Tag Archives: Miss International 2011

Olga Alava Vargas: the Earth is her stage

Posted on by
1

Miss Earth 2011 Olga Alava Vargas of Ecuador (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova of OPMB Worldwide)

Mother Earth's muse for the next twelve months, Olga is. (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova of OPMB Worldwide)

When Olga Alava Vargas was crowned Miss Earth 2011 last December 3, she made Ecuador doubly prouder since her compatriot Ma. Fernanda Cornejo was also successful in clinching the Miss International 2011 victory almost a month earlier. Two grand slam titles in one year is impressive, especially for a country that has not figured out well for the past decades.

From the time the girls started arriving for the pageant, Olga stood out as one of the favorites. She may not have the superlatives to back up her bid, but one thing going in her favor is consistency. She was always beautiful. She was always smiling. She was always ready and able to take part in all the environmental pre-pageant activities. She was always up on her toes mingling with everyone. And she never complained. And on pageant night, she showed that she is no cookie-cutter candidate. She displayed sincere happiness everytime she made the cut from the top 16 all the way to Final 4 and the crown itself. The final Q&A was a clincher after she spoke in limited English (instead of Spanish) and was still able to put her message across with clarity. After the coronation, practically all competitors (and the rest of the Earth) were happy with her win.

Below is an excerpt from an article written by Armin Adina in the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

Saving Mother Earth

Alava said “all of us deserve to win.” She invited her fellow candidates to help her in her mission for the environment. “We are all here for a purpose and we have to continue working for it,” she said.

The Ecuadorian beauty sees her crown as “a tool to help save Mother Earth.”

With Olga’s fondness for Asia, I’m pretty sure she will be very visible in the region. It would be safe to say that her reign will be a productive one since she can smoothly combine her efforts for Mother Earth in Ecuador & South America and in this part of the world.

Good luck and God Bless, Olga! ;-)

Dianne Necio comes home!

Posted on by
Reply

image

Fresh from her Top 15 finish at Miss International 2011, Bb. Pilipinas-International Dianne Necio was feted during a warm homecoming presscon held at Gateway. She proudly displayed her Miss Web Popularity sash to everyone in attendance, and was so happy that she got the Special Award made possible by the online support of all her fans and supporters.

From this blog, let me just say to Dianne “Welcome Back!” :-)

(Photo above courtesy of Bruce Casanova of OPMB Worldwide)

Miss International 2011 is Maria Fernanda Cornejo of Ecuador!

Posted on by
4

image

And a new Miss International has been crowned!

Another Latina was adjudged Miss International 2011 in final pageant ceremonies held at the Sichuan Opera Theatre in Chengdu, China. Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Cornejo won the title and became her country’s very first Miss International. Coming in as 1st Runner-Up is heavy favorite Jessica Barboza of Venezuela, while Tugsuu Idersaikhan of Mongolia placed 2nd Runner-Up. 3rd Runner-Up is Katy Mendieta of Panama, with Desiree del Rio of Puerto Rico completing the Top 5 as 4th Runner-Up.

The remaining semifinalists in the Top 15 are from Brazil, Netherlands, Latvia, Russia, Thailand, Philippines, Lebanon, Sweden, Vietnam and Trinidad & Tobago.

Miss Friendship was shared by Misses Hawaii and Mexico, while the People’s Choice Award (or Most Popular Girl on the Internet) was handed to Miss Philippines Dianne Necio who topped the online voting. Jessica Barboza of Venezuela was named Miss Photogenic, with host delegate Yu Ting Bai Xue getting the nod for Miss Talent. The remaining Special Awards went to the reps of Zimbabwe (Miss Expressive), Puerto Rico (Miss Active), Ecuador (Miss Stature), Russia (Miss Elegant) and Aruba (Ambassador of Beauty). And as expected from the National Costume competition, Thailand won.

Contrary to my prediction that an Asian invasion was in the offing, the pageant stayed true to traditional form and gave the Latinas overwhelming victories this year.

67 candidates from all over the world competed for the crown.

Congratulations to the winners! :-)

Maria Fernanda Cornejo beams after being crowned Miss International 2011.

Maria Fernanda Cornejo beams after being crowned Miss International 2011.

Top 3 (L-R) Mongolia (2nd ru), Ecuador (winner) and Venezuela (1st ru)

Top 3 (L-R) Mongolia (2nd ru), Ecuador (winner) and Venezuela (1st ru)

My Top 15 for Miss International 2011: A likely Asian domination!

Posted on by
1

From among the 65 Official Candidates of Miss International 2011, I am coming up with my selection of Top 15 ladies and boy, what a domination of Asian beauties in my opinion! Seven out of the 15 slots have been cornered by ladies from this region and leaving out one of them in the final tally would be a disappointment.

Here now is my list of Top 15 for the title (in alphabeitcal order):

Australia - Brooke Nash

Belarus - Ulyana Volokhovskaya

China - Yu Ting Bai Xue

Colombia - Natalia Valenzuela

Ecuador - Maria Fernanda Cornejo

Hong Kong - Whitney Hui

Indonesia - Reisa Kartikasari

Japan - Nagomi Murayama

Netherlands - Tari Hertsenberg

Paraguay - Stephania Vasquez

Philippines - Dianne Necio

Thailand - Kantapat Peeradachainarin

Ukraine - Oleksandra Kyrsha

Venezuela - Jessica Barboza

Vietnam - Trương Tri Trúc Diễm

Now, trimming the 15 down to just the Top 3 (as is customary with Miss International) is extra difficult because I love at least half of them! At any rate, I am listing down a Top 5 for recognition purposes. Here goes:

My Top 5 would be: Indonesia’s Reisa Kartikasari, Vietnam’s Trương Tri Trúc Diễm, the Philippines’ Dianne Necio, Paraguay’s Stephania Vasquez and Venezuela’s Jessica Barboza.

