The historic feats behind every Filipino beauty queen’s Miss U victory

Catriona Gray’s recent win has led not a few “beau con” fans to compare our four Miss Universe queens with one another. It’s inevitable, but we have to remember that each woman is a product of her time. They each brought something new and groundbreaking to the table when they competed for crown and country.

By Alex Y. Vergara

And just like that, beauty pageant-crazy Filipinos now have four Miss Universe winners to brag about—Gloria Diaz, Margie Moran, Pia Wurtzbach, and Catriona Gray.

It was no less than Margie, Miss Universe 1973 and now president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in a recent Instagram post featuring a photo collage of her with three other fellow winners, who declared to the world, the universe rather, “and now we are 4!”

With this development, how do we measure up these days against other so-called beauty pageant powerhouse countries? If you’re a beau con (beauty contest) junkie, read no further. Nothing I say will be new to you. But if you’re a budding beau con fanatic or just out to satisfy your curiosity, this article should serve as a primer.

Everything is possible

With Catriona’s victory, we’re now one crown short of tying with Puerto Rico. We need to win three and four more Miss Universe crowns if we are to catch up with Venezuela and USA, respectively.  If you think that’s a tall order, it is. But nothing is impossible. As recent as eight years ago, the Philippines was in a long-drawn Miss Universe slump.

Not only were we not winning. From 2000 to 2009, no Filipino beauty queen was able to go beyond the first cut. It was unthinkable, really, since the country used to be a beauty pageant powerhouse back in the late ’60s up to the mid ’70s, when it produced two Miss Universe winners—Gloria in 1969 and, four years later, Margie—and a string of semifinalists and a runner-up, from Armi Barbara Crespo in 1972 to Rosemarie Brosas in 1975.

That all changed in 2010 when frontrunner Venus Raj, after being nearly dethroned in the Philippines because of citizenship issues, broke the country’s losing streak and finished fourth runner-up in Las Vegas. The country hasn’t looked back since.

By 2015, after a series of runner-up finishes, including Janine Tugunon’s  second-place finish to USA’s Olivia Culpo, the country was able to win back the Miss Universe crown. With Pia’s victory, the  country’s 42-year Miss Universe title drought finally came to an end.

Unprecedented success

At no point since the Philippines started joining Miss Universe way back in the late ’50s has the country been this successful. While it took Margie, for instance, four years to bring back home the crown, it only took Catriona three years to follow in Pia’s footsteps.

In fact, no country since 2010 has been more successful than the Philippines at Miss Universe. Not Venezuela, not Colombia, and certainly not the USA. Unlike certain delegates from Colombia, Venezuela and even the US, no Philippine beauty queen since Venus, failed to crack the top ten at Miss Universe, without a doubt the biggest and most coveted beauty pageant title out there.

This latest development has also led not a few fans to compare our Miss Universe queens with one another. It’s inevitable, but we have to remember that each woman is a product of her time. They brought something new and groundbreaking to the table when they competed that caught the attention of both judges and the audience, whether live or on TV. In other words, each of their respective feats are historic.

Gloria Diaz, Miss Universe 1969

1. Gloria will forever hold the distinction of being the Philippines’ first ever Miss Universe.
2. She was crowned while American astronaut Neil Armstrong and his buddies were on the verge of making the first and so far only moon landing. As not a few Filipino beau con fans love to point out even to this day: “While man conquered the moon, a Filipina conquered the universe!”
3. With the exception of Thailand’s Apasra Hongsakula, Gloria, at 5’5 1/2”, is one of the shortest Miss Universe winners. She is certainly the shortest among the top five finalists during her year.
4. We hate to burst your bubble, guys, but people behind the “Raise Your Flag” photo collage featuring our four Miss Universe winners  wearing the national colors were engaging in a bit of truth stretching. While Margie, Pia and Catriona wore white, blue and red gowns during their respective competitions, Gloria didn’t wear yellow. It was Gloria herself, in a recent interview,  who corrected this. That yellow top she wore is actually a swimsuit. For the finals, Gloria wore a white Pitoy Moreno creation.

