All her bags are packed and checked-in at the Los Angeles International Airport. El Salvador awaits Maricres Valdez Castro, Miss Mesoamerica Philippines who will compete in Miss Mesoamerica International 2022.
Have a good flight and may your journey be successful!
#mesoamericainternational
Maricres Valdez Castro of Muntinlupa is the New Miss Mesoamerica International Philippines 2022
Maricres is a molecular biologist by profession and currently works for an organization in Washington, USA. During her spare time, she does volunteer work for a non-profit organization. She previously represented Muntinlupa in Miss Universe Philippines. She will fly to San Salavador, El Salvador on March 12 to compete for the Miss Mesoamerica International title in March 19.
With this recent development, Joselli Rojas, the head of The Authority Productions and national director of the Philippine franchise, would like to address the confusion brought by this sudden announcement. It was announced earlier that Alexandra Rosales would be our representative for the forthcoming pageant. In a statement sent to the Philippine pageant media, the national director offered an explanation surrounding this matter. “The organization would like to address with a sad heart that previously appointed Alexandra Rosales had to step out of the responsibility of representation to Miss Mesoamerica International due to personal and work reasons. We wish Alex all the best in her endeavors,” the statement read.
Miss Mesoamerica International 2022 will be held from 13th to 20th March 2022 in El Salvador where Miss Mesoamerica International 2021 Ismelys Velasquez will crown her successor at the end of the event finale. Best of luck, Miss Maricres. May you bring home the Philippines’ first ever Miss Mesoamerica title.
Congratulations to the two Filipino-Americans (left photo) who did well in the recently-concluded Miss Washington USA 2021 state pageant.
Chrissy Brodie was named top winner and will represent the state of Washington in the next Miss USA.
On the other hand, Maricres Valdez Castro – who was an Official Candidate during last year’s Miss Universe Philippines – placed 4th Runner-Up.
Good job to the two of you! 👍🏼👍🏼
#misswashingtonusa
I reviewed my favorite interviews three times (reason why I lost some sleep doing so), and double-checked on one or two I might have overlooked. And this is what I came up with.
normannorman.com Pageantry Norms’ Top 15 for the Miss Universe Philippines Preliminary Q&A:
1. Bella Ysmael of Parañaque
2. Michele Gumabao of Quezon City
3. Billie Hakenson of Cavite
4. Pauline Amelinckx of Bohol
5. Adee Hitomi Akiyama of Oriental Mindoro
6. Zandra Nicole Sta Maria of Pasay
7. Jan Alexis Elcano of Batanes
8. Maricres Valdez Castro of Muntinlupa
9. Caroline Veronilla of Misamis Oriental
10. Skelly Ivy Florida of Biliran
11. Alaiza Malinao of Davao City
12. Rabiya Mateo of Iloilo City
13. Niña Soriano of Pangasinan
14. Tracy Maureen Perez of Cebu City
15. Christelle Abello of Aklan
#MissUniversePhilippines2020
Batch 3 of the Miss Universe Philippines candidates is the biggest so far with thirteen (13) doing their Preliminary Q&A. And I would say that this is the most predominantly relaxed group so far.
When an interviewee is relaxed, the words come out more fluidly. And because of that, I selected four (4) favorites here:
1) Adee Hitomi Ariate Akiyama of Oriental Mindoro – while she may tend to talk fast, her thoughts still come out clear and convincing. This Doctor of Medicine really knows her stuff – and not only those allied to her profession.
2) Maricres Valdez Castro of Muntilupa – she is so inspirational-sounding that you can’t help but be lulled by her voice – not to sleep but to actually listen to her suggestions and life learnings.
3) Caroline Veronilla of Misamis Oriental – she shows unabashed pride not only for her Province but also for Mindanao. She has a forceful but disarming grace about her. And that allowed a very pleasant interaction with the questioning panel.
4) Patricia Pineda Santos of Pampanga – this Flight Attendant is cool, calm and collected in her thoughts. She knows when to step on the breaks and when to go full speed ahead.
Kudos to the nine other ladies for overcoming your nerves, especially Alexandra Abdon of Manila who gave the most chill vibe to the judges so far.
4th Batch
So many good interviews in the 4th and Final installment of the Miss Universe Philippines Preliminary Q&A. It seems that all eleven ladies knew how tired the panel was. As such, they really made the conscious effort to revive their tired minds and make conversations that will make them smile.
