Ascension Gaviola: The First Miss Bohol Titleholder

THE FIRST MISS BOHOL No one can give the exact date that the most prestigious beauty competition in the province made its debut. Photographic evidence however has proved that there was a pre- World War II Miss Bohol. The honor of being the first officially recorded Miss Bohol titleholder goes to a Jagna lass named Ascension Gaviola who was crowned Miss Bohol 1926.

  Ascension Gaviola: first Miss Bohol

Ms Gaviola entered local & national pageant history books for she was not only the first Miss Bohol but also was the first Boholana to compete in a national beauty competition, the very first Miss Philippines search which highlighted the 1926 Manila Carnival. The same contest picked Miss Batangas Anita Agoncillo Noble as the winner from among beauty delegates coming from different provinces of the country. 

The other winners were Miss Zamboanga Carmen Fargas as Miss Pearl of the Orient Seas, Miss Manila Rosario Genato as Miss Luzon, Miss Samar Aurora Reyes as Miss Visayas and Miss Lanao Bala Amai Miring as Miss Mindanao.

 

Aside from Miss Bohol, the other candidates in the 1st national beauty contest were Leonila Reyes (Miss Agusan), Cristina Victoria (Miss Baguio), Rosa Reyes (Miss Bataan), Isabel Melendez (Miss Bukidnon), Leonor Tantoco Reyes (Miss Bulacan)  Andrea Baduria (Miss Camarines) Rosario Picazo (Miss Capiz) Lucille Morales Maxey (Miss Davao) Arminda Martinez (Miss Isabela) Loreto “Etong” Relova (Miss Laguna)  Rosario Luces Luna Cayetano (Miss Marinduque)  Elia Sanchez (Miss Masbate) Amparo Neri (Miss Misamis) Martha Adduan Maddela (Miss Nueva Vizcaya) Carmen Fernandez (Miss Palawan) Rosario Hernandez Panganiban (Miss Pampanga) Corazon Sison  (Miss Pangasinan) Remedios Santos (Miss Rizal)  Isolina Puno Palma (Miss Tarlac) and Nita San Agustin (Miss Tayabas)

During the contest duration, the provincial candidates were accommodated at the houses of selected families.

HOW MISS PHILIPPINES WAS CHOSEN The anticipated pageant commenced with the parade of the beauty delegates who rode in flower-decorated cars. After passing through the major thoroughfares of Manila, the girls transferred to their own lighted “chariots”, each bearing the name of their respective provinces upon arrival at the Manila Grand Carnival Auditorium, Luneta Park. They were then wheeled around the auditorium to be viewed by the crowd and the judges who rendered their decision in a secret balloting.

And so it was through this process that the very first Miss Philippines was chosen. 

TRIBUTE FOR FORMER MISS BOHOL TITLEHOLDERS Although she did not clinch the crown, she went home richer and wiser from the experience. She eventually got married to Chief Santiago Llido. 

Come July 18, the Grand Coronation Night for Miss Bohol 2015, Ms Gaviola and the rest of the former Miss Bohol winners who either personally or whose families responded to the pageant organizers' request to submit photos along with personal info will be honored through a video as a pageant highlight. 

Dear readers, if you know of a Miss Bohol titleholder whose name might have been overlooked, please email Your Blogger:

brewmeister777@gmail.com

Thanks to Josh Nunez, Miss Gaviola's great- grandson who submitted this photographic evidence

Special Thanks to alex r. castro of www.manilacarnival.blogspot.com