MISS ANTILLES INTERNATIONAL 2007 -- PETER PONCE, 07:29:29 02/18/07 Sun
The Next 17 of march, in the educative unity auditoruim in San Juan de los Morros city , Guárico - state,venezuela , will be taking place the 17th annual Miss Antilles International. this year the event will have 12 beautiful delegates from the region. En la foto, Krystle Maduro "Miss BVI" , will be taking part in this prestigious pageant of Beauty, talent & glamour. Krystle tiene is 24 years old , is 5´7(courtesy Peter Ponce).
Miss Earth: El concurso internacional será transmitido en la Isla próximamente -- me, 04:22:37 10/27/05 Thu
PRIMERA HORA > ASI
martes, 25 de octubre de 2005
...Miss Earth Puerto Rico 2005 sobresale en concurso internacional
Miss Earth Puerto Rico 2005, Vanessa De Roide, se convirtió en la primera puertorriqueña en destacarse en el concurso internacional Miss Earth, entre 83 candidatas.
La beldad boricua fue unas de las escogidas entre las 16 semifinalistas y luego logró colarse entre las ocho finalistas. Además, De Roide fue reconocida con los premios de mejor traje de gala, premio Pond's mejor piel y uno de los 15 mejores cuerpos.
El concurso internacional será transmitido en la Isla próximamente.
En abril de 2006 se estará celebrando el concurso local de Miss Earth Puerto Rico 2006 para seleccionar a la sucesora de Vanessa De Roide.
También se escogerá a la sucesora de Saritza Alvarado, Miss Intercontinental Puerto Rico 2005, quien fuera tercera finalista en el certamen internacional. Asimismo, también se seleccionará a la joven que sustituirá a Lemarie González, Miss Atlántico Puerto Rico 2005.
Para información, comuníquese con la organización de Miss Earth Puerto Rico al (787) 644-4044. ...
MISS EARTH 2005: STEAMING HOT GLOBAL FIESTA -- Joseph Vitug, 04:28:58 10/27/05 Thu
The world seemed to have set aside its differences momentarily as 80 ambassadresses of beauty and the environment gathered at the UP Theatre on October 23 for the fifth annual Miss Earth pageant. Countries you never had seen action in other pageants were present for this pageant, like Cambodia, Cameroon, Pakistan, Niue Island, and Tokelau. And for very staunchly Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Pakistan, there was barely a furor over the fact that these ladies were clad in swimsuits—two-piece bikinis at that. Another wonderful development this year is that pageant powerhouses like Russia, Puerto Rico, South Africa, USA, and Venezuela finally sent top-notch world-class delegates, finally reasserting their reputations in this pageant. On top of all these, the standard of the competition is now at a high level that not only is this pageant approaching the stratified levels of Miss Universe and Miss World, but could conceivably outdo them within the next few years. Sure, there was the absence of some speculated front- runners from Antigua & Barbuda (Shermain Jeremy), Belize (Leila Pandy), Costa Rica (Fabiola Salas), Ethiopia (Atetegeb Tesfaye), Spain (two supposed contenders, one backed out because of a scheduling conflict and the other, a much prettier lady, was disqualified for having vulgar photos with her bare boobs front and center), and Trinidad & Tobago (Jenna-Marie Andre), but there were so many outstanding delegates that helps us forget the non- appearance of the aforementioned ladies.
Fans and relatives of the delegates crowd the UP Theatre to witness how this pageant has finally and decisively placed itself on the firmament of the world’s most important pageants in a short span of five years. They responded in kind by generating the liveliest display of crowd support around. A huge contingent representing Chile and Colombia brought a tribal Ati-Atihan style band to cheer for their bets and to celebrate the near-confirmation of Santiago, Chile as the venue for next year’s Miss Earth pageant. You would think the rest of the crowd supporting for other delegates would attempt to drown out the pulsating drumbeats of the Chilean and Colombian contingent with their own shouts and cheers. Instead, something unusual occurred—the others used the Chilean drumbeats as fuel for them to cheer for their own bets, waving their various flags in tune to the driving rhythm. It made for a global fiesta, how the fans cheered for their own delegates in unison with the others without attempting to one-up each other. If only stadium sports events were like this…
The fiesta spirit was sustained by the show itself, as we were treated to a showcase of our local culture. After an opening video sequence featuring the reigning Miss Earth, Priscilla Meirelles, at the scenic vistas of the Banawe Rice Terraces, and the 80 delegates introducing themselves in a blue-screen ABS-CBN studio while looking resplendent in their national costumes, the Bellestar dancers*1 led the 80 delegates to a splashy opening number covering three different regions, starting with a Muslim Moro dance, followed by a Hispanic Maria Clara dance, and finally an Igorot dance. Though this year’s batch was not as renowned for their terpsichorean passion or skill as last year’s, they delivered their dance with lots of flair. The Filipiniana costumes they sported for this opening sequence was almost as grand and colorful as their national costumes that most forgot that there wouldn’t be a national costume parade on finals night (at least the video introduction almost made up for it).
*1 I thought they would choose a more “prestigious” dance troupe, but we have to note that Bellestar had been recruiting dancers to perform genuine cultural shows abroad for years, so the choice turned out to be a good one.