Of course, it’s highly possible that Miss China (being the host country’s delegate) will enter the troika of winners, but I’m really convinced that it’s going to be a glowing year for one of the five shortlisted ladies in Miss International this year.

I want to include one more Asian (Miss Thailand) in my Top 5, but that would simply be overkill. :-(

Anyways, let’s see how the final results will look like. :-)

Will Dianne Necio claim victory in Miss International 2011?

Posted on by
3

Dianne Necio proudly displaying the Philippine flag during the Miss International 2011 dinner-auction. (Photo credit: Bruce Casanova of OPMB Worldwide)

Miss Philippines Dianne Necio posing for OPMB Correspondent in Chengdu Bruce Casanova.

Come Sunday night, all roads will lead to the finals of two Grand Slam Pageants – Miss International and Miss World. But since China is ahead of London time-wise, focus will be given first to Miss International 2011 where our proud bet, Dianne Necio, will strive to win the Philippines’ 5th crown of the pageant.

What are her chances of outshining the 64 other competitors? Good, pretty good. I am seeing a lot of strong contenders from Asia this year so Dianne should really step up to the plate and edge out the likes of Misses Indonesia, Vietnam and China first. Once she achieves this, then the road to the Top 3 shouldn’t be too crowded. Otherwise, I can see her breezing through the Top 15 Finalists.

Unlike the Miss World 2011 which will be aired by GMA-7 on Monday morning, the Miss International 2011 finals won’t be seen on the boob tube (unless one of the networks decide to show a replay weeks from now). But if you keep yourself glued to your laptop, there’s a strong chance that real-time updates will be posted by several pageant websites on Sunday evening around 9pm or so. ;-)

Miss Philippines Dianne Necio showing off her auction item - a strand of Philippine pearl necklace.

BFFs Miss Hongkong Whitney Hui and Miss Philippines Dianne Necio share a light moment amidst the hectic schedule of the pageant.


Look Ma, Dianne Necio’s baton twirling!

Posted on by
Reply

Talent comes in many shapes and sizes, style and execution, precision and grace. In the case of Miss Philippines Dianne Necio, baton twirling best represents her flawless skills. During the Miss International 2011 Talent Competition, this is what she proudly displayed. Having mastered the art of accurately spinning the baton and throwing the same in mid-air for a swift catch, she must have wowed the audience watching the same.

Will she win Miss Talent? ;-)

Miss International 2011: We are Family

Posted on by
Reply

The 65 Official Delegates of Miss International 2011 pose for a family picture of this year’s batch. At this point, it’s still anybody’s ballgame so that sisterhood is still strong as ever.

Miss Philippines Dianne Necio (seated 2nd from left) enjoys the several tours around Chengdu together with the other candidates.

Let’s see how things get heated up once the real competition begins next week, right before the finals on November 6. ;-)

Dianne Necio in Miss International 2011

Posted on by
Reply

Miss Philippines Dianne Necio (4th from left) with the delegates of Ukraine, Kyrgystan, Russia, Lebanon, Sweden, Hong Kong and New Zealand posing at the Dujiangyan Irrigation System Facility.

Miss Philippines Dianne Necio with Miss Hong Kong Whitney Hui crossing the bridge at the Dujiangyan Irrigation System Facility.

Miss Philippines Dianne Necio (seated, first from left) posing with all the candidates of Miss International 2011.

Bb. Pilipinas-International 2011 Dianne Necio is enjoying her time representing the Philippines in Chengdu, China for Miss International 2011. While she may not be taller than most of her fellow contenders, she actually stands out with her oriental features and svelte figure.

This year’s batch of 91 delegates is a record for the more than 5-decade old pageant, which means that the competition is going to be real tough for each one of them. Let’s see how they will step up to the challenge in the next couple of weeks leading to the finals on November 6. ;-)

The 51st Miss International will be known on November 6!

Posted on by
1

Who among the 70 delegates above will win the 51st Miss International crown?

Together, let’s find out who will take the place of last year’s winner, Elizabeth Mosquera of Venezuela (photo, left).

Within the next few weeks, this blog will be featuring posts on the pre-pageant activities of the ladies in Chengdu, leading up to the coronation night on November 6, which also happens to be the same date that Miss World 2011 will be chosen.

This is going to be a busy late October up to early November alright! :-)

Dianne Necio’s Miss International 2011 send-off

Posted on by
Reply

image

image

Yesterday afternoon, reigning Bb. Pilipinas-International Dianne Necio was given her formal send-off to Miss International 2011 to be held in Chengdu, China on November 6. Well-wishers present were batchmates Shamcey Supsup, Isabella Manjon, Jamine Tugonon and MJ Lastimosa together with former Bb. Pilipinas winners Venus Raj and Patricia Fernandez.

Dianne’s mission is daunting – to become the Philippines’ 5th Miss International titleholder and match the performance of Precious Lara Quigaman who won in 2005. If she succeeds, then the country joins Venezuela as one of the winningest nations in the pageant. Regionally, our track record in the same is unbeatable with no other Asian country coming close to four victories.

Fully prepared for the tough battle ahead, she will arrive in the host city armed with a carefully-selected wardrobe, well-polished walk, refined personal style and a warm disposition that should endear her to the locals, the judges and fellow candidates.

Best of luck to Dianne! :-)