The Beauty Essay

[iii] ...the search for a beauty queen grew from a yearly national preoccupation to, as one Filipino wag has put it, a favorite pastime. There is a beauty queen today for just about every reason and season, but once upon a time a queen was chosen to be for all seasons.", foreword, The Beauty Book, 1980, Doris G. Nuyda, Mr. & Ms. Publishing Company.

[iv] Doris G. Nuyda, The Beauty Book, 1980, Mr. & Ms. Publishing Company

[v] Beauty contests were first launched in Bicol around this time. Apart from the Miss Bicolandia, there were been a few others, though lesser known, that operated sporadically in the region. One such pageant is the 70's Miss Camarines Sur beauty tilt entered in and won by the young Imelda Papin. The future vice-governor of Cam Sur then proceeded  to join Miss RP where she made it as a semi-finalist, and later, as a singer of sentimental ditties, local Tinseltown's  Jukebox Queen, a tag that persists today even after the disappearance of the musical contraption in our scheme of things.

Although often paralleled by a similar event in Legaspi, Naga's closest rival as Bicol's cultural hub, the September event in Naga has grown by leaps and bounds, producing its share of national title holders.  Muriel Moral of Libmanan, Camarines Sur, who finished second in the 1987 Miss Bicolandia pageant, won the Miss Maja Pilipinas title at the prestigious Binibining Pilipinas in 1988, and at the Miss Maja International pageant, in a white Muslim-inspired wedding gown created by Renee Salud, won the Best in National Costume award. Another runner-up, this time of the 1990 pageant, Shawnaleh Arevalo of Legazpi won the Mutya ng Pilipinas Globe title, along with special awards Miss Talent and Best in Swimsuit, in the 1991 Mutya ng Pilipinas tilt. Perceived by many as a good bet for the international pageant that year, Shawnaleh was, however, unable to compete internationally. "She came in days late for the pre-pageant activities and was not allowed to compete", somebody in the know now says. Such may also be the fate of a more recent Miss Bicolandia runner-up, Maria Venus Raj of Buhi, Camarines Sur. Maria Venus was a second runner-up in the 2007 Miss Bicolandia pageant, and in May this year, was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Universe, likewise winning the special awards for Miss Friendship, Best in Swimsuit and Best in Terno, a citation rightfully perceived by many as a recognition for Naga-based Ariel Alvarez, the creator of the exquisite ensemble, as well.  Ariel is a winner of a prestigious fashion design competition in Paris some years back, a relative of mine, and a direct descendant of Gen. Ludovico Arejola, commanding general of the Bikol forces in the Filipino-American War. By all indications, Maria Venus, seemingly like the Bikol beauty a decade earlier, will not be unable to compete as a Philippine delegate to the Miss U in November. Interestingly, the first runner-up in the Binibining Pilipinas this year, Dianne Necio of Iriga City, was also a first runner-up in the Miss Bicolandia of 2009, and who is only 17, under-aged by Miss U standards according to an official notice from the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc, and was, thus, not asked to occupy Maria Venus's vacant throne.