HAIL THE NEW QUEEN!
Today, the whole nation rejoiced and gave Bea
Rose Santiago a much- deserved victory parade after giving our country our
fifth Miss International crown during the pageant’s 54th edition in Tokyo,
Japan
Here’s a trip down memory lane as we recall the
glorious homecoming and victory parades for the country’s first four Miss
International winners:
1964 Miss International Gemma Guerrero Cruz
On August 14, 1964, Gemma Guerrero Cruz secured
her place in Philippine pageant history books when she became the first
Filipina to win an international beauty title.
The statuesque and brainy Gemma Cruz was selected
the 1964 Miss International from among 41 other contestants at Long Beach,
California, the pageant’s original venue before it moved permanently to Japan.
Chaperoned by her mother, Carmen Guerrero Nakpil,
they returned home on Monday, Aug. 24 at 7:02 a.m. on board a PAL DC-8
jetliner-KLM Flying Dutchman operated flight, dubbed as the “Miss International
Flight.”
Manila Mayor Antonio J. Villegas led the welcome
wishers who proclaimed that day as “Araw ni Gemma.” He and the mayors of Pasay,
Parañaque, Caloocan, San Juan and Mandaluyong handed Gemma the symbolic keys to
their cities.
A motorcade traveled from the airport to Escolta
where a ticker-tape parade awaited Gemma. Later that afternoon, she paid a
courtesy call on Pres. and Mrs. Diosdado Macapagal in Malacañang Palace who
bestowed her Golden Heart Presidential decoration and was also honored with a
formal tea party
Miss International was treated to a ticker-tape
parade from the airport to the Escolta, then to Sta. Mesa all the way to her
home in San Juan.
The streets were jampacked with over 200,000
Filipinos who gave her a rousing welcome
1970 Miss
International Aurora Pijuan
1970 Miss International Aurora Pijuan
won over 46 other contestants at the Exposition Hall Fairgrounds, Osaka, Japan
on May 16, 1970.
She arrived on Monday, June 8, at 3:40
p.m. on board a PAL flight accompanied by three officials of Japan Beauty
Congress, the organizer of the pageant.
From the airport, her motorcade passed
through the city’s main thoroughfares up to Malacañang for a courtesy call on
Pres. and Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos.
1979 Miss International Melanie Marquez
1979 Miss International Melanie Marquez
bested over 42 candidates at the Yubin Chokin Hall, Tokyo, on Nov. 12, 1979.
Ten days after her coronation, Melanie
arrived on Thursday, Nov. 22, at 12:15 p.m. on board a PAL flight.
With her were her runners-up Miss USA
Anna Maria Rapagna, Miss Austria Elizabeth Schmidt, Miss Finland Kate Elizabeth
Nyberg and Miss Japan Hideko Haba and pageant organizers.
Thousands of euphoric Filipinos waited
for their motorcade from the airport to Ayala, Makati. The presscon was later
held in Manila Peninsula Hotel after the ticker-tape parade in Ayala.
2005 Miss International Precious Lara Quigaman
2005 Miss International Precious Lara
Quigaman won over 51 other aspirants in Aichi, Japan, on Sept. 26, 2005. Lara
arrived on Monday, Oct. 23, at 1:45 p.m. on board PAL flight 431 from Narita
with officials of International Beauty Congress (organizer of Miss
International pageant) to cover her homecoming.
A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
AMID A YEAR OF SCANDALS & DEVASTATION
At a time when the Philippines has been
rocked by political scandals & devastated by terrorism, super typhoons and
an earthquake, the triumph of our Filipina beauty queens in the global stage is
welcomed like a breath of fresh air.
Photo Credits:
R Torre
Bb Pilipinas Charities
sashfactor.info
Eton Concepcion
Dencio Natividad
Eton Concepcion
Dencio Natividad
Copyright infringement not intended
With additional info from Ricky Lo's Funfare, Philippine Star
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