Your blogger with Cloie Syquia Skarne during ME2016
It’s already a given that Filipinos are the best exports the country has. Be it in contracted work or immigration, our kababayans almost always excel in anything that they set their hearts into, pageantry included.
In the Scandinavian region and Western Europe, four (4) Filipinas have scored wins in the national pageants of their respective home countries. These ladies went on to compete for three of the biggest crowns in international beauty contests – Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Earth. And the Pinoy connection cannot be denied. Apart from looks and names, they themselves have proudly stated their roots.
1) Froken Norge or Miss Universe Norway 2007 Kirby Ann Basken (who also represented the Philippines during Miss Intercontinental 2006)
2) Miss World Denmark 2011 Maya Celeste Padillo Olsen (Conceived in Nepal, born in the Philippines and raised in Denmark, Maya’s second name originated from her grandfather Celestino)
3) Miss Earth Sweden 2016 Cloie Syquia Skarne (we all know that she is the daughter of actor Gabby Concepcion and Jenny Syquia)
4) Miss Belgium 2018 Angeline Flor Pua (she is 100% Pinoy in heritage)
(C) Winner of 80th annual Miss America pageant, 24 year-old Angela Perez Baraquio of Honolulu, surrounded by other contestants, being fitted with her crown by Miss America 2000, Heather French. (Photo by Laura Farr/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images)
It is a fact that the Filipino is a certified global citizen – not only in terms of having OFWs, interracial marriages and immigrants in all parts of the world, but also in conquering beauty pageants well beyond its own national competitions. There were several ladies with Filipino heritage who came out on top and represented their home countries like Canada (Riza Santos and Renette Cruz), Belgium (Angeline Flor Pua), Australia (Nina Robertson), Austria (Melanie Mader), Sweden (Cloie Syquia Skarne), Guam (Alixes Scott), Japan (Kumi Miyamae), Italy (Mara Morelli), Denmark (Maya Celeste Padillo Olesen) and Malaysia (Scarlett Megan Liew Zi Ling) to name some.
Back in 2001, Angela Perez Baraquio achieved three distinctions – being the first Asian American, first Filipino American and first teacher to win the Miss America crown. She represented the state of Hawaii and is the eighth child of an immigrant couple from the Province of Pangasinan here in the Philippines.
According to her bio, “Baraquio graduated from Moanalua High School in June 1994 magna cum laude. Upon graduation, she attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she graduated in May 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with an emphasis in speech.
Baraquio earned her master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Hawaii in December 2004. During her year as Miss America in 2001, Baraquio’s platform was character education.“
“From August 1999 to June 2000, Baraquio was a faculty member at Holy Family Catholic Academy in the Salt Lake subdivision of Honolulu. She taught physical education, was athletic director and coached basketball, volleyball and track. Baraquio was also choir director of the historic St. Augustine Church in Waikiki.
In 2015 Baraquio was appointed principal of St. Anthony of Padua School in Gardena, California.
Baraquio has worked as a celebrity spokesperson for First Hawaiian Bank, First Hawaiian Center, and the Four Seasons hotel in Hawaii.
Currently, Baraquio and her family live in Anaheim, California.”
Have a meaningful Maundy Thursday, dear readers!
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 14: Miss America 2001 Angela Baraquio attends the Salute to Heroes Service Gala to benefit the National Foundation for Military Family Support at The Majestic Downtown on March 14, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Unique Nicole/FilmMagic)
Just as I have stated in my previous post about the Miss Earth 2016 Press Presentation, this year’s batch is a very strong one. So instead of just coming up with just an early Top 10 or Top 15, I stretched the selection to a Top 20 because there are ladies who – at this point – are just too good to pass up on. I simply divided them to five (5) groups of four (4) as the eventual magic circle will have like a full house filling the slots for Earth, Air, Water and Fire.
Here now are my early Top 20 choices in descending order from first quartet down to the fifth:
First Quartet
Second Quartet
Third Quartet
Fourth Quartet
Fifth Quartet
Stephanie de Zorzi of Venezuela, Corrin Stellakis of the USA, Katherine Espín of Ecuador and Aleksandra Cherepanova of Russia complete the first four. They registered the strongest in my eyes yesterday and it would be hard not to see at least 2-3 of them not taking it all the way to the top.
My second quartet is also high and mighty with Luissa Burton of England, Klaudia Parsberg of Denmark, Michelle Gomez of Colombia and Bruna Zanardo of Brazil laying claim to the top spots in this competition. I am particularly enamored with the Danish entry who has four Bs going for her – beauty, brains and blonde bombshell.
As we go down the third to fifth quartets, the pickings are still solid with Imelda Schweighart of the Philippines, Cloie Syquia Skarne of Sweden and Alena Belova of Ukraine providing the deep bench.
And the list continues. But the ones I particularly cited above are gearing up for the big fight in the days and weeks to come.
