All hail the queen
MANILA, Philippines - Tonight, one lucky girl will be crowned Binibining Pilipinas 2009, as the nation gets torn between a pageant and a pop concert. On one end, you’ll have a gathering of our country’s most celebrated beauties (Gloria, Margie, Aurora, Melanie and the rest) and on the other, the beat makers of a generation ( Ely, Raimund, Buddy and Marcus). This, is history.
Making history herself is Supreme cover girl Georgina Wilson. We then gaze at the crown, a 40-year gem of a historical pop culture relic, the Miss Universe crown worn by her aunt, the country’s first ever Miss Universe Gloria Diaz. On Georgina, the crown found a rightful head to rest upon. I am sure Diaz cousins George and Belle (Daza) grew up playing pageant dress-up, makeshift sashes and all. Many queens have come and gone between 1969 and 2009 — half a century has passed and we behold the proof, both the crown and the wearer — that the Filipina is certainly to-die-for.
After enjoying singlehood for a year and a half, George busied herself with her studies and took up yoga, at the same time jet setting from Sydney and London and other globetrotting go-to places. While flying across the universe, the beauty met her beau, boyfriend Michael Walsh, 32, author and futurist, CEO of a company called Tomorrow which advises some of the world’s biggest companies on what’s going to happen next. Michael and Georgina are in town for a brief visit before George goes back to finish her studies at the University of Sydney where she is taking up Commerce, major in Finance and Accounting.
“I feel like I won, like I really won Miss Universe,” George confesses right after this Supreme shoot. We explain to George that this issue is all about planning your escape. In these days of gloom and doom, as counterpoint to reality, we also need our doses of fantasy. We also need a hero — or heroine rather. Georgina Wilson represents the new batch of “it” girls who not only possess beauty, drive and individuality, but also the brains to be able to conquer.
And though she may not have won the Miss Universe crown, the world is definitely her oyster. — Tim Yap
