The venue this time was Venezia Bar & Restaurant
at Glorietta 2 in Ayala Center where the Miss Earth 2001 official
delegates danced and socialized with pageant sponsors and invited
guests. Mabuhay Pageants' Gerry Diaz and kyle t. were there to cover
the whole thing and what a night it was!
At
exactly 10 PM, the ladies started pouring in. After queuing outside
to register as special guests for the evening, they were immediately
welcomed by the eagerly awaiting people inside and started swaying
to the beat of non-stop dance music being played. Except for Misses
Croatia, Latvia, and Australia who were conspicuously
absent (they probably opted to sleep early and rest their tired
bodies from the day's activities, which included the preliminary
interview judging), the remaining 39 were all accounted for.Everyone
was in such a high degree of frenzied excitement that the
fully-packed place took a normally slow Tuesday night to weekend
levels of partying. The candidates from Italy,
Panama, Canada, Spain, Netherlands, Ethiopia, Russia, Kazakhstan,
and Colombia managed to climb up the ledge and proved
that they are game enough to strut their stuff to the crowd's
delight. It was also open bar with drinks overflowing. And as the
guests sipped their drinks and animatedly appraised each delegate's
chances, nobody can be caught standing still as even this writer got
infected and moved to the beat while taking photographs and briefly
chatting with the delegates.
Four of the more striking attendees last night were Misses Peru,
Hungary, Lebanon, and South Africa. Having missed them during the
Press Presentation, National Costume Competition, and Fun Meet,
Mabuhay Pageants took the opportunity to get to know them better.
This writer must admit that Paola Benavides
(dressed in a light gold figure-hugging jump suit) and Christina
Kovacz (in a blue sleeveless cocktail dress and the
tallest among the candidates at 6') are absolute stunners who can
charm anyone with their alluring ways. On the other hand, Adelle
Bhoustamy and Inecke Westhuizen stood out because they
were like two teen-aged girls on a Friday night gimmick. Their
youthful movements and constant hopping from the tables to the dance
floor are simply fun to watch. But not to be outdone, the running
favorites made a splash with their much-improved looks and
projection, not to mention the splendid tans of some. At this point,
there is no question that Kazakhstan,
Argentina, India, USA, and Estonia have already shaped up as the
strongest front-runners. Bolivia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Brazil, Denmark,
and the Philippines are solidifying their bids as well.
The last installment of the auction was also held for the
sponsors and businessmen present. Although the items presented did
not generate as much amount compared to the two earlier counterparts
held during the first and second weeks of their stay, the ladies
held their items with much gusto. Among the items up for bids last
night were Martina's string-controlled
Finnish puppet doll, Carmina Paz' Guatemalan wood clock, Aqua's red
Kenyan tribal figure, Noemi's Spanish crystal dove, Karla Jose's
unique Nicaraguan-made hammock, Aliana's Panamanian handicraft, and
Victoria's Thai mother earth bust.
Throughout
the whole proceedings, an informal survey was made among the ladies
on whom they feel deserves to win Miss Earth 2001. Misuzu
(Miss Japan) hesitated a bit when asked the question. She
intimated that there are so many beautiful girls that picking one is
tough. Although partial to Miss Kazakhstan
(who became her roommate after returning from Palawan), she
eventually zeroed in on Miss USA
because of her "leadership" qualities. She added that Abby
is such a warm and caring person whom she looks up to as some sort
of a "mother." Miss Gibraltar,
on the other hand, had nothing but praises for Miss
Kazakhstan. Humbly admitting that she does not see
herself part of the winners' equation, Charlene
related that Margarita is the
most deserving because of her queenly bearing on top of a real
down-to-earth attitude. When we asked Miss
Finland next, she smiled and picked Miss
Estonia without batting an eyelash. Martina
feels that she is one of the most amazing persons she has
met in the pageant, and that a victory for the latter would make her
very happy. She mentioned this in front of a blushing Evelyn
(who came with her boyfriend - a tall handsome guy who flew in
Monday to be with his loved one). The very tall Miss Hungary also
shared her thoughts and is quite convinced that Miss
India could be the winner on Sunday night. She believes
that Shamita has all the
qualities a Miss Earth titleholder should possess. Miss Kenya was
cornered afterwards and she singled out Miss Argentina as the one
most likely to win because of her beauty, kindness, warmth, and
altogether fantastic personality. When told that she is just as
beautiful and intelligent as the rest, Aqua calmly expressed that
she does not see herself in the winners' circle, not even among the
Top 20. But then, we told her that she is one of the top 10 Internet
favorites and this surprised her to no end. What she knows is that
she did pretty well during the judges' interview held earlier in the
day, but uncertain in terms of swimsuit and facial
beauty. We added that the Mabuhay
team supports candidates who exude both beauty and intelligence,
and that everyone has an equal chance of sneaking in to the official
Top 10. To this, she remarked "…if that happens to me, I will
never forget you and Gerry!" So as you can see, the choices are
divided among the delegates themselves. This means that it is still
anyone's ballgame!
All in all, the party at Venezia was a blast! After this, the
candidates will start with the rehearsals for pageant night. Come
Thursday, though, the evening gown preliminaries will take place.
This is a major event not only for them but for the whole Mabuhay
Pageants team as well because the highly anticipated recipient of
the MP Miss Internet award will be announced right after. Watch out
for our coverage on this one.
Till my next report!