Even before Evangeline Pascual placed 1st Runner-Up in Miss World 1973, another lady had the honor of being the first Filipina to enter the Top 5 and be proclaimed 4th Runner-Up. She is Arene Cecilia “Pinky” Amabuyok (now US-based) who managed to make her presence felt in an edition of the pageant that was considered a strong one. The winner was Penelope Plummer, a gorgeous librarian from Australia.
Below is an old clip of the Miss World 1968 finals.
Pinky: Then and Now
Pinky’s father was Rene Amabuyok — Olympic swimmer. Before he changed his last name, his legal name was Rene Taliti Koyubama. He was also a swim coach at what is now known as the International School of Manila.
Other interesting tidbits about Pinky:
– She is fluent in Spanish. (She belongs to a Spanish-speaking family that used to be based in Zamboanga.)
– One of her best friends is Isabel Preysler — mother of Enrique Iglesias and Spanish socialite. (They are so close, in fact, that every time Isabel is in Los Angeles, she sleeps over at Pinky’s.)
– She has a public Facebook page and goes by “Pinky A. Santos.”
@ Filipino Historian YAASSS!!!!!
I will pick up from where you left off on “La _ut_ de Manila” (as my UP professors refer to her, as she was allegedly hated by Spanish at-large for associating with Madrid’s most influential men).
As a teen in Manila, she was so beautiful, boys LITERALLY lined up outside her door to see her. In those days, of course, courting was done under the watchful eyes of the lady’s ‘rents. But once exhausted by the testosterone flood, she was promptly sent off to Madrid. One boy whom she had grown quite fond of was devastated. Upon arriving in Spain airport, a HUGE bouquet of roses greeted her, sent by badly-smitten guy. The thing was so big, she could hardly hold on to it! Folks around her thought she was a celebrity.
Thanks for these additional inputs about Pinky!
Beatiful top 5. Even the runners up could be a winner.
Reminds me of MU 19782005 top 5.
*MU 1974 & 2005
Bakit ganoon sila maglakad dati?
Siguro po the walk/presentation evolves as time goes by. Iba rin po ang lakad noong 90s kesa dito. Iba rin po yung ngayon.
OT.
Birthday, po, ni Lubina, Mr. Tinio.
🙂
She was very lucky to place
She didn’t look ready , body and otherwise
She looks prepared. She is pretty, has a good posture and body proportion. Actually she looks confident on the photo with the host. Also, during that time there is a different criteria on beauty.
WE NEED MORE OF HER TODAY…ganda
The local contest that Pinky Amabuyok joined was remarkable because one of the contestants was a 14 year old girl. When Amabuyok won and flew to London, she made news immediately after landing in the airport, as her gift to the Mayor of London–a contest tradition–was confiscated (she was bringing a box of Philippine cigars). She came out of the airport crying and the news of mournful Miss Philippines made it to the local dailies. Amabuyok further became the talk of the Miss World contest when she was interviewed by Media and was asked what her ambition was. Amabuyok seriously declared, “I want to be a nun”. Interest in Amabuyok was solidified as the finals drew near,
Wow
SUCCULENT seven ?!!!
Ah-hahahah….. 🙂
But to be fair, host delegate was SEXY hourglass. FULL bust and hips offset by TINY waist.
(Unless corsets were still “fash” in the late sixties…. now I somehow imagine HGDC* in one….)
* – Honey Grace Dongon Cartasano, “Onasatrac” as per @ Filipino Historian’s reckoning.
Maganda siya. I like her beauty. Very Pinay. That beauty could win a crown just by looking at her.
Interesting tidbits especially about her last name….
Pinky Amabuyok’s father was a Japanese national who reversed the spelling of his last name (Koyubama) so that his family wouldn’t face the anti-Japanese ire of the Filipinos after the second World War.
Pinky married a very wealthy Filipino businessman who makes all of the ketchup packets in the US.
She lives in Century City, CA.
She also had a nose job.
Thank you for this additional inputs!
Mr. Tinio, sana meron syang video clip interview nung finals.
Rene Amabuyok is Pinky’s father, who actually was a national swimmer. He represented the country at the 1948 summer Olympics in London.
Fake news pala ang Japanese ni Filipino historian?
@ Jazzie Godiva Baka totoo, rin, po….
Maybe he adopted “Rene” (for “Renato”, perhaps) as nick- (first) name, as part of a change of citizenship, MAYBE….?
MAYBE he used his swimming ability/prowess as his “ticket in”, so to speak….?
No hate. Just thinkin’.
🙂
@Flor, modern-day hisrorians are now digging through this underdocumented period of our history. It is true that there were Japanese men who came to the Philippines before WW II, married Filipino women and had offspring. Their Japanese fathers died, went home or otherwise disappeared before or during the war. The postwar animosity against anyone associated with the Japanese prompted many descendants to hide their Japanese identities while growing up. Now that the Filipinos have forgotten the atrocities of the WW II Japanese occupation of the Philippines, these descendants who are now aging are fighting for their right to obtain Japanese citizenship.
I believe the post of @Filipino Historian is credible.