Laura Goncalvez

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Two nagging questions I have about Miss Universe 2011

Posted by Norman on September 14, 2011
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, Blog Bites: Miss Universe 2011. Tagged: , , , .

Now that the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant is over, I can ask two nagging questions about the whole thing. I’m not doing this to raise more speculations but to just get them off my chest. Here goes…

Question #1: What on earth happened to Miss Malaysia Deborah Henry and her failure to crack the Top 16?

This could have been Malaysia’s “coming-out” year in Miss Universe. After 41 years of failing to enter the competition’s first cut, all signs are pointing to Deborah changing all that and erasing the memories of forgettable past participations. It baffles me how her outstanding performance during preliminaries got outscored by at least 15 other candidates. And I’m not alone in this regard because practically all other pageant blogs and websites placed her as a definite semifinalist. I am unquestionably pro-Shamcey, but I would like to see another ASEAN country (outside either Thailand or Indonesia) shine, and Malaysia should’ve been it. Was there a falling out between her and the MUO (Miss Universe Organization) that we are not privy to?

Question #2: What’s with Miss Portugal Laura Goncalvez getting the global fan vote and earning the 16th quarterfinal slot?

During the pageant proceedings, the two color commentators (Shandi Finnesey and Jeannie Mai) made mention of the fact that Laura Goncalvez won the online voting right at the time that she was called to the Top 16. Not that she is not qualified, but Portugal was and is never a pageant-crazy nation known to have multitudes of voting supporters. In fact, she never even figured out among the Top 5 of the Telemundo poll or the Miss Universe fan voting prior to the finals. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nicaragua or Dominican Republic or Thailand or Indonesia claimed the position because of previous years’ trends. Is there something we don’t know? Fine if Puerto Rico (who’s in the top 16) was announced as such, and which means that Portugal made it because she got high scores in the preliminaries. I’m still scratching my head analyzing the same.

If someone out there is in the know, I would appreciate getting a dose of enlightenment on the twin queries. I’ve already moved on, but since we’re still within the 24-hour post-finals frame…..indulge me.

I won’t ask anymore about the favorable performance of Portuguese-speaking nations (Angola, Brazil and Portugal) because that’s a no-brainer. 😉

Miss Universe 2011 is Leila Lopes of Angola!

Posted by Norman on September 13, 2011
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, Blog Bites: Miss Universe 2011. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Leila Lopes of Angola being crowned Miss Universe 2011 by last year's winner Ximena Navarrete.

The dust has settled a bit after Miss Angola LEILA LULIANA DA COSTA VIEIRA LOPES nailed a glorious achievement by winning the Miss Universe 2011 crown – the 60th in a long line of titleholders from the 1950s to the present. She surpassed the competition from 88 equally stunning ladies during the worldwide telecast of the biggest global pageant from Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Last two women standing: Olesya Stefanko of Ukraine (L) and Leila Lopes of Angola (Photo credit: Fotoarena)

First Runner-Up is Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine. Second Runner-Up is Priscila Machado of Brazil, with 3rd Runner-Up honors going to Shamcey Supsup of the Philippines. Completing the Top 5 is 4th Runner-Up Zilin Luo of China. Heavy favorites from the USA and Venezuela reached the Top 16, but no further than that. The biggest shock, though, was the non-inclusion of ever-popular Miss Malaysia Deborah Henry in the quarterfinals. It must have come as a shock to her countrymen. And the surprise of the night, on the other hand, is Miss Portugal Laura Goncalvez making it to the Top 10. Hometown bet Priscila Machado made the Brazilians proud when she climbed all the way to 2nd Runner-Up.

Miss Universe 2011 Top 5 (L-R) Leila Lopes of Angola, Priscila Machado of Brazil, Zilin Luo of China, Shamcey Supsup of the Philippines and Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine. (Photo credit: Fotoarena)

Leila Lopes getting sashed as Miss Universe 2011 (Photo credit: Fotoarena)

Complete Set of Winners, Semifinalists and Quarterfinalists:
Miss Universe 2011: Miss Angola LEILA LULIANA DA COSTA VIEIRA LOPES

1st Runner-Up: Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko

2nd Runner-Up: Miss Brazil Priscila Machado

3rd Runner-Up: Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup

4th Runner-Up: Miss China Zilin Luo

Miss Universe 2011 Top 10 (Photo credit: Fotoarena)

Rest of Top 10 Semifinalists:
Miss Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs
Miss Costa Rica Johanna Solano
Miss France Laury Thilleman
Miss Panama Sheldry Saez
Miss Portugal Laura Goncalvez

