Beauty search brings back days of famous Misses Manila

MANILA, Philippines - The new Miss Manila should know all the historical landmarks of the city, she should have a heart for the poor and she should be the face of the new Manila.

Thus said Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada in the recent launch of Miss Ma- nila 2014, which is one of the highlights of this year’s Araw ng Maynila celebra- tion on June 24.

“We are more like beauty and brains search,” said former Bb. Pilipinas Jewel Lobaton who is the spokesperson of the pageant.

She added, “We are looking for women of substance who can help the present administration restore the glory of old Manila. This is a pageant with a heart as we aim to purchase 4,000 dialysis machines for the poor who can’t afford dialysis treatments. She will not compete abroad but she will represent the city when visiting the sister-cities of the City of Manila.”

The son of Maria (later Doña Mary) Marcelo Ejercito who was a pianist and a former beauty queen, Estrada said he has no recollection of his mother’s beauty queen days.

The revival of the search for Miss Ma- nila inevitably recalled the glorious days of the early generation of beauty queens discovered in the annual festival, Ma- nila Carnival, which started in 1908.

According to Manila Carnival chroni- cler Alex Castro, the Manila Carnival Fair (1908 to 1939) was organized as a goodwill event to celebrate harmonious US-Philippine relations and to showcase the country’s commercial, industrial and agricultural progress. Spectacular parades, lavish shows, fireworks display and the coronation of the Manila Car- nival Queen highlighted the “greatest annual event in the Orient.”

From 1926 to 1939, winners were known as carnival queens who also ended up as Miss Philippines.

From Castro’s chronicle, one can figure out that the first national beauty contest in 1927 started within the circle of the Manila Carnival winners. He noted that candidates were chosen among pro- vincial beauties, the fairest lasses were picked from exclusive high schools, col- leges and universities and were tapped to participate.

One of the exclusive schools for girls called Centro Escolar de Señoritas (now called Centro Escolar University), topped the list that year.

Representatives from as far as the Moun- tain Province of the Cordillera region, Abra, La- nao and Sulu joined the beauty contest. In the jury were leading figures in the arts and culture such as sculptor Guillermo Tolentino and painter Fer- nando Amorsolo.

Examples of such carnival queens were Anita Agoncillo Noble from Batangas who ended up as the country’s first Miss Philippines in 1926, Maria Villanueva Kalaw who ended up as Miss Philip- pines of 1931 and later became senator and head of the Board of Censors, and Conchita Sunico who ended up as Miss Philippines of 1935 and who was the last known executive director of the Ma- nila Metropolitan Theater before she passed away in the mid-’90s.

Tita Conching (as she is known to friends) was synonymous with Metropolitan Theater even dur- ing the Japanese Occupation when she became a member of a group called the VSAC (Volunteer So- cial Aid Committee), whose other members were Helena Benitez, Nenita Barrios (Manzano), Trophy Ocampo and Pilar Campos. During the war years, the VSAC of Tita Conching

ran a hospital for the wounded, organized communi- ty kitchen for the hungry and managed a secret mail service for Manilans and their relatives imprisoned in Capas, Tarlac and Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.

To support their services, the VSACs mounted several opera productions like La Traviata and Caval- leria Rusticana and pageants like The Four Seasons with participants Totoy de Oteyza, Cecile Yulo, Chloe Cruz and Josefina Sabater.

For these fund-raising projects, the VSACs took tranvia (tram) and calesa (horse-drawn carriage) to Divisoria to buy pinukpok and other materials for the costumes designed by Matilde Olmos, known as the best modista (tailor) for European attire at the time.

was previously married and not even an annulment would make him acceptable to the Romualdez family.

Carmen Pedrosa, author of The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos, recalled that it was Ricardo Reyes (father of choreographer Alice Reyes and hus- band of Adoracion Reyes who was the voice teacher of the former first lady) who submitted Imelda’s photo to the Miss Manila secretariat.

But as Pedrosa noted, the contest in- volved selling of tickets to get the highest number of votes which was a requirement before she faced the final selection com- mittee.

Pedrosa recalled the years the young Imelda was selling tickets which meant soliciting votes and knocking on doors of friends and acquaintances. Mrs. Reyes, the voice teacher, became part of the vote solicitation team of the young Imelda.

But in the initial count, Imelda lost to a not-so-pretty and less glamorous co-ed named Norma Jimenez, daughter of a government prosecutor.

But with the intercession of Mayor Arsenio Lacson, Imelda was declared winner with 655 points with Jimenez and Amparo Manuel tying for the second place with 453 points.

Recalling this incident, Miss Ma- nila spokesperson Labaton said the pageant will enforce the rules strictly and Mayor Estrada will be out of the picture.

“Viva Communications (official han- dler of the pageant) boss Vic del Rosario has already disqualified me to be part of the jury,” said Mayor Estrada in jest.

This year’s search for Miss Manila will benefit the Dialysis Center of MARE Foundation, Inc. chaired by Dr. Luisa “Loi” Ejercito Estrada.

(Deadline of applications for Miss Ma- nila 2014 is on May 20 and forms may be downloaded at www.missmanila2014.ph. For details, call 0915-6548604.)

It happened that before her marriage to Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda Romualdez who was Miss Manila in 1953, had a brief love affair with the heir of Juan Nakpil, architect Ariston Na- kpil, the son of the country’s first Miss Philippines, Anita Noble. But it turned out the young Nakpil