Miss World 2013

It was a feast like no other.  Imagine me as I was convinced by Edwin, Ernie, his roommate, and Jackie, our ever charming and slender girl, to open a credit line with Best Buy and purchase a new 55-inch TV set on the premise that after the event on Saturday I will arrange for its return and get the credit back.  Win win situation, so they say.  The gay community in the Philippines is so eager to grab any pageant crown like a boxer thirsty for a victory after 12 rounds of punches and runs. And so are my friends here in New York.  Everyone was excited when I sent the text invitation for a gathering of some sort at my apartment in Astoria.  It was mentioned in my text that the time of the event is 7am so we can have breakfast before the pageant starts at 8am Eastern Time, which is 8pm in Bali, Indonesia held at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center.

Edwin and Ernie , promised to come at 6am so they can help me prepare breakfast of tocino (Filipino cured ham), longganisa (cured sausage), fried eggs, coffee, tea and sliced bread.  Mind you, because the Philippines is so thirsty for the crown, not just the Miss World crown but any crown for that matter, everyone is very eager to come and watch the pageant even if they have to wake up early on a Saturday morning.  As one friend quipped “for the Philippines”, we should give our support.   As we were finished cooking the breakfast Ernie started lining the dining table with red and blue placemats where we placed the cooked meats, eggs, bread, butter and jam.  He also stacked the paper plates, paper cups, plastic spoons and forks on one side of the table.  By 6:45am, the first guest arrived.  It was Walter, with his litany of how he has to wake up at 5:30 so he can prepare to go since he is coming from Manhattan compared to most of the other friends who live in Queens and he has to leave his husband behind to tend for himself when he wakes up.  Of course, Walter wanted to start with breakfast since he is so hungry and so were we, so we decided to eat right there and then and anybody who came after can eat breakfast when they arrived.  Soon, one by one gay and girl friends arrived complementing us how delicious breakfast was and sat patiently to wait for the pageant.  There were Alden, Jenny, Roxy and Jackie.  One particular guest expressed his dissatisfaction as he was eating.  Of course, it was Jopet, displeased that he was eating tocino and longganisa without fried rice but with bread.  He was not fond of the sliced bread with such tasty meat and could not contain his disappointment.  I have to reason that the rice is reserved for lunch after the pageant where it has to be eaten with Pork Binagoongan (Pork in Shrimp Paste), Fried Chinese Eggplant and Ginataang Mackerel (Mackerel in Coconut Milk).  Well, he has no choice but to accept my explanation.  I said to myself, I am the host so they have to follow: my house, my rules! while I have a bit of a laugh inside me.

