Philippines Celebrates as Representative Bagged 4th Miss Universe Crown
Miss Philippines Catriona Gray, 24, emerged victorious and wore the elusive Mikimoto crown during the 67th Miss Universe edition held at Impact Arena,Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on December 17,2018. Dressed in a flaming red gown, Catriona bested 93 other candidates in the pageant. Other winners include Tarayn Green of South Africa- ist runner up and Sthefany Gutierrez of Venezuela-2nd runner up.
The Pageant and the winners
The preliminary competition was held December 14 where the candidates showcased their struts in swimsuit, national costume and evening gown.
Miss Philippines wore an Ibong Adarna (mythological pulchritudinous bird)- inspired gown made by a Filipino designer Mak Tumang.
The final competition was then held December 17 Ph time live on Fox where Catriona successfully won the Mikimoto crown in her fiery red dress inspired by the Mayon volcano, a famous landmark in her hometown.
During the top 5, she was asked,
“Canada recently joined Uruguay as the second nation in the world to make marijuana legal. What is your opinion on the legalization of marijuana?” to which she answered,”
“I’m for it being used in a medical use but not so for recreational use. Because I think, if people were to argue, ‘Well, what about alcohol and cigarettes?’ Well, everything is good, but in moderation!“
And in the final question, all top 3 candidates answered the question,
“What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?”
Catriona answered;
“I work a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila and the live there is very—it’s poor and it’s very sad. And I’ve always taught myself to look for the beauty in it—to look for beauty in the faces of children and to be grateful. And I would bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situations with a silver lining and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson. And this, I think, if I could [also] teach people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity would not grow and foster and children would have a smile on their face. Thank you!“
Catriona is a a Filipino-Australian model, singer and beauty title holder. She holds the two most prestigious titles being also the winner of Miss World Philippines 2016 where she finished top 6 in the MIss World 66th edition. She is known as an advocate of education as well as for HIV prevention and awareness and joins non-profit organization activities.
Her wit and confidence solidified his spot in the elusive crown for Miss Universe. She is the fourth Filipina to bring home the title. Previous winners include Gloria Diaz (1969), Margarita Moran (1973) and Pia Wurtzbach (2015).
What’s New in This Year’s Edition
This year’s edition made history for allowing the very first transgender woman to join the pageant, Angela Ponce of Spain. She wasn’t able to get the crown but she claimed victory for representation and inclusivity as the Miss Universe gave her a tribute. The ban on transgenders was lifted in 2012 when Donald Trump was still the owner.
Another notable change is the panel of judges. From preliminary to the finals, the panel was made up of all women.
Finally, there was a change in the format. Instead of choosing the top16, it was top20 this year. Then the finalists were trimmed down to 10 then top5 where the candidates participated in the evening gown, swimsuit and question and answer portion where questions came from their fellow candidates. Finally, the top3 were chosen where they answered the same question then the announcement of winners after a final look.
Also, there was no live or online voting for supporters watching at home unlike the previous years.
The crown.
This year’s winner wore the Phoenix Mikimoto Crown, also informally known as the Mikimoto crown. It is one of the most iconic crowns in the pageant world. The reputed crown was made by Mikimoto Pearl company in Toba, Mie prefecture, Japan. It was designed by Tomohiro Yamaji in 2000 to mark the 50th anniversary as Miss Universe Organization’s jewel sponsor. The crown was made of both yellow and white gold adorned with diamonds and naturally white pearls obtained in Japan. The crown is attached with security detail and insured for US$250 000 against loss or damage. Miss Philippines Catriona Gray is only the 12th winner to wear the crown.
Let’s discuss with aimtalk teacher.
1. Do you watch beauty pageants like Miss Universe? What’s your opinion about such competitions? Can you name any Japanese woman who joined or won such pageant?
2. This year, a transgender woman was finally able to join the competition. What’s your opinion on this?
3. In the preliminary, Miss Philippines was asked about the legalization of marijuana. If you were to answer this question, how would you answer it?
Vocabulary
pageant(n): beauty contest
a silver lining(n): a metaphor for potential positive side that might come out of a sad or unpleasant situation. Every cloud has a silver lining.
foster(v): to help a skill, feeling idea etc develop over a period.
advocate(n): someone who publicly supports someone or something
notable(adj): important enough to be noticed
preliminary(n): one of the game in the first part of a competition when it is decided who will go on to the main competition
reputed(adj): according to what some people say, but not definetely
adorn A with B: decorate A with B
insure A for $1000 etc: buy insurance for A so that you will receive money if something bad happened to A.