Margarita “Margie” Moran, Miss Universe 1973

1. Having been crowned in Greece, Margie was the first ever Miss Universe to win a competition held in Europe. It was also the second year when Miss Universe started holding the annual competition outside the US. While Gloria oozed with charm and wit, Margie looked poised and queenly during coronation night.
2. While Miss Universe, which started out as a marketing effort of Catalina swimwear, was held for decades either in Long Beach, California or Miami Beach, Florida (where Gloria won), Margie’s contest was held within the ancient ruins of the Odeon Herodes Atticus in Athens, giving her victory an air of the divine. She also won Miss Photogenic that year before the Internet Age, when professional photographers and not fans did the judging.
3. It marked the first time when delegates from the Philippines and the US were the last two girls standing. Before the end of the show, Margie edged out fellow frontrunner Amanda Jones for the crown. History would repeat itself when Janine squared off with Olivia in 2012. Unlike Margie, Janine wasn’t as lucky.
4. In lieu of wearing a gown made by more established designers such as Pitoy Moreno and Ben Farrales, Margie gambled and won by collaborating with the then up-and-coming Auggie Cordero. While Catriona would be remembered for her lava red gown and its thigh-high slit, people will always associate the huge cabbage rose with Margie.

Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015

1. We’ve certainly won Miss Universe before, but the last time we won it was more than two generations ago, when a big chunk of today’s audience wasn’t born yet. Having ended the country’s 42-year title drought, Pia’s victory in Las Vegas was no less historic.
2. For nearly two decades, Philippine delegates to Miss Universe and other global beau cons under Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) were made to wear gowns designed by foreigners. This didn’t sit well with not a few hardcore Pinoy fans. When Pia competed, BPCI finally relented. Thus, we now remember the electric blue Albert Andrada gown Pia chose to wear to the finals.
3. Like Gloria, Pia isn’t particularly tall. But she was sassy, sexy and quick on her feet during the make-or-break question-and-answer round. Unlike first-time participants Gloria and Margie, Pia won the chance to represent the country at Miss Universe on her third attempt. Instead of being jaded or discouraged, she learned and used her previous setbacks to her advantage.
4. Not only did Pia end the title drought, the manner in which she won is certainly one for the books. Had host Steve Harvey, and by extension Miss Universe Organization, chose to keep quiet by not rectifying his mistake, we would have waited another three more years for Catriona to end our Miss Universe title drought.

Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018

1. No Miss Universe Philippines in history is perhaps as prepared and as hungry as Catriona—from her ability to answer any question thrown at her to her now iconic and much-copied lava walk and slow-mo turn—to bring home the crown.
2. Those of you who are aware of her backstory probably know why. This woman, it’s safe to assume, had some unfinished business to take care of. After losing the Miss World title, which many felt she should have won, in 2016, Catriona quietly set her sights on a bigger prize.
3. In the Philippine context, she’s the first winner of a major title in recent years to do away with an established beauty queen training camp. Having tried that route before in her quest for a Miss World crown, Catriona wanted to try something new this time. So, she handpicked members of her glam squad—from stylists Ton Lao and Justine Aliman to shoe designer Jojo Bragais and fashion designer Mak Tumang—to help her prepare. The gambit worked!
4. No Filipino beauty queen probably worked as hard and as meticulously as Catriona. Everything she wore, for instance, whether on stage or during special events, was either made in the Philippines or had some significant meaning associated with the country’s history, geography and topography. Seeing her glide effortlessly at events in her Philippine-made finery is like going through a semester of history lessons, albeit in a more beautiful and easily digestible package. They didn’t always work, as some of her attempts were a bit contrived and overthought. But when they did, which was most of the time, from her modern, two-piece Thai-inspired arrival outfit to her red, Jessica Rabbit-like gown in the finals, Catriona became the talk of the pageant world, including serious, high-fashion platforms like vougue.com. You “slayed” the competition, girl!

   

   

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