The 82 Official Candidates of Miss Earth 2016. Photo credit: Joy Arguil
Darlings of the Press (l-r): Corrin Stellakis of the USA (Bronze), Imelda Schweighart of the Philippines and Katherine Espín of Ecuador (tie for Gold) and Stephanie de Zorzi of Venezuela (Silver)
Gold for Ecuador and the Philippines as awarded by Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong
Silver for Stephanie de Zorzi of Venezuela
Bronze for Corrin Stellakis of the USA
Let me get out in the open now. This is a very strong batch of candidates for Miss Earth 2016. And I am going out on a limb by saying that it will be very difficult for the Philippines to achieve a rare three-peat victory after Jamie Herrell and Angelia Ong. This is a field with the most beautiful Latinas, the most appealing Europeans, the most winsome Africans and the most attractive Asians ever assembled for an edition of the environment-themed beauty pageant.
Now that I have that set aside, the Press Presentation of Miss Earth 2016 was such a clockwork affair that it started and finished on time. Owing to the back-breaking schedule of activities for the candidates, there is no room left for lazing around and waiting for things to happen. And because of that, the whole affair did not give members of the media a lot of time for personal photo ops and the like. It did not really dismay a lot because a prompt start and solid finish would be preferable over long hours under the sun.
To come up with early favorites for now would be tough. But it needs to be done. So just to ease the forecast a bit, allow me to name the standouts in each continent first.
From the Americas, Stephanie de Zorzi of Venezuela and Corrin Stellakis are leaders, along with Katherine Espín of Ecuador. From Africa, there is Chioma Precious Obiadi of Nigeria and Chioma Priscilla Achieng of Uganda. From Europe, Klaudia Parsberg of Denmark, Aleksandra Cherepanova of Russia and Cloie Syquia Skarne of Sweden lead the way. And from Asia, Imelda Schweighart of the Philippines, Chae-Yeung Lee of Korea and Ami Hachiya of Japan could not be ignored. I did not include ladies from the Caribbean first because I did not see either Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in the roster. But let me add some more who will definitely fire up the competition soon if they keep up with the promise shown earlier. They are Luissa Burton of England, Bruna Zanardo of Brazil, Brunella Fossa of Peru, Deborah van Hemert of the Netherlands and Itzel Paola Astudillo of Mexico.
Yesterday afternoon, an informal meet-and-greet was held with fifty (50) of the close to eighty (80) candidates of Miss Earth 2016. They make up Groups 1 & 3 of the annual environment-themed beauty pageant.
At the Nostalgia Dining Lounge of Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg Centre, selected members of the media had a good time talking to and having photo ops with practically everyone. And in the process, some early favorites have been picked ahead of today’s Press Presentation at the Diamond Hotel poolside.
As expected, Miss Venezuela Stephanie de Zorzi is a crowd-drawer as her presence was felt the minute she entered the lounge. Tall, confident and very beautiful, she knows how to mix it up without looking too eager or excited. Another favorite is Dutch-Indonesian Deborah van Hemert of the Netherlands who can pass off as a Filipina of mixed ethnicity, along with the warm and engaging Katherine Espín of Ecuador. Aside from the three, the invited guests also liked Teodora Jankovic of Serbia, Lyndl Kean of Australia and Bruna Zanardo of Brazil. Host delegate Imelda Schweighart was also followed by the media as she did a Facebook live of the proceedings and all.
Let’s see if these seven continue floating on top in the days and weeks to come. Group 2 members still have not been seen up close and personal. This is where the relatively popular Cloie Syquia Skarne of Sweden is part of.
My photo op with Misses Netherlands, Canada, Serbia and Slovak Republic
More of Miss Earth 2016 soon!
All images taken by Joy Arguil for normannorman.com
Cloie Syquia Skarne will definitely be back in Manila for an international beauty pageant as Miss Sweden. She has just been crowned Miss Earth Sweden 2016 and will be taking part in Miss Earth 2016 to be held in the country later this year.
People were expecting the daughter of actor Gabby Concepcion and Jenny Syquia to win the bigger title of Miss Universe Sweden 2016 that would have allowed her to return to Manila for the 65th Miss Universe come January 30, 2017. But this one is the next best thing as she will slug it out for the crown alongside Miss Philippines Earth 2016 Imelda Schweighart.
Cloie Syquia Skarne as made up by Carissa Cielo Medved
Remember Cloie Syquia Skarne? She is the daughter of Jenny Syquia with actor Gabby Concepcion. Born in 1994, she was adopted by Filip Skarne (who married Jenny after the annulment of the marriage with Concepcion). She will turn 22 next week. With a good height of 5’8″, this Fil-Swede headturner is currently on a brief vacation in the country with her equally lovely mom. From what my source has been saying, she is setting her sights on taking part in Miss Universe Sweden 2016. If she wins that one, then wouldn’t it be just a thrill to see her competing in the next Miss Universe pageant to be hosted here in Manila?
Stockholm-based Cloie is ready for most anything at the moment. Aside from being an Ambassador of Operation Smile Philippines, she is getting crucial trainings on different aspects of pageantry. And if you see her becoming an Official Candidate of Sweden’s search for their national rep for Miss U, then you will know that she came prepared for that.
Cloie (left) with mom Jenny Syquia
I will be keeping an eye on Cloie’s next move from hereon now. 😉
Hi! Norman here. When I'm not working, I spend most of my free time planning on daily blogs. If you will notice, I always make sure that a fresh topic comes out everyday - not an easy thing to do but it's all good. Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the visit!
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