Joselle Mariano

All posts tagged Joselle Mariano

Looking back at and looking forward to the Bb. Pilipinas Talent Competition

Posted by Norman on February 6, 2018
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .


With the Bb. Pilipinas 2018 Talent Competition scheduled to take place at the Farmers Plaza Activity Area this coming Saturday – February 10 – I thought it would be appropriate to take a look-back at last year’s version where the more memorable presentations were placed in a video grid above. Included are the opera number of Mariel de Leon, the ballet performance of Arienne Calingo, the Taekwondo exhibition of Ma. Camille Manalo, the interpretative dance of Gillian Colcol and the bass guitar skills of Elizabeth Clenci.

Now if you want to get relatively up close and personal with this year’s Binibinis, then the above-mentioned upcoming event will be your best bet for some sort of a limited meet-and-greet.

I was told that around fifteen or so ladies will display their talents that are mostly in the song, dance and song-and-dance formats, with one doing a rhythmic gymnastics exhibition.

See you there!

Below are some shots taken from 2017 by Joseph Gerard V. Jose for normannorman.com.

Mariel de Leon

Arienne Calingo

Elizabeth Clenci

Kristel Guelos

Ma. Camille Manalo

Beatrice Valente

Joselle Mariano

Exclusive! A Day with the Binibinis at David’s Salon Academy

Posted by Norman on April 18, 2017
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

David Charlton of David’s Salon posed with the Binibinis and their precious loot bags

Team normannorman.com was all accounted for!

The whole of Monday was literally spent by team normannorman.com at the David’s Salon Academy in Makati City where Joy Arguil, Joseph Gerard Jose and I bonded and took photos with the Binibinis of Bb. Pilipinas 2017 upon the exclusive invitation of Marketing Manager Lotte Villarosa-Agraviador. The event started with a short lecture on the role of the salon company in the nationals, followed by delightful games that were gleefully participated in by the ladies and the stylists. Right about lunchtime, everyone was treated to a simple but yummy buffet before the pampering sessions started. Everyone was treated to relaxing back massages, mani/pedi and foot spas that were accompanied by cool loot bags that contained products that will help them maintain healthy hair and nails.

Hair and Make-Up consultations were also made with the assigned stylists for each Binibini and were given experimental approaches as to what facial applications best suit them. And to cap everything off, David’s Salon owner David Charlton dropped by to have group photos with the ladies and even brought them easter egg chocolates which came all the way from London.

The Binibinis had HMU consultations with their assigned stylists

There were also fun games that set the mood right for the day

The Binibinis were also given pampering back massages, foot spas and mani/pedi

It was fun all throughout, especially for your blogger who really took the opportunity to spend quality time talking to almost everyone. I can now safely say that this is a 99% cool batch of ladies who have the right attitude and personalities to compete for the crowns at stake. Why did I say 99%? Well, you do the math. No batch is uber perfect since there will always be an odd one out in terms of chemistry with everyone. I won’t name a name anymore since she is just one different apple in terms of character and disposition. Who knows, she might still improve her ways and turn out good in less than two weeks’ time.

Allow me also to point out the quality bonding I spent with random Binibinis. I say random because I caught them by their lonesome at given moments and the initial pleasantries turned into more meaningful chats in the process. Big shoutout to #Binibini2 Arienne Calingo, #Binibini19 Rachel Peters, #Binibini20 Christa Borja, #Binibini21 Jamaica Ambal, #Binibini23 Arah Salientes, #Binibini31 Katarina Rodriguez, #Binibini32 Charmaine Elima, #Binibini33 Istie Cequeña, #Binibini37 Sammie Anne Legaspi and #Binibini39 Elizabeth Clenci. I loved practically all of them, though!

David Charlton with the Binibinis and the stylists assigned to the ladies

Till our next event, Binibinis!

Your Binibini 5: Joselle Mariano

Posted by Norman on March 4, 2017
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , .

Binibini 5 Joselle Mariano comes to you from Cavite


Joselle “Elle” S. Mariano – as I have previously blogged – has already made the rounds of different national beauty contests the past few years with the revived Miss Republic of the Philippines as her personal best to date by winning Miss Luzon.

