With the beauty pageant season for Filipino pageant fans kicking in, the Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant offers us again another bevy of the most beautiful Filipinas in the country. At this point in time, we may already have our bets for the major titles at stake with much anticipation on who will bag the Binibining Pilipinas Universe title, still considered the plum title although for the last few years, the Binibining Pilipinas World title has been noticeably given the greatest importance since we have not won the Miss World title after its 57 years of existence. We have noticed how in the past years, the most obvious frontrunner in the finals is sent to Miss World and this has been largely blamed why for almost 10 years now, we have not entered the semifinals because we are sending our best bets to Miss World.
This year’s batch of official candidates teems with excellent and superior beauties. There are indeed a lot of candidates who are hugely favored to win the major titles and make huge waves for the Philippine flag when they compete in their respective international pageants. Almost all of us have common favorites who we think will do well and who will make history happen again in Philippine pageantry.
One of the most watched activities of the Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant is the parade of beauties, which is held at the Araneta Center. The parade is one of the traditions of BPCI to bring the pageant closer to the public since this is the best time to have a clear and perfect glimpse of the ladies, in broad daylight and absolutely free. As an amateur pageant aficionado (I have been just an ordinary watcher of pageants until I became a huge fan with the prodding and influence of my significant other who, I must say has been following pageants for many years now.), I was excited to see the candidates upfront and prove to myself what I relish in pictures and on television. It was a delightful experience seeing the candidates in their full glorious female pulchritude parading around the Araneta Center and being swarmed by throngs of spectators all eager to take a closer look and capture images of the country’s most beautiful women. I must say, this is the culmination of my adulation of pageants and how they have become an inevitable part of our culture. I was also able to see them again during the talent show held at the Gateway Mall and I must say it was an unforgettable moment.
After the frenzy but still in anticipation of the big night, we were headed home when we stopped by a nearby ice cream station just within the premises of Gateway when we saw one of the candidates, Gizelle Rivamonte. She was that candidate who sang her own version of Joey Albert’s classic song “Iisa Pa Lamang” during the talent show. She was with her boyfriend and her brother in the same ice cream station. Though she is not one of the heavy favorites, I was still stunned and sort of possessed by the spirit of a star-struck fan. I was dying to take a picture of her since she is one of the most talked about in this forum, and for history, her thread remains unbeatably the longest. Sadly though, there have been more negative than positive reviews about her, probably because of some pictures that show her not so good angles. In fairness to her, she radiates with a different kind of aura in person, something that you would not appreciate in some of her photos. As someone who saw the candidates in person, she had more beauty than the other candidates who were very disappointing when I saw them upfront.
I was with my partner and her little niece that time and this kid’s bubbly and gregarious personality almost made me vanish into thin air. The little girl approached Gizelle and positioned a camera phone aiming to take a shot of her. The most accommodating Gizelle stood and offered to take pictures with little girl Thea and then with me. That was nerve-wracking since I was even hesitant to say hi to her. Little Thea’s unassuming ways beat the little timid self out of me.
I thought that that was it. I was not expecting that Gizelle would initiate a conversation and she even invited us to their table. She related how she is totally nervous and losing her self-esteem at many times when she reads pageant forums where a candidate is scrutinized from her toe up to the end of her hair strands. We already know of bashings in beauty pageant forums, those kinds of comments that are harsh, unkind, and will not build up the confidence of a contestant. She exclaimed though that she is a big fan and an avid visitor if OPMB, one of the most respected beauty pageant magazines and forums.
As we went along our short conversation, I came to admire the many distinct and sterling qualities of Gizelle. She was a very down-to-earth person. She said that a beauty queen or even a candidate should be someone within the people’s reach since they embody the ideals of a good person worthy of emulation. I admitted to her that I had so much hesitation calling her attention but she said it was perfectly ok since she needs direct feedbacks on where she needs to improve especially on her overall looks and stage presentation. I guaranteed her that a lot of people in beauty pageant forums in fact like her so much because of the determination she has consistently shown. If I may also add, she has a natural sense of humor and she is very unassuming and frank. She has this very engaging personality that will make you drawn to her. I must say, with her degree in Nursing, she will be a well-loved nurse and her patients will surely find recuperation easy having her around. I did not feel any attitude of so much self-praise in her. She was very straightforward about her flaws and that the positive comments and support she has been getting from this forum will help her a lot. She even admitted to these bashings that she is not really expecting a lot and that making it as one of the official candidates is one big accomplishment she will forever treasure. Making it to the top ten come finals night, she said, will be one hell of a trophy she will always be proud of.
We capped the night saying our farewells and as we parted ways, she extends her gratitude to the OPMB people who have been throwing some nice words of encouragements to her. She may not be on the list of favorites of most pageant experts but mind you, she has this fierce attitude and very confident eloquence that will knock you off your feet. Nobody knows. It is all in the hands of the judges. She may surprise us come pageant finals night. And again who knows. Gloria Diaz was never a favorite nor was Sushmita Sen! This might be a surprise, a very delightful surprise!
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