By 8am, the primer that preceded that pageant was over.  Everyone was so quiet as the opening program unfolded.  Screams and claps roar in the apartment whenever Miss Philippines appeared on screen.  Each portion of the pageant was shown on video one by one with each activity explained as part of the judging process.  The Philippines’ representative for that year was a known actress in the Philippines by the name of Megan Young.  She was 23 years old who was born in the US but moved to the Philippines when she was 10 years old.  All the friends agreed that she is a strong candidate for the crown so there were high hopes that morning for what could be the country’s first Miss World title and crown, after all  the pageant has been held for 62 years and never once a Filipino won it.  Since Indonesia is close to the Philippines about 4 hours plane ride from Manila, many Filipinos travelled to the tropical island of Bali to witness history about to unfold.  There were about 127 countries represented by each candidate so the stakes are high.  With Indonesia being a Muslim country, the organizers decided to forego the swimsuit portion of the pageant due to threats from Islamic Defenders Front of disrupting the contest because its members say it shows too much skin and is against the Islamic teachings.   Instead a more subtle way of showcasing the girls with the conservative sarongs were held and the pageant was moved from the original venue in Jakarta to the Hindu dominated resort island of Bali.  The security was heightened where thousands of police personnel were deployed to ensure the safety of those who will participate in whatever capacity, either contestants, judges, or spectators.  Over 30 minutes after the show started, finally the girls were brought out in their evening gowns and was introduced one by one with Philippines having the loudest cheers, apart from the host country Indonesia, on screen and in the heart of my living room which caused a bit of worry for me that the couple below might complain or knock on my door.  Everyone was so excited to learn that Miss Philippines has her solo number in the dances of the world, an annual production number showcasing the cultural dance of selected countries with each lady in her traditional dance costume.  Of course the inside news about Miss Philippines came from an inside information by Ernie who has a close tie with some of the Philippine organizers.  Rapturous applause came as soon as Miss Philippines appeared on screen in her traditional Sarimanok (Philippine rooster) costume as the light was deemed and all the girls are just standing motionless as Megan Young was dancing.  By the middle of the program, at last the first cut was made announcing the top 10 semi-finalists from 10th to the highest scorer: Ghana, Jamaica, Spain, Indonesia, England, Nepal, France, Australia, Brazil and of course the top contender, the Philippines, with more uproar going in as my guests are going gaga over the excitement.  A few more production numbers and commercials then the top 5 finalists were revealed: France, Philippines, Ghana, Brazil and Spain; but with the special appearance of the People’s Choice awardee who happened to be Miss Gibraltar to proceed answering the final question of “Why should you be Miss World 2013?” in order of their announcement as a finalist.  First was France, then next is Philippines.  A small glitch on the video presentation prompted the host to comment that Miss Philippines has a lot of supporters there which Megan Young gleefully answered with “I brought half of my country here” which made the crowd go wildly.  Then now her turn to answer the final question that might have sealed the deal as she answered with a mellow voice and smile on her face: “Salamat Malam Indonesia.  And Miss World for me treasures the core values of humanity and that guides them to understanding people, why they act the way that they do, how they live in their lives.  I will use these core values in my understanding not only in helping others but to show other people how they can understand others, to help others so that together as one we shall help the society.”  That was more than enough to cause a big round of uproar and cheers in the house where we did not even mind the answers of the remaining four finalists.  All we know is that a crown is shining beneath the head of Miss Philippines and we can’t wait till they announce the winner soon.  We were oblivious of what was going on in the stage and did not even realize that Miss Brazil used an interpreter to translate her answer.  Then few more commercials and the screen showed Megan Young’s mother being interviewed by the male host and she said that the biggest advice she gave her was “Be kind.  You can never go wrong with kindness.”  Then more of excited sighs as we took it as a hint that she might be the next Miss World.  And now the final moment, Alden made sure everyone is holding the hand of the gay friend next to each other as if we were the finalists ourselves, Julia Morley was on center stage to announce the winners starting off with the third placer Ghana, then second place and runner up to Miss World was France.  Finally she announced “and the winner of Miss World 2013 is….drum rolls, Philippines!”  My house was about to collapse from all the screaming, jumping, cheering and stomping had I not reminded everybody that there are people living below me.  The Philippine’s long wait for a Miss World crown was finally over winning the 63rd edition of the pageant.  Sixty two years in the making but it was all worth it.  You can see some people in the TV screen crying with tears of joy for the Philippines, while my friends in my apartment could not contain their excitement and jubilation for what has just transpired.  It was noontime so we started serving the lunch with one very happy camper, Jopet, who has been wanting to eat rice since early in the morning.  Finally, he gets his center seat on the dining table to dig in the pork  dish, fried eggplant and the fish.  Everyone was satisfied to their heart’s content.

Some friends stayed for few hours after lunch while Edwin and Ernie helped me with the dishes.  We have decided to watch videos of Filipino movies on You Tube as well as an episode of one of the favorite drama program called Maalaala Mo Kaya (Will You Remember?).  After watching the TV program episode an argument erupted with laughters when the supposed title of the episode was Pulang Laso (translated in English as “Red Ribbon”) was repeated by Bobby, who was a latecomer, as Lasong Pula (translated in English as “Red Poison”).  It was enough to send everyone home bursting in laughters as this seemed to be a familiar situation with Bobby making his silly and funny lines.  Off they go with smiles in their faces…Miss World 2013 is Philippines!!!

You can watch the full show by clicking the following You-tube link (video credits to You Tube):