Elle is 21 years old and a Tourism major from Cavite State University Main. She was a National Champion Swimmer – a sport she started to get good at the minute she made her splash in the olympic-sized pools when she was only 8. She began competing for nationals since grade 4 up to college. A peak in her participation in this aquatic discipline happened last 2010 during a swim in the Guinness Book of World Records held at the Diliman Preparatory School. She loves to sing, specially classical music. She also dances, while dabbling in calligraphy and some water color paintings.

How does being an Official Candidate of Bb. Pilipinas 2017 strike her?

“Becoming a certified Binibini is already a big achievement for me. To make it this far is something that brings out endless excitement (and nervousness) on my part. Now that I am your Binibini 5, I’m all set to conquer the stage of Binibining Pilipinas 2017! Get ready for Elle!”

Will Binibini 5 be a strong contender for Bb. Pilipinas 2017?


Elle may be an independent delegate for now, but only time will tell if she will eventually be taken in by one of the two big camps in the days to come. 🙂

Joselle Mariano 1.0(B)

Posted by Norman on February 21, 2017
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , .

Joselle Mariano is gearing up for Bb. Pilipinas 2017


Joselle Mariano has been seen taking the pageant route from Mutya ng Pilipinas 2013 to Miss Philippines Earth 2014 to Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015. In the last of the three, she achieved her personal best performance so far by getting Miss Luzon (or 1st Runner-Up in rank). This year, she is upping the stakes by gearing up for what could be her biggest challenge so far – Bb. Pilipinas 2017.

KF-trained Joselle knows the ins and outs of the beauty contest game by now. And she has prepared well for the nationals. Before the weekend, she would have already filed her application at the BPCI office and well on her way to the bloody screenings next week. I say bloody because the 54th edition is seen by many as the toughest so far with the number of interested ladies exceeding the past number of years.

Will she make it?

Good luck to you, Joselle! 🙂

Will she be one of the Binibinis for 2017?

Photo Blog | The Miss Republic of the Philippines 2017 Media Launch

Posted by Norman on November 4, 2016
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The reigning Miss Republic of the Philippines winners

Dr. Romulo Aromin Jr., Chair of Miss Republic of the Philippines 2017

Dr. Aromin (center) with the reigning winners

The Media Launch Press Kit with the photo taken by Raymond Saldaña

Miss RP Fermira Dianne Ramos

Yesterday afternoon at the Expo Hall of Fisher Mall in Quezon City, Miss Republic of the Philippines 2017 had its media launch to signal the opening of yet another beauty pageant that was revived last 2015 by Lynette Padolina. With a new Chair in the person of Dr. Romulo Aromin Jr., the 2017 edition of the scholarship-based competition will aim for a fresher and more dynamic search for Filipinas who have beauty, intelligence and the speaking skills to match the demands of promoting local tourism nationwide and in the Filipino Communities abroad.

Miss RP International Beatrice Valente

Present during the launch are reigning titleholders Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Fermira Dianne Ramos and Miss Republic of the Philippines International 2015 Beatrice Valente, along with Miss Luzon Joselle Mariano, Miss Visayas Sheila Marie Reyes and Miss Mindanao Istie Cequeña.

Miss Luzon Joselle Mariano

“We have decided to launch our pageant search for 2017 for us to have ample time in searching for potential delegates all throughout the country and several Filipino Communities abroad. We want to equal if not surpass the quality of pageant delegates that we have last year when we revived the Miss Republic of the Philippines, one of the pioneer and prestigious beauty and personality search in the country.” says Dr. Aromin during the media interview.

Miss Visayas Sheila Marie Reyes

“We do hope that our valued pageant sponsors and benefactors, loyal friends, regional partners and you, members of the media will continue to support Miss RP just like what you’ve done in 2016. It would be another exciting and fruitful partnership come 2017. he further adds.

Miss Mindanao Istie Cequeña

The winners of Miss Republic of the Philippines will be actively involved in various socio-civic undertakings and community projects with the different government agencies and private institution partners of the pageant. These ladies should represent and embody the image of a Modern Filipina who is intelligent, self-assured and empowered.
The Miss Republic of the Philippines is ably supported and sponsored by Fisher Mall, Ms. Moleen del Rosario, Fisher Mall Expo Hall, Lemon Grass, Miss Jasmine Lucio, Dr. James G. Dy, Hon. Geraldine Roman, Mr. Junjun Ablaza III, Mika Imson of Kitsilver Jewelry, Ulysses King of Vatican Fashion Museum, Miss Jaki Peñalosa, Mr. Lourd Ramos of Bottega de Barberia, Leigh Jocson of Jocson College, Miss Glenda Barreto of Via Mare, Showbiz Sosyal and Alex Moico of Gardner College.

