NEITHER a back-to-back victory from the Philippines nor a third harvest of international beauty title from Venezuela this year ensued at the coronation night of the Miss Earth pageant at the Eco Village Resort in Boracay last Sunday.
Karla Paula Henry did not crown Sandra Inez Suravilla Seifert—who topped the swimsuit and evening gown preliminaries—or Jessica Cristina Barboza Schmidt as her successor. But the 25-year-old registered nurse and the 22-year-old lawyer from Maracaibo did not go home in tears.
They emerged as first and second runners-up or Misses Air and Water, in that order. While crowd favorite Alejandra Echevarria Pedrajas of Spain, a 20-year-old professional singer, became third runner-up or Miss Fire. They and 76 others were edged out by Larissa Ramos of Brazil, a 19-year-old biology major at the Universidade Federal do Amazonas.
The remaining four finalists were Alejandra Castillo Munera of Colombia, Pascale Laurie Nelide of Martinique, Isabela Wilczek of Poland and Rujinan Phanseethum of Thailand, while the eight semifinalists were Magalie Audrey Thierry of France, Nonna Diakonidze of Georgia, Shriya Manthari Kishore of India, Park Ye-ju of Korea, Kayleigh O’Reilly of Northern Ireland, Gabriela Mercedes Rejala Llanes of Paraguay, Valerie Lim of Singapore and Chanel Grantham of South Africa.
Recipients of special awards like Evelyne Almasi of Tanzania (Best in National Costume), Niuriki Teremate of Tahiti (Miss Talent), Tereza Budkova of Czech Republic (Miss Photogenic), Graziella Rogers of Switzerland (Miss Friendship) as well as heavy favorites Jamillette Gaxiola of Cuba, Lateesha Khamila Ector of Canada, and Aheu Deng Kudum of South Sudan, the tallest documented beauty queen to take part in a global beauty contest, all ended up as thank-you girls.
The judging panel included Discovery Suites general manager Bobby Horrigan, Fairways and Blue Water Resort chairman Noel Carino, business strategist-cum-community leader Gina Cortes-Watkins, Trace College president Erwin Genuino, Iloilo Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Joe Marie Agrim, Vietnamese supermodel Bui Thuy Hahn, United States Embassy commercial attaché of the US Commercial Service Tyrena Holley and Miss Earth 2004 Priscilla Meirelles, who sat as chairman.
Great show?
Even if the convention center was only half-filled with people, the show started early, around 7:20 p.m. Some of the security personnel, ushers and usherettes assigned at the venue were so arrogant, most press photographers had a hard time covering the pageant as they were forced to move from one area to another. During the technical dress rehearsals, Samantha, the daughter of organizers Ramon Monzon and Lorraine Schuck, was prevented from entering the premises and reportedly called her as “an impostor.”
Some portions of the competition had been pre-taped to take full advantage of the air time, such as the introduction, presentation of special awards and the 16 semifinalists’ profiles. The pre-recorded opening number where Henry danced with the 80 candidates clad in bikinis at the beach front of Boracay may just be a replication of Miss World’s Beach Beauty segment and of Miss Universe’s foreword in the Bahamas last August, but it was indeed full of vitality if not vivacity.
Marc Nelson and Sarah Meier had been hosts of this pageant in previous years, but they just didn’t have the oomph last Sunday, and so was their co-anchor Borgy Manotoc, who appeared so stiff in his white formal wear. Last year’s show presenters Billy Crawford, Riza Santos and Meirelles were much livelier.
The interview round, where photographs depicting environmental issues had to be interpreted by the finalists in 30 seconds, ruined the chances of non-English speaking candidates. Miss Thailand ran out of time to answer as her translator had to brief her first on what to do with the picture, while Miss Brazil didn’t get to finish her statement. The others had to reply faster and to the point such as Miss Venezuela and Miss Philippines who sounded too rehearsed.
Three delegates who topped the talent competition performed while the results were being tabulated: Catherine Irving of New Zealand showcased her ballroom dancing expertise. Krystal Brown of Bahamas played a Michael Jackson medley on the saxophone while Miss Talent Teremate performed her Tahitian dance routine.
But what right does Michael Seifert has, to ruthlessly shout at some fans and media men who all wanted to have a photo-op with his sister Sandra on stage after the show?
He kept on saying, “My sister is already tired, she needs to rest now!,” “Why do you take pictures, who are you, why are you here?,” “Could you please stop taking pictures out of respect!” As if he was the one who won. Enthusiasts who witnessed his insensitivity could only guess how this struggling international runway model would overreact or overprotect Sandra had she won the Miss Earth crown.
Brazilian Amazon
After seeing photographs showing air pollution, Ramos said: “I come from a country that has the largest rainforest in the world. It is also known as the lungs of the world… Brazil. But we cannot just say that we are the lungs of the world because my country also produces air pollution as well.”
“I didn’t get to recap my answer due to time constraint… so I never expected too much [that I would win]. I thought Sandra would, because she had the loudest applause after her interview. When she was called as first runner-up, I thought the next country they would call was Martinique. I was taken aback when they said Brazil,” Ramos said.
The crowned beauty not only walked away with Brazil’s second Miss Earth title, she also took home $20,000 cash, new crown made of recycled gold, silver and 80 different gemstones that came from different countries worth $100,000 and the opportunity to become the spokesperson of the Miss Earth Foundation and the United Nations Environment Program. She is looking forward to dedicating her year-long reign to promote environmental projects and address issues concerning the environment.
