitor from Romania. Finishing in 3rd place is Sabrina Houssami from Australia.

The Continental Queens are :

Queen of Africa : Angola

Queen of the Americas : Brazil

Queen of Asia and the Pacific : Australia (2nd runner-up)

Queen of the Caribbean : Miss Jamaica

Queen of Northern Europe : Czech Republic (eventual winner)

Queen of Southern Europe : Romania (1st runner up)

This year's selection of semifinalists is based on public voting and judges' scores. The more than 100 participants were divided into 6 groups according to their continental zones. From each zone, 2 semifinalist were chosen, 1 as the public choice and the other as the judge's choice. 12 girls from 6 continental zones.


The winners are :

From the Asia-Pacific Group :

1. Miss Vietnam (public choice)

2. Due to the inability to break a tie, 2 semifinalists were chosen as judges' choice.

They are :

Natasha Suri - Miss India

and Sabrina Houssami - Miss Australia

From the Caribbean:

1. Miss Jamaica (Public choice)

2. Miss Puerto Rico (judges' choice)

From Northern Europe :

1. Czech Republic (Public Choice)

2. Miss Scotland (Judges' choice)

From Southern Europe :

1. Romania (Public Choice)

2. Lebanon (judges' choice)

From the Americas:

1. Mexico (Public Choice)

2. Brazil (Judges' Choice)

From Africa :

1. Namibia (Public Choice)

2. Angola (Judges' Choice)

In addition to the 13 continental semifinalists, 4 more girls were given the chance to enter the semifinals thru 4 fast track events namely : The Beach Beauty Competition, The Miss Talent Competition, The Sports fest and The Beauty with a Purpose Award.

Of these events, the beach beauty competition was held first. The more than 100 ladies gathered in front of the Grand Hotel to showcase the new design for Miss World swimwear line. 25 girls were chosen as semifinalists for the said sub-competition. Out of 25, the number was trimmed down to 10, then finally revealing the top 5.

The Top 5 were named as follows:

5th place : Singapore

4th place : Angola

3rd Place : India

2nd Place : Czech Republic

1st Place : Venezuela

As winner of the beachwear finals, Miss Venezuela, Alexandra Federica Guzman, earned a spot in the semifinals.

The next event was the Sports competition. The girls competed by group according to their continental zone. The overall winner of the event is the America's group. From each group, the best participants were chosen to compete for the Miss Sports title.

Miss Canada was proclaimed the fittest among all the candidates as she won the Miss Sports award. This earned her a spot in the semifinals.

With 2 lucky girls earning a spot each in the semifinals, the others are not to be left out as they showcased their unique talents during the Talent competition. Dressed in their native costumes and some in chic dresses, the girls wowed the crowd as they presented their special numbers. It was a night of songs, dances and even magic.

Of all the girls, Miss Northern Ireland was heralded the most talented. She performed a native song from her country.

The result of the talent competition was as follow:

3rd Place : Italy (gymnastics)

2nd Place : Zimbabwe ( traditional song)

1st Place : Northern Ireland (traditional song)

As winner of the talent event, Miss Northern Ireland was the 3rd girl to advance to the semifinals.

The last key to earn a semifinal slot is the Beauty with a purpose award. Unlike the 3 other fast track events, this award was given during the final's night. This award is given to the girl who used her beauty title to serve the needy and the less fortunate.

The surprise winner of the award is :

Miss Ghana. She was the 17th semifinalist.

Prior to the final's night, another special event was held. It was called the dress designer's awards night. The award is given to the girl who wore the most fashionable designer's dress.

Winning this special award is Miss Croatia. Though this did not earn her a semifinals' slot. This award is more for the dress designer rather than for the contestant.

Our bet this year is Miss Anna Maris Igpit. Though she did not make it to the semifinals. She did us proud as she was among the heavy favorites to win.

She was among the lucky 25 girls who were chosen to compete in the beachwear finals.

She performed a modernized T'boli dance number during the talent competition. Though she did not make it to the top 10.

With her sweet natural smile and unique malay features, she was among the best bets in the Asia Pacific region.

Classy and elegant. Anna poses in front of the camera for her "vote for me" video.

All in all, I could say that this year's event was a success. Through the years, the Miss World competition has continuously reinvented itself from a beauty contest to a charity event. It has encouraged more and more countries to join the competition each year. In fact, it is now the second most widely participated event in the world next to the olympics.

The winners are all deserving. They displayed not only physical beauty but also beauty as a person. A beautiful person with a good heart is what it takes to be a beauty queen. A true beauty queen does not only displays beauty in the outside but must also possess beauty in character as she also will serve as an ambassadress of goodwill to whatever purpose she may serve.