Gemma Cruz-Araneta first rose to fame when she earned the right to represent the country in the 1964 Miss International pageant by being chosen as Miss Philippines, sponsored by the City of Manila that year. Her historic win—becoming the first Filipina and Asian crowned as Miss International—also set the tone for the Philippines as a powerhouse in global beauty pageantry.
'The lost island of San Juan,' 2014, oil on wood