Date Posted:02:39:49 08/23/09 Sun
OMG!!! I really hope and pray that Bianca will win the crown. Her cheering squad from the Philippines just arrived in the Bahamas today! Sino kaya organizer nila? PBCI or Bianca' family?
ANyway, Goodluck Bianca!!! We're all praying for you!!!
Miss Universe Peru wears the controversial horn headpiece as part of her "national costume." Image: AP
More Miss Universe Costume Drama
Email thisPosted Aug 21st 2009 at 4:40PM by Katie Hintz-Zambrano (RSS feed)
Filed under: Style in the News
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Miss Universe Peru wears the controversial horn headpiece as part of her "national costume." Image: AP
And we thought Miss Universe Japan's racy get-up was causing a stir!
Now it seems Miss Universe Peru, 25-year-old Karen Schwarz, has a controversy-laden outfit that has neighboring country Bolivia up in arms.
The drama, reported by The Wall Street Journal, stems from the ornate horned headpiece Schwarz is planning on donning (along with a heavily embroidered mini-dress, cape and thigh-high boots) for the "National Costume" portion of the August 23 Miss Universe competition.
This headpiece was inspired by the ritual dance "La Diablada" or "Devil's Dance," but Bolivia's Culture Minister Pablo Groux claims that the dance is a Bolivian custom -- not Peruvian -- and that the beauty queen's use of the horns is something akin to cultural copyright infringement.
Groux says the "La Diablada" originated in Oruro, a Bolivian city, while Peru's foreign minister, José Antonio García Belaúnde, says that Peruvians have been celebrating the same ritual forever. "Culture doesn't have borders," he told WSJ.
Schwarz herself told Bolivian newspaper La Razón: "To say it belongs to only one country is impossible. We are brothers, we practically live together, we have almost the same customs, the same cultures and there are more difficult problems to solve."
Now officials in both countries are taking to the streets. With Peruvian lawmakers performing the dance in front of Peru's Congress, and a Bolivian expatriate group setting up a petition and planning a performance of the dance in front of the Peruvian embassy in Washington as a form of protest.
We'll be watching the 58th Annual Miss Universe competition this Sunday -- it airs live from the Bahamas on NBC and Telemundo at 9 pm ET. Will you be tuning in?
Pamela Bianca Manalo, the Philippines’ bet to the 2009 Miss Universe pageant, wowed critics in the preliminaries of the most prestigious beauty contest in the world being held in the Bahamas.
Manalo, 22, scored high on critics’ list in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions.
“She owned the swimsuit competition,’’ a pageant historian from the Dominican Republic said.
In the Nassau Guardian, one of the popular newspapers in the Bahamas, Manalo was featured in a spread along with seven other bets from India, Cayman Island, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Australia, Bahamas and Belgium who made good impressions in the swimsuit round.
But in the newspaper’s online version, only five of them were singled out, including Manalo.
Crowds cheered for Manalo during the preliminaries, an important event where the 84 candidates battle it out for the Top 15 semifinals slots, which will be announced during the grand coronation night Sunday (Monday morning in the Philippines).
In an exclusive story by the missosology.org entitled “2009 Miss Universe Preliminaries’’, Miss Philippines continued to reap positive reviews.
“Miss Indonesia embodied rhythm, charisma, and appeal in both segments. On the other hand, Miss China was one of the most applauded during her evening gown presentation. Miss Philippines was among the candidates that roused great applause from the Bahamian audience (besides the usual Filipino supporters).
“During her swimsuit presentation, she looked like a porcelain doll. Many people think that these three ladies might make it in the semifinals. Other very strong Asian contestants are Miss India Ekta Chowdhry, Miss Vietnam Vo Hoang Yen and Miss Guam Racine Manley,’’ the article said.
Manalo, who stands 5’10’’ and measures 36-1/2-26-36, has been a crowd favorite since she arrived in the Bahamas.
An Advertising graduate from Assumption College, Manalo comes from a family of beauty queens. The former flight attendant is the sister of Katherine Manalo-Hernandez, one of the 10 semifinalists in the 2002 Miss World contest. An aunt represented the Philippines in the Miss International
beauty pageant.
During the 2009 Bb. Pilipinas pageant, Manalo won several special awards, including Best in Swimsuit and the Manila Bulletin Readers’ Choice Award.
Local beauty experts were also invited to vote for Manalo for the Miss Photogenic and People’s Choice special awards, both of which will be announced during the finals.
If she wins the contest, Manalo will be the third Miss Universe from the Philippines. The two winners were Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margie Moran (1973).