For more information on the 2017 Miss Republic of the Philippines Pageant Search, you may call the Pageant Admin Staff (Grace Mendoza) at 09176139710 or like/share the Official Facebook Page of Miss RP for updates.

All photos taken by Joy Arguil for normannorman.com

The Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Winners

Posted by Norman on November 5, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , .

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Winning beauties (left-to-right): Miss RP Visayas Sheila Marie Reyes, Miss Republic of the Philippines International 2015 Beatrice Valente, Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Fermira Dianne Ramos, Miss RP Luzon Joselle Mariano and Miss RP Mindanao Christie Rose Cequeña (Photo credit: Joy Arguil)

image Fermira Dianne Ramos of Zambales and Beatrice Valente of Milan, Italy copped the two highest titles during the lavish finals last night at The Theater at Solaire. They are now Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 and Miss Republic of the Philippines International 2015, respectively, and are the proud first-wearers of the gold crowns that are considered to be the most expensive in any national beauty pageant in the country ever. They have also been awarded scholarship grants of their own choice which they can take during or after their reigns as such.

Composing their royal court are Miss RP Luzon Joselle Mariano of Cavite, Miss RP Visayas Sheila Marie Reyes of Valenzuela City and Miss RP Mindanao Christie Rose Cequeña of Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.

It was a pageant that prides itself in having some of the most articulate candidates, with a roster of Top 15 Semifinalists who nailed their individual Q&A portions with such impressive answers that made it doubly hard for the judges to trim down the group to just the Top 5.

The five ladies in the magic circle will now be busy promoting Philippine Tourism as the two top titleholders will be traveling to different Filipino Communities abroad to promote visits to key local destinations. The Runners-Up will alternatively accompany them in the scheduled travels.

The winning ladies with their gold crowns as Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 victors (Photo credit: Joy Arguil)

The winning ladies with their gold crowns as Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 victors (Photo credit: Joy Arguil)

Congratulations to all ladies, and also to CEO Lynette Padolina, Mila Imson of Kitsilver Jewelries and the Vatican Fashion Museum (which is responsible for the beautiful Philippine Ternos worn by all the candidates) for a successful staging of the big event. 🙂

Who will be crowned winners of Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015?

Posted by Norman on November 4, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

I took the liberty of naming my Top 15 instead of just a dozen from among the 35 Official Candidates of Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 (Photo credit: Lito Caleon)

I took the liberty of naming my Top 15 instead of just a dozen from among the 35 Official Candidates of Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 (Photo credit: Lito Caleon)

FB_IMG_1446044990038 Initially, I had my doubts on whether Miss Republic of the Philippines can pull it off. But with constant determination and commitment from CEO and Pageant Owner Lynette Padolina, the contest is now on its finals with the Coronation Night scheduled at The Theater of Solaire later. From among the thirty-five Official Candidates, two (2) will be crowned as the big winners – Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 (from among the local beauties) and Miss Republic of the Philippines International 2015 (from among the delegates who came from abroad) – with three (3) special titles of Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas and Miss Mindanao.

The plan was for a Top 12 to be named to the Semifinals. But after reviewing the contenders and knowing them personally, I need to make it a Top 15 to recognize the efforts of all potential qualifiers who can fill up the four (4) pillars of importance: beauty, personality, attitude and communication skills.

My Top 15 (see photo grid above) are in order of their pin numbers: Stephanie Slattery of Victoria, Cristelle Tolentino of Pasig City, Pollyheart Calvero of Alcala Pangasinan, Alexia Sonia Edmund of UK, Digna Diaz of Nueva Ecija, Christie Rose Cequeña of Sta. Rosa, Krisnah Catague of Antique, Natalie Mcdiarmid of Melbourne, Beatrice Valente of Milan Italy, Fermira Dianne Ramos of Zambales, Joselle Mariano of Cavite, Sheila Marie Reyes of Valenzuela City, Krizzia Lyn Moreno of Camarines Sur, Christine Joy Madamba of Bacolod and Randea Anne Cabalfin of South Cotabato.

