Front-running Miss RP upset by Iceland betBy Giovanni J. Yazon
AIDED in part by the Miss World pageant’s new rules that allow the public to choose the semifinalists by voting through the Internet and text messaging, Bb. Pilipinas-World Carlene Ang Aguilar made it to the semifinals of the competition.
But the last Filipina beauty queen to compete in an international pageant this year did not even make it as the Asia-Pacific continental queen, despite being picked as the prohibitive bookmakers’ favorite.
Eun-Young Oh of Korea – the Beauty for a Cause “fast track event” winner who also had a free pass to the semis – beat Aguilar.
Sindhura Gadde of India, was chosen Miss World-Asia Pacific and vied with five other continental queens: Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir of Iceland (Miss World-Northern Europe), Sofia Bruscoli of Italy (Miss World-Southern Europe), Ingrid Marie Rivera Santos of Puerto Rico (Miss World-Caribbean), Dafne Molina Lona of Mexico (Miss World-Americas) and Nancy Abraham Sumary of Tanzania (Miss World-Africa).
In the end, it was Vilhjalmsdottir of Iceland, a 21-year-old anthropology/law student and part-time policewoman, who walked away with the 55th Miss World crown.
She bested 101 other beauties, including first runner-up Santos, a 22-year-old model and marketing student from Puerto Rico, and second runner-up Lona, a 23-year-old model and interior designing graduate from Mexico.
Vilhjalmsdottir broke down in tears when the Miss World sash was draped over her shoulders by her predecessor, Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia of Peru. Iceland now has three Miss World titleholders, the previous ones being Hofi Karlsdottir (1985) and Linda Petursdottir (1988).
For the third time in the history of this pageant organized by Julia Morley, the candidates that won the fast track events were given the “golden ticket” to be one of the 15 semifinalists. Kmisha Victoria Counts of American Virgin Islands was Miss Talent while Yulia Ivanova of Russia was named Beach Beauty.
For a while, it looked like Aguilar was on her way to winning the only major international beauty title that no Filipina has garnered.
She was even the first semifinalist to be called at the 3,000-seater Beauty Crown Theater in Sanya, China Saturday night.
But that was it for Aguilar, a 23-year-old half-Chinese taking up art studies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
Standing at 5’9” and with a whistle-bait figure of 35”-22”-35”, she was also named “Miss Cyber Press World 2005” by
www.globalbeauties.com Web site.
She also ranked no. 1 by Bookmakers’ Bets in 18 betting and gaming agencies around the world and was picked to be the hands-down prepageant favorite.
Aguilar’s triumph in the Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant last March made the first Filipina to win national beauty titles from two different pageant organizations.
Four years ago, she became the country’s first representative to the Miss Earth pageant organized by Carousel Productions Inc.
No Filipina has ever won the elusive Miss World crown. The closest the Philippines had come to winning the title was in 1973 when Evangeline Luis Pascual emerged as first runner-up.
Actress Sharmaine “Ruffa” Gutierrez who was “Second Princess” in 1993 got elevated as first runner-up after “First Princess” Jacqueline Mofokeng of South Africa got pregnant months after the contest.
And from 2002 to 2004, three Filipinas has figured prominently in Miss World — Katherine Anne Ramos Manalo was a top 10 finalist while Maria Rafaela Verdadero Yunon and Maria Karla Bautista were both fourth runners-up.