CHEAP NG GOWN SA TRUE LANG!!! -- Please vote for Miss Philippines as Miss Photogenic! Kailangan na niya ng votes after the lack luster performance sa prelims!, 14:29:27 08/17/09 Mon
LOL !!!! Manay Atevax, you are truliness funny...ano kah vah? LOL ! (NT) -- Unfortunateliness, cannot be flashed down the toilet, coz ire-recycle lahat, even the qwens. Si Karen Agustin ilang beses linavan sa Beauty kontest hanggat manalo after 3 years. Famous kontest, hindi lang natin ma-alala, somewhere in China or Odessa, Russia, or in the Internet.., 21:02:51 08/17/09 Mon
Kung mag da-die sya, hindi nya mapapanuod ang Miss U 2010. (NT) -- Ang drama naman ni Ate, mag-live ka na lang. Do not die. Kailangan namin ang meo dramatic posts moh. May nagmamahal pa rin siya, maska ganyang ang nangyari sa buhay mo., 08:44:12 08/18/09 Tue
best dress!!! (NT) -- congratulations for winning MU 2009!, 21:27:51 08/18/09 Tue
Manay Atevaks, sa vanyo fala sya nag kodakan. (NT) -- Vaka sadal sya sa trono before the interview. Dasal sa lahat...kay Lord, kay DalaiLama, kay Buddha, kay Atevaks...basta ma-vent out lang ang pressure., 11:57:01 08/18/09 Tue
Thanks to the following: Miss Universe Org., Miss World Org., Miss Earth Org., Miss Philippines Earth Org., Miss International Org., BPCI, Reuter & AP for the photos.
Meron ding Kodak moment with Mang Donald si Manay Bianca.
(NT) -- APHsBnL, 10:03:34 08/23/09 Sun
Jewel of the nile (NT) -- Annie, 16:19:58 08/22/09 Sat
-- Miss Turks & Caicos Heads Home........., 17:41:27 08/22/09 Sat
Jusme! Ninang Mahalo Laylanie Lei, excited ka na ba sa Miss U? Magpfafartey ka ba sa iyong falasyo? (NT) -- Wacky, 19:59:23 08/22/09 Sat
Sinong Cynthia? Cynthia Rothrock, Cynthia Lander, Cynthia Ugalde, Cynthia Oliveros or Cynthia Balbacuwa? (NT) -- Poklang, 16:49:11 08/22/09 Sat
(NT) -- LOVELY BIANCA, 04:55:46 08/22/09 Sat
BWAAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! Nakakaloka talaga ang mga bakla...napakamakulay ng imahinasyon!!! At isa pa...very creative pagdating sa "name"...may "Trinidad Tinibag"..."Ihno Dhoro"...ngayon naman "PAN TRANKO"...(ROTFLMAO) (NT) -- APHsBnL, 10:20:05 08/21/09 Fri
Let's fartey!!! (NT) -- Jay-Jay, 18:24:38 08/20/09 Thu
Kung tinanggal na lang sana yung tali at ribbon at iniwanan na lang yung silver wrapping peyper sa itaas at yung shower korteyn sa ibaba mas may savor pa! (NT) -- Maggi, 14:02:02 08/17/09 Mon
Ate Vakser pinahiram mo na lang sana ng isa sa sandamukal na gown mo si Viyanqa. Kahit na yung isinuot mo noong 1983, mas maganda at mas fashion forward pa for sure kesa sa curtane na eto. (NT) -- Ursula, 18:46:30 08/17/09 Mon
Honestly, I am NOT impressed at all with the Bahamian creations! In fact, some of the delegates' own dresses & gowns are far more beautiful & spectacular! So glad that MUO's cheap Bahamian mistake will soon be over! (NT) -- Let the truth be told! (*Looking forward to 2010!), 16:02:59 08/15/09 Sat
Indeed, with deep regret & sadness, one has to admit that the standard & quality of the creations & clothes at the Bahamian Fashion Designers Show were embarassingly mediocre, to say the least! So much so that it's futile and pointless to post more pics of the event! (NT) -- At least we have the beautiful girls & weather to enjoy!, 16:54:44 08/15/09 Sat
Definitely dying to know where the 2010 pageant will be held! Can't wait to put the Bahamas behind me! (NT) -- But first, the coronation of Miss UNIVERSE 2009!, 05:47:44 08/16/09 Sun
May jacket pa. (NT) -- Bolero, 17:33:13 08/18/09 Tue
(NT) -- ACTHE, 18:26:00 08/18/09 Tue
(NT)