From these fifteen ladies, I thought of going straight to my Top 5. Why? Because there are two major titles and one of them will come from the foreign entries. And since there are only four (4) in my Top 15 for that 2nd crown, why not just zero in on the person who might be the best fit for the spot. At any rate, I added an extra girl just to sweeten up the mix a little bit and be a potential spoiler.

My Top 6 for Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015. One of them is a spoiler who could take the place of one of those likely to make up the magic circle.

My Top 6 for Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015. One of them is a spoiler who could take the place of one of those likely to make up the magic circle.

Hence, my Top 6 are (in random order): Kristie Rose Cequeña of Sta. Rosa, Joselle Mariano of Cavite, Cristelle Tolentino of Pasig City, Natalie Mcdiarmid of Melbourne, Fermira Dianne Ramos of Zambales and Pollyheart Calvero of Alcala, Pangasinan.

Obviously, Natalie Mcdiarmid of Melbourne is my pick for Miss Republic of the Philippines International 2015. But from among the rest, it could still be anyone’s ballgame. Joselle Mariano, Cristelle Tolentino and Kristie Rose Cequeña are still in it to win it. And one of them could take the other throne.

Just my two cents worth for the pageant. I am happy with how I get an extra uptick in site traffic because of Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015, and that’s why I exerted some due effort to cover the same. 😉

In Swimsuits: Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Official Candidates

Posted by Norman on October 29, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Above is a photo grid of the Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Official Candidates (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

Above is a photo grid of the Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Official Candidates (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

FB_IMG_1446044990038 Before the scheduled Press Presentation of Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 tomorrow late morning at Astoria Hotel in Ortigas, allow me to share with you the swimsuit shots of the Official Candidates taken at Solaire Resort and Casino the other day.

There are thirty-three (33) ladies in this post, with more than a few still to be accounted for very soon. But given this already big group, I can already pick out my early favorites to make it to the winners’ circle come November 4. Of course, I still need to do a further review of everyone. But these are the twelve who have caught my attention so far:

These twelve ladies are on my early shortlist for now (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

These twelve ladies are on my early shortlist for now (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

Just to cite the ones I’m liking so far, I would include Cristelle Tolentino, Kristie Cequeña, Joselle Mariano, Alexia Sonia Edmund, Sigrid Flores, Digna Diaz, Shanon Tampon, Natalie McDiarmid, Christine Madamba, Kristine Friel Nolasco, Pollyheart Calvero and Marielle Montaña.

Let’s see if my list will change after the Press Presentation. 😉

Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 in full swing

Posted by Norman on October 27, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Some of the Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Official Candidates during their visit to Malacañan Palace (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

Some of the Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Official Candidates during their visit to Malacañan Palace (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

FB_IMG_1445909393078 Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 is definitely in full swing. With the arrival of the international candidates along with most of the provincial bets last October 25, the pre-pageant activities have been ongoing one after another.

A group visit to Malacañan Palace was made. Led by Ms. Lynette Padolina and Marcott Almeda, the ladies – most of whom have never been inside the place yet – were given a special tour. President Noynoy Aquino was scheduled to briefly meet with them, but the busy campaign schedule prevailed so they had to settle for a photo op with the life-sized wax figure of him.

On to Solaire Resort and Casino, the swimsuit photoshoot took place with media photographers angling for the best positions to capture the beautiful Miss RP girls in their two-piece swimwears.

The Press Presentation should be up next, with each of the contenders expected to shine through with hopes of becoming the media favorite.

Some of the Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Official Candidates during their swimsuit photoshoot at Solaire Resort and Casino (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

Some of the Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 Official Candidates during their swimsuit photoshoot at Solaire Resort and Casino (Photo credit: Jhosh Rodriguez)

Watch out for more news and events about Miss Republic of the Philippines 2015 soon! 🙂

MPE2014’s Best Ladies in Evening Gown

Posted by Norman on May 8, 2014
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , .

Winners of the Evening Gown Competition for MPE2014 (Photo credit: Edmund Chua)

Winners of the Evening Gown Competition for MPE2014 (Photo credit: Edmund Chua)

For a change, someone else won Gold in the Evening Gown competition of Miss Philippines Earth 2014 at Versailles Palace. Joselle Mariano of Trece Martires was named best of the lot. Silver went to Melanie Balagtas of Fil-Sydney and Bronze to Jamie Herrell of Cebu City.

Congratulations, ladies! 🙂