2 Pinays among Mutya’s co-bets in Miss Supra tilt

As soon as she arrived in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday (Aug. 18), last week for the 2013 Miss Supranational pageant, Bb. Pilipinas-Supranational Mutya Datul found out that two of the more than 90 contestants are half-Filipino — Miss Norway Marie Molo Peter and Miss Canada Suzette Aquino Hernandez.

The two girls are actually Bb. Pilipinas alumni.

“Marie, a half-Pinay, was candidate No. 11 in the 2012 Bb. Pilipinas pageant,” noted Funfare’s “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas. “Her mother hails from Kalibo, Aklan. Marie was also a Miss Norway runner-up and she represented Norway in the 2012 Miss Humanity International contest in Barbados. Suzette, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a full-blooded Filipino who traces her roots to Batangas. She was 2010 Mutya ng Pilipinas first runner-up, candidate No. 35 in the 2011 Bb. Pilipinas pageant and she represented Canada in the 2012 Miss Universe pageant in which she finished among the Top 12 semi-finalists.”

“I easily bonded with Marie and Suzette,” Celso quoted Mutya as saying, “together with the other Asian candidates, especially Miss Malaysia Nancy Markus who is my roommate.”   

According to Funfare’s “beauty experts” (Felix Manuel, Gery Yumping, Joey Cezeare and Francis Calubaquib), Mutya is immensely enjoying the sights and scenery of the Belarus countryside, particularly the historic Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk in Northern Belarus. As a sign of respect to the Orthodox monastery, the girls donned the traditional headscarves when they visited the Spaso-Eupphrosyne Monastery, also in Polotsk. In Vitebsk, close to the Russian border, they stopped at the Governor’s Palace, the Church of Annunciation and the house-museum of Marc Chagall.

The reigning Miss Supranational, Katsiaryna Buraya, is from Belarus, with Philippine bet Elaine Kay Moll finishing third runner-up. The contest is into its fifth year. The grand finals will be held at the Minsk Sports Palace on Sept. 6.

“But before that,” reported Celso, “the girls will return to the Minsk on Wednesday (Aug. 28) for the series of rehearsals culminating on coronation night, with a talent show on Aug. 29 and a sponsors’ dinner on Aug. 30. Mutya will sing an Adele song.”

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