ON Thursday night, January 28, the end of the rainbow was at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, where Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was honored by her fellow Misses Philippines Universe, other Binibinis and her legions of fans. Yes, that night is important. Not just because Pia won the pageant world’s most-coveted crown and most sought-after title after 42 years, but also what they ultimately represent: the resilience, relentlessness and resplendence of the Filipino spirit.
“I hope that my story can become an inspiration for determination, discipline, faith and hard work. Even after the Miss Universe pageant, I hope that people learn this lesson from me: never give up on [your] dreams because you’ll never know, it could happen to you,” Pia, 26, said at her press conference at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center.
Pia first appeared onstage wearing a Martin Bautista emerald green gown, with makeup by Gery Penaso, styling by Bessie Besana and Veronica Lake waves by Renz Pangilinan. Later on, when she did her aborted walk as Miss Universe, she wore again her royal-blue Albert Andrada dazzler.
A visibly moved Pia thanked her fans and supporters in four languages: in broken Bisaya, in Tagalog, in English and her father’s German: “Danke schön!”
“DESERVE KO BA ’TO?”
The last time there was jubilation of this magnitude for a beauty queen who triumphed on the global stage was in 1973, my birth year, when Maria Margarita Roxas Moran was declared Miss Universe in Athens, Greece. So, I had no memory of what the mood, atmosphere and feeling were like.
True, there have been notable victories in the ensuing years: Mimilanie Marquez in 1979, Precious Lara Quigaman in 2005 and Bea Rose Santiago in 2013 at Miss International; some world titles at second-tier pageants; Miriam Quiambao’s and the recent six successive semifinal and runner-up finishes at Miss Universe. But the weeklong homecoming activities and celebrations in Pia’s honor proves that of all the crowns won by the Philippines, that of (the $300,000) Miss Universe is the most important.
Senate President Franklin Drilon, after conferring a special citation on Pia, quipped, “Your visit here has generated more interest than the Mamasapano hearing.” Manila City Mayor and former President Joseph Estrada, an incurable romantic, went giddy like a teenager after presenting the Key of the City to Pia.
“Matagal na akong nagta-travel, pero parang first time ko umuwi,” Pia said in a video clip recounting her arrival. It was an early flight but the media and her fans were in full force. An overwhelmed Pia could only mutter: “Deserve ko ba ’to?”
WHERE IS GLORIA DIAZ?
At the Big Dome, there were giant screens overhead, and every time a beauty queen was shown looking for her seat or chatting with fellow title-holders, fans would go gaga. I was elated no end when I saw Binibiling Pilipinas International 1989 Lilia Eloisa Marfori Andanar, now Yu, among the attendees. She’s a fellow Cagay-anon like Pia. Her younger brother Edgardo was my batch mate in high school. I lost no time having a picture with her, taken by acclaimed designer Frederick Peralta no less. The opening number was the equivalent of a pageant fan’s orgasm. Five decades of Binibining Pilipinas Universe winners were called onstage to wild screams: Simonette de los Reyes (1970), Vida Doria (1971), Rose Marie Brosas (1975), Criselda Cecilio (1979), Maria Caroline Mendoza (1981), Maria Desiree Verdadero (1984), Germelina Padilla (1990), Abbygale Arenas (1997), Miriam Quiambao (1999), Nina Ricci Alagao (2000), Karen Loren Agustin (2002), Gionna Cabrera (2005), Pamela Bianca Manalo (2009), Maria Venus Raj (2010) and Ariella Arida (2013). Miriam and Venus got the most deafening reception.
Margie Moran, now Ballet Philippines president and Mindanao advocate, was accorded a special suite in the program. “I felt like a Greek goddess [on pageant night, which was held at the Herod Atticus Theater in Athens],” she told excitable host Xian Lim. “There were only three Filipinos in the audience, and they were all from the embassy.” Even so, the press and the crowd adored Margie, who many believed had the grace and glamour of then-Greece resident Jackie Kennedy Onassis. She also won Miss Photogenic.
But there was one winner pageant fans were furiously waiting to come gliding out: the legendary Gloria Diaz, Miss Universe 1969. Her absence, still a mystery, was a huge disappointment.
SAM OR PIOLO?
Though “confidently beautiful with a heart,” Pia has had her heart broken. She has admitted in several interviews that she’s single, having been replaced by a former flame with another woman. Fans are currently pairing her with broadcast reporter Atom Araullo. She once dated footballer Phil Younghusband, and, I might have heard wrong, was once linked to GMA actor Benjamin Alves.
I wish she’d set her sights on Hollywood for her dating pool. James Franco, for one, has expressed his mutual admiration on social media. I can narrow down her potential suitors for her, starting with top-caliber actors with German blood: Michael Fassbender, Leonardo DiCaprio, and if she wants a silver daddy like BFF Pauleen Luna, there’s Bruce Willis.
At the tribute show, ABS-CBN’s most bankable (and controversial) leading men, Sam Milby and Piolo Pascual, serenaded the most controversial queen in a special number. When asked later on by Boy Abunda—in a special Q&A—who she prefers, Pia replied: “Sam!” n