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WHEN beauty queens get together for a nightout,
expect a blast. On rare occasions like this one held at El
Pueblo’s Pasto recently, catching-up means endless exchange of
anecdotes and stories about themselves and their other beauty-queen
friends, differing views on who’s hot and who’s not on the
fashion, society, politics and showbiz circuits, and juicy details
on the love fronts.
Organized by Jewel
Lobaton-Pimentel and Maria Isabel Lopez, both Binibining Pilinas-Universe
titleholders, this dinner had no major agenda on hand, except that
it wanted to provide a venue for these beauty queens to get together
and strengthen their bonds.
I caught the ageless Gloria Diaz,
the country’s first-ever Miss Universe, seated quietly in one
corner with her man of the moment. At fifty-five, Diaz is still very
much active in the entertainment scene, regularly playing important
roles in the big networks’ drama or comedy programs. At present,
she is also the spokesperson for Roche Philippines’ BonDiva
Women’s Campaign for Bone Health, an advocacy that is giving her,
as she claims, added purpose in life. The campaign encourages
osteoporotic women to actively seek and stay on treatment and find
support from others similarly afflicted so they may enjoy life as
best as possible.
Through BonDiva, Diaz has
realized that osteoporosis can be remedied and the effects delayed.
Women have been helped by the campaign through various activities,
workshops on osteoporosis management and recommended adherence to
therapy via the once-monthly Ibandronic acid treatment.
I was also very happy to see
Evangeline Pascual, the only Filipina who came closest to winning
the Miss World crown. Pascual was proclaimed first runner-up to
USA’s Marjorie Wallace in the 1973 Miss World. Wallace was
stripped off her title and the organizers offered it to Pascual who
turned it down for personal reasons. Pascual is also active on
television, playing glamorous mother roles to our young actors and
actresses.
One of my personal favorites is
Maria Isabel Lopez, who will always be remembered as the only
candidate who wasn’t intimidated by the questioning style of the
late Rita Gomez who served as a judge during her batch in the
Binibining Pilipinas pageant. Lopez was a picture of a coy, calm and
confident candidate as she verbalized her views on virginity. She
was eventually declared Binibining Pilipinas-Universe. She is now
happily single after her marriage to a Japanese surfer-businessman
ended.
Former Bibinibing Pilipinas
International titleholders Evelyn Camus and Alma Concepcion were
also in the crowd. One of the children of Camus owns the Pasto
restaurant in Ortigas while Concepcion tells us that she has also
opened a restaurant called Persiana somewhere in Santolan (Life
& Times is scheduled to feature Concepcion’s restaurant in the
next few weeks). We were also happy to see Lorraine Schuck in
attendance. A former Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia, Schuck is the force
behind the staging of Miss Philippines and Miss Earth beauty
pageants.
Binibining Pilipinas Universe
2005 Gionnna Cabrera looked splendid in her black and white
ensemble. A Miss Photogenic winner in the Miss Universe 2005 in
Bangkok, Cabrera has started contributing for Life & Times,
writing articles on fashion and beauty, besides being a much
sought-after ramp model. She will soon embark on a career in
entertainment and broadcasting.
Jewel Lobaton-Pimentel was the
country’s representative to the Miss Universe pageant in 1998. She
was swept off her feet by Koko Pimentel, a BAR exams topnotcher who
is now running for a seat in the Senate. The politician took time
out from his campaign activities to attend the fellowship dinner.
Chiqui Brosas-Hahn, 1975 Miss
Universe fourth runner-up, is now in the insurance business. It was
reported that former world boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali
was smitten by the Filipina beauty when he sat as a member of the
board of judges for that year’s pageant.
I also saw Abigail Cruz, the
second runner-up in this year’s Binibining Pilipinas. Cruz is now
seen on television as one of the sexy girls paired with matinee idol
Richard Gutierrez in the nightly series Lupin.
It was a truly unforgettable
evening of beauty queens from different beauty pageants getting
together for a night of fun-filled reminiscing and timeless beauty.
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