Rest of Top 16 Quarterfinalists:
Miss Colombia Catalina Robayo
Miss Kosovo Aferdita Dreshaj
Miss Netherlands Kelly Weekers
Miss Puerto Rico Viviana Ortiz
Miss USA Alyssa Campanella
Miss Venezuela Vanessa Goncalves

Board of Judges:
Adrienne Maloof / Amelia Vega
Connie Chung / Farouk Shami
Helio Castroneves / Isabelli Fontana
Italo Zanzi / Lea Salonga
Vivica Fox / Ana Paula Junqueira

Miss China Zilin Luo being awarded 4th Runner-Up...she wasn't pleased. (Photo credit: Fotoarena)

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup after she was called to the Top 5 (Photo credit: Fotoarena)

Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes (back to the camera) being hugged and swarmed by all the delegates (Photo credit: Fotoarena)

Congratulations to all the winners! But most of all, our warm felicitations to my girl Shamcey Supsup for placing 4th and to Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011!

The Miss Universe 2011 Preliminaries: Wanna watch it on Livestream?

Posted by Norman on September 9, 2011
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, Blog Bites: Miss Universe 2011. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Clicking on the logo above will lead you straight to the livestream site

At around 7:00-8:00 (Manila time) this morning, the Preliminaries of Miss Universe 2011 will commence live from Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If you want to watch the whole show online, then you’d better make sure you have stable internet connection and head to Livestream where you can witness the performance of the 89 delegates in the swimsuit and evening gown rounds. The personality interviews are now over and done with so 1/3 of the scores have been logged in.

Who do I expect to perform well in the Preliminaries? Well, a lot. And I mean practically all of the contenders want to win the crown so they will definitely step up to the plate and put their best foot (and turns and poses) forward.

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup is a favorite for the crown going into the preliminaries.

But who do I want to register well in the preliminary judges’ scorecards? Definitely the Asians. In particular, I want Misses Malaysia Deborah Henry and Philippines Shamcey Supsup to set the bar high enough to assure them of semifinalist slots on finals night next week. Miss China Zilin Luo is already a shoo-in at this point and that is self-explanatory unless you’ve been living under a rock during the past three weeks.

Of course, it goes without saying that the Latinas will lead the charge this year, as usual. Miss Venezuela Vanessa Goncalves, Miss Panama Sheldry Saez and Miss Nicaragua Adriana Dorn are just a few of the fiery ladies who will light up the stage and aim for high scores all around. And the Europeans won’t take the competition lightly. A string of fierce performers could come from the continent, such as Miss Spain Paula Guillo, Miss Kosovo Aferdita Dreshaj, Miss Portugal Laura Goncalvez and Miss Netherlands Kelly Weekers.

Miss Malaysia Deborah Henry is another favorite in Sao Paulo.

And then, there are the consistently performing ladies from the Caribbean like Miss Aruba Gillain Berry, Miss Puerto Rico Viviana Ortiz and Miss Bahamas Anastagia Pierre. Coming close as well are Miss Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs, Miss Angola Leila Lopes and Miss Israel Kim Edri. Lest we forget, the host delegate Priscila Machado is no wallflower. She will definitely work it out and impress everyone, not just because she is Miss Brazil.

It is also possible that ladies who made excellent turns during their personality interviews (held the past two days) will remain strong in the memory of the judges who just might award them with high grades in swimsuit and evening gown.

All in all, this is a particularly strong batch. Let’s wish them luck in the preliminaries! 😉

Waiting for their destiny with the judges

Posted by Norman on September 8, 2011
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, Blog Bites: Miss Universe 2011. Tagged: , , , , , , .

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Some of the “P” ladies of Miss Universe 2011 above  (L-R) Miss Puerto Rico Viviana Ortiz, Miss Portugal Laura Goncalvez, Miss Poland Rozalia Mancewicz and Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup wait for their respective turns to be interviewed by the preliminary judges. The personality Q&A makes up 1/3 of the total score that will determine the Top 15 on September 12 so this part is very crucial because it sets each candidate’s vibe for the swimsuit and evening gown preliminaries.

According to field reports from the OPMB Worldwide coverage team in Sao Paulo, Shamcey received favorable feedbacks from the judges and is rumored to be the ONLY candidate – if not one of a few – to be called back for a 2nd round of interviews with the judges.

Let’s just keep our fingers crossed for our girl in Brazil.

By the way, if you’re still unaware of, another Filipina will be present during the live telecast of the finals next week. Our very own Lea Salonga will be one of the judges. 😉