My Top 5 – and I am putting my first two in the same breath just because they really delivered on their frontrunner status – are:
1) Bella Ysmael and Michele Gumabao – one is serenely charismatic while the other is diplomatically engaging. Their speaking styles are entirely different but the substance of their answers are laid out so clearly – even visually if you really try to imagine the words coming out of their lips.
3) Zandra Nicole Sta Maria – she is practical and persuasive in a big-sister kind of way. Her responses are easy to digest.
4) Sandra Lemonon – her frequent laughters bring joy to a room of low-batt interviewers. This is the lemon we all thought of as unable to turn into a lemonade. But she is now flavorful and magnetic.
5) Niña Soriano – her sincerity overflows, and you can tell that she goes beyond lip service. So when she answers, the consistency in her beliefs are coming from the right place.
Kudos to Riana Agatha Pangindian, Faye Dominique Deveza, Ericka Evangelista, Maria Fee Tajaran, Carissa Rozil Manasan Quiza and Perlyn Yamuta Cayona for also handling themselves in front of the panel very well.
So time now to tally all my scores so I can figure out my Top 15 from among all of the #phenomenalwomen.
#MissUniversePhilippines2020
Here are the last remaining “Beyond the Coastlines” videos for Miss Universe Philippines 2020.
Surigao del Norte – Carissa Rozil Quiza
Pangasinan – Maria Nina Soriano
Muntinlupa – Maricres Castro
You asked the questions, the Miss Universe Philippines 2020 candidates answer them. And I have a feeling you will get a more positive impression of (most of) them in the two videos below.
Here is Batch 2 of the Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Candidates and their Passions that never fade for Downy Philippines.
They encapsulate in ten seconds what I have been individually blogging about them for the past two months.
The Muntinlupa representative for Miss Universe Philippines 2020 could be Miss Congeniality personified. Maricres “Cris” Valdez Castro is one lady whose mission in life is to spread gentle warmth and happiness to people around her. And this is most evident in all the other beauty pageants she took part in prior to this. A shoulder to lean on and a sisterly presence to look up to – that’s her alright.
Cris is proud of her advocacy for #AdoptionAngels which addresses the plight of 1.8million abandoned children living in the Philippines. She believes that every child deserves a loving home. During one of her regular visits to its center, she prayed and played with the little ones and taught them about how they are Princesses in God’s kingdom and worthy of love. Her activities are reminiscent of the charitable deeds as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa once.
Now during this quarantine period, she has been sharing her time in Logistics Monitoring for the NGO called “Lawyers for Doctors” where they help supply and equip frontliners across 41 hospitals in Metro Manila, Palawan, Bicol and Davao. She has also been using her social media presence to inspire and call action. Thus far, three designers from two different organizations have donated over 300 masks and PPE suits in Manila and in the US. On Top of this, she negotiated for ventilators to be shipped from Washington to Philippine General Hospital in cooperation with friends in politics – former Brigadier General Oscar Hilman and Hon. Ria J Covington. The Filipino-American community deeply wants to help the Philippines during this difficult time. And at home, she started sewing masks by hand and gardening with her family to encourage fellow kababayans to grow in the backyard.
Lastly, she helped raised funds and food for orphanages such as the Tuloy Foundation, Meritxell Children’s Home, and have partnered with Target Fitness Muntinlupa to promote selling their t-shirts for a cause to feed hungry families in Metro Manila.
Sweet charity. This young woman’s heart is in the right place all the time. I hope many other individuals will try to emulate her good example.
Cris is the kind of person whose smile is always heartfelt.
The 16 Official Candidates of #BinibiningParanaque2020 along with the #GandangMamita2020 senior ladies were presented to the Officials and Employees of the City Government of Parañaque headed by Mayor Edwin Olivarez and First Lady Janet Olivarez.
There were a few familiar contenders among the young beauties including Sam Coloso (who represented us during Face of Beauty International 2019), Maricres Valdez Castro (who is Miss Scuba Philippines 2019 runner-up), former ICSM Infinity Pageants-Philippine Global Queens candidate Chelle R Toledo and Maria Ingrid Teresita Palanca Santamaria (photo with me below) who happens to be the daughter of former PBA player Joey Santamaria and granddaughter of concert pianist Ingrid Santamaria) – a tall (5’9”) 24 year-old discovery who should do national pageants this year or in 2021.
Finals will be on February 10 at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay for both competitions.
Good luck to everyone!
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