Miss Cebu: Window to the finest

My first time to watch the search for Miss Cebu is memorable. My participation in a short video clip "Cebuana" by an award-winning Cebuano film director Remton Siega Zuasola gave me an access to the annual beauty search. The clip serves as an intro to the ladies; it depicts the celebration of womanhood. A labor of  love, the clip captures women's role in the society, their transformation and the changing perception towards them.

Reviewing the previous years' searches, it follows practically the same format of showcasing what Cebu has to offer to the world. But unlike the ordinary beauty pageants that centered on what the ladies have, the Miss Cebu serves as an avenue to highlight Cebuanos ingenuity, the rich heritage, arts, culture and talents.

In some portions of  the pageant while the ladies were parading, presentations projected on wide screens entice one to experience both the action-packed metropolitan and riveting rural setting. One can experience the business side of the place and just proceeding a few minutes to south or north, one can taste the beauty of  nature, pristine beaches, century-old structures, green mountains and vegetation.

I can't help but notice in their introductions–a plain mention of the name, age and the degree a lady is taking up or has obtained. As if telling the entire audience that these ladies put premium on education, that beauty must be well-complemented with good education, truly beauty with a substance.

The night was also a tribute to Cebuanos who have made to the international arena of beauty pageants and music, making their fellow Cebuanos proud. For beauty pageant, Ms. Angelie Catacutan was recognized for representing the country to the Miss Supranational 2015 and made it to the Top 20.

It was a night of display of the wonderful creations of Cebuano fashion designers. The ladies looked elegant and fitting as their outfits are made by creative Cebuano designers. The world of fashion design, Cebuanos can very well boast of the creative geniuses of our local designers-homegrown yet whose creative outputs are at par with international standards.

Using indigenous materials, the finalists opened the pageant wearing hablon-inspired resort wear. Hinablon, the finished product of the weaving process called hablon, is a woven fabric native in Argao. The fabrics were acquired through the Hablon Extension Program of the Cebu Technogical University Argao Campus, and the creative resort wear outfits were made by various Cebuano fashion designers.

Towards the end of  the search, serving as a determining factor is the final question which is the most dreaded part for the ladies. This is to ascertain their grasp and understanding about various issues and topics, but mostly concerning tourism. And for one who has the language facility, with great confidence, is already an advantage. But beyond the facility is the profoundness of the answer as there are contestants whose language facility is above average but can hardly substantiate with sensible thoughts. Ladies must be well-aware of the various issues and topics that are of interest not only to the general public but even to marginalized groups.

I would like to commend Engineer Junjet Primor, the production over-all head of the pageant that for many years the pageant has kept a reflection of  Cebu. It has become an avenue for our ladies for a major exposure as they represent Cebu to bigger national and international competitions. And when successful, they bring enormous pride to the province and to the entire country. But more than this is the opportunity to showcase, witness and experience Cebu at its best. It is more than a display of beauty but also a showcase of the Cebuanos' love for the arts and culture.

The pageant is also a way of honoring the child Jesus, Señor Santo Niño, for we are grateful for the many blessings, and for unfathomable reasons we were spared from calamities. Its recurrent theme or concept of promoting tourism has for so long boosted the tourism sector through a visual display of Cebuano beauty, artistry, creativity and religiosity.

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