"it's the experience,
not the crown!"
Representing
The Philippines on last years Miss Universe, nobody could ever
forget how such a wonderful lady like Maricar Balagtas shocked
the whole world. with elegance tied on her name and character,
Maricar is one of the most memorable Filipina in the Miss Universe,
and who represented her country well in the pageant.
A veteran
A veteran on pageants, before winning the Miss Universe Philippines
title, she was already an international title holder, being crowned
as the miss globe international pageant back in 2002. and on that
same year, she won as 2nd runner up in the Miss Philippines universe
pageant. she was one of the most talked about contestant before
she arrived to Quito, Ecuador for the competition. That year pageant
was said to be the battle of the veterans and that includes our
very own Maricar. Her charisma has grown even bigger even before
she set foot on Ecuador.
She
was a scene stealer during the press presentation, she wore a
tangerine two piece suit and waved vibrantly towards the crowd
and photographers. she was one of the most talked of the town
and instantly became a favourite to win the crown.
Although it may seem that Maricar could be overlooked because
of her height, yet she didn’t consider this one as a hindrance.
She continued to exude confidence, even on how she looked and
dress up, she teaches everyone on how to make everybody's eyes
on you!
She was as equally as good as Oleksandra during that time, but
Oleksandra was very popular and everybody loved her. But the Filipinos
never really left Maricar because they were confident that she
could really make it! during the span of the competition, many
fans and followers gave her roses and even this guy, who went
out of his way just to give a flower to Maricar and wished her
goodluck! Maricar giggled that time and knew that her chances
are as equally as good than the others!
The Pageant
Her national costume wasn’t that impressive to the Filipinos.
They quoted, that Maricar looked even better if she could have
worn a Muslim inspired dress or any Maria Clara gowns. Her pintados
costume was understated. And it created confusion on her identity.
Her costume looked really similar to that of El Salvador and Costa
Rica. But then, she was also impressive as she really looked sexy
and sultry on that costume. She carried it well but the Filipinos
was quite unwelcoming to the idea of a Miss Philippines wearing
such costume.
The pageant night was the most awaited one. Every single pageant
fan from different countries were watching and having their own
judgement on each contestants. Many were stunners, but some, were
complete shockers.
The people's eyes were glued on Maricar as sashayed down on the
staged. during the evening gown, her brassiere gown with sequins
embellishment made a statement! she was really elegant and it
fit her well. She turned out really sensational and the audience
was awed on her performance! everybody just loved that gown and
Maricar did justice on it! even claiming a high stake on having
a very good chance on placing in the top fifteen.
Her height was not a question during the swimsuit competition.
Maricar has one of the best bodies and the most fit one. it is
clearly evident that Maricar had discipline and really had a very
good exercise. nice toned abs, broad shoulders and a perfectly
shaped pair of legs! she even became more stunning and unbeatable
as the people went crazy over her! they even kept an eye on her
that she might be the dark horse to win the Miss Universe crown!
As a respondent from globalbeauties.com quoted, " her interview
was interesting!". and that is really true! after her perfomance
on the three categories, her followers and the rest of the Filipinos
got as equally as excited for the final night!
The coronation night
On their Tadashi cocktails, the girls went out on stage dancing
lively on a song specially composed for Miss Universe. and they
were featured as they paraded in Ecuador’s different tourist
destinations. as Maricar Balagtas went out on screen, everybody
just cheered! and everybody felt her presence and charisma! and
the excitement that she and her followers are confident enough
that she could nail it!
A
few portions of the opening number Maricar was featured and we
could see that she danced gracefully! even on the national costume
portion. Unquestionably, she will be able to make it!
But something was terribly not in place during the announcement
of the top fifteen. When Miss Mexico was the last one to be called,
nobody could see a glimpse of Maricar, even on the very popular
Ukraine, the powerhouse Venezuela, Aruba and the others who were
better off than the chosen one! that raised the brows to all the
pageant fans. they were heavily disappointed by the results. Missing
such good contenders, that is very unforgivable.
She admits during an interview of a Philippine daily inquirer
correspondent that she felt numb when her name was not called
as a semifinalist. And she felt a little depressed, but she was
also happy that her roommate Danielle Jones of Trinidad and Tobago
made it to the top fifteen.
She went back on stage, wept a little bit backstage and "
in between sobs, saw Miss Venezuela wept as well". She realized
that she shouldn’t cry that much because the pressure was
much on Miss Venezuela. What made her deeply moved was when she
saw miss Venezuela's mom blowing her a kiss!
She recovered quickly and even during the announcement of the
top fifteen, she prayed a lot to God to give her the strength,
and she said, " that if the crown was meant for me, then
make it happen!" as she told the inquirer.
Definitely, Maricar gained her confidence back, and participated
in the portions of the pageant, and was even featured in a little
while in the evening gown competition, during the span of the
pageant, she was very visible! she even went hurriedly down on
the platform together with the candidates because they were so
happy that Jennifer Hawkins won and not somebody else! they weren't
supposed to do that as told by miss Egypt, Heba El Sissy, on an
interview. but they did it because for same reasons, they really
was glad the crown was given to Jennifer!
though Maricar didnt make it, truly, she still was a good contender
and even a threat to some contestants. She made it very hard for
others too! She became noticed everyday, and was even fetched
by the richest Filipino in Ecuador! they even thought the president
of Ecuador was coming, but it was Maricar who was sashayed to
the limo with several entourages. I believe that she even placed
higher than Ukraine.
Maricar was a reflection of a true Filipina! and even made Filipinos
proud!
Our thanks to Jian Maverick
Lasala (Philippines)