Hosting the event was veteran TV presenter Ariel Ureta and providing color commentary was the host of the “F” show (a local fashion and lifestyle show) Amanda Griffin. Ariel Ureta stepped up his hosting chops to fit more international standards, though he also brought a few dashes of his swinging bachelor image back during his 1970s heyday as he couldn’t keep his mind out of the swimsuit sequences that swiftly followed the opening number.*2 The only glaring flaw in Ariel’s hosting is that Ariel doesn’t know about Spanish naming conventions—the last name on most of these contestants are really the equivalent of our middle names. So he keeping on calling Miss Paraguay “Tania Vargas” when it should’ve been “Tania Dominiczsky.” Though we miss the supremely gorgeous Sarah Meier who co-hosted last year, Amanda did a top-notch job nevertheless, adding youthful energy to the proceedings.
*2 Actually I wouldn’t blame Ariel for leering like a randy teenage schoolboy. Many of these ladies were in excellent shape, and the bikini showcase helped highlight that great quality.
Speaking of the swimsuit sequences, the producers totally streamlined the show, turning it into a briskly-paced, lean-and-mean program. Because we now live in an FHM / Maxim-fixated world, there seems to be an extra emphasis on the swimsuit portions this year. So after the opening number, the 80 delegates then paraded onstage in colored Accel bikinis—some in yellow, some in red, and some in blue. They would all dance to the driving, pounding, percussion music—if this were about a few years ago, I would make serious objections about these ladies being made to do a “swimsuit dance”, but in this more upfront age, it became surprisingly tolerable. It should be noted that probably to assuage objections by authorities in their countries, Misses Afghanistan and Pakistan wore tiny shawls over their bikini bottoms. Similarly modest were Misses Nepal and Tokelau—Miss Tokelau in particular wore the longest white shawl covering her until slightly below the knee. They would stay in this get-up for over 40 minutes as they handed out the special awards and announce the Top 16.
The Top 16 semifinalists would then change into white Accel bikinis and parade with the Bellestar dancers in Muslim attire as the backdrop, the dancers making moves as the semifinalists pass their post. After that, the ladies would be cut to eight where they would then change into locally designed strapless gowns, and would then be subjected to a Q&A round with questions being asked by famous Filipinos, mostly those who have some international achievement. The eight finalists would then parade again in an evening gown of their own choosing, accompanied by the Hail Mary the Queen children’s choir singing a medley of Filipino love songs—three of them wore different gowns from the ones they wore during the evening gown competition at the Casino Filipino near the airport. Then, eight would be cut into four where they would be asked a final question and then the final decision would be made.
In between the sequences, they would present videoclips of the activities that the Miss Earth delegates did during their three-and-a-half week stay, emphasizing the tree-planting and cleanup activities they performed. The presentation of the prizes for the winners should also be noted and commended for being rather tasteful—no silly gimmicks promoting other ABS-CBN shows, but rather presenting the prizes as Priscilla was interacting with the natives at the Banawe Rice Terraces. It was framed as a dream sequence where Priscilla thought she lost her crown, but a Cordillera kid came over to give the crown to her.
The show was very smoothly run, but there were a couple of glitches that occurred, both involving a Miss Earth delegate. First, in the swimsuit number, Miss Malaysia tripped and fell. Secondly, Miss Samoa fainted during the announcement of the finalists. In both cases, though, they recovered quickly enough to carry on.
Now, let’s go to the delegates themselves. I’ll mention two non-finalists who at least had the consolation of winning special awards:
CANADA – Katherine McClure. She won Miss Friendship. Unlike in years past, ABS-CBN decided to eschew the video gimmick when they gave out this award and simply announced it like they would the other awards. Katherine then demonstrated the very qualities that made her win this award after the announcement of the semifinalists, as she spontaneously ran over to Miss Czech Republic to give her a hug and to congratulate her for making the cut.
UKRAINE – Yevgeniya Rudenko. This stage dynamo was a shocking shut-out. At least she got the consolation of winning Miss Talent with her sizzling hot dance number. Some insiders have mentioned there might be a key reason why Jane was excluded—there reportedly was an incident involving a key sponsor to this pageant (a well regarded name in the local beauty industry) where she rubbed this VIP the wrong way as she didn’t recognize this VIP (who was reportedly even a fan of this contestant) from the way this VIP dresses as he wears not-so-sophisticated fashions and has an unassuming demeanor. She reportedly assumed he was one of the “lowly” staff. Wonder what would’ve happened if that incident didn’t occur—would she have gotten an element? Anyway, after she wasn’t selected she decided to depart with a lot of flair—she stayed behind onstage after everyone had left, shook her booty, walked towards the center stage, then departed through the center steps, with one extra booty shake before she disappeared. But backstage, she was reportedly almost inconsolable at her loss, that some members of the audience saw tracks of her tears when she emerged back (albeit smiling) onstage for the final announcement of winners. Reportedly during the after-pageant celebration at the Hyatt, Miss Canada even gave Jane a heart-to-heart talk and comforted her by telling her not to take the loss too hard as she has so many other sterling qualities. I definitely agree with Katherine on that.
In fact, there were so many other ladies with sterling qualities who failed to make the cut. This is one of those years where you have a wonderful group of semifinalists, yet you also have some truly worthy choices who were shut out. I have cited all of them in my homestretch review, that it would be redundant for me to mention them again.
Next: The 16 Semifinalists...
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Before I proceed to write about the 16 semifinalists, I would like to first tell you who the judges at the finals were. They constituted a mix of socialites, sponsors, and the return of the very first Miss Earth, as follows: singer/stage actor Leo Valdez; socialite Baroness Eva Abesamis de Koenigswater; Chilean actress Raquel Arrendonia; Gulf Air CEO James Hogan; Miss Earth 2001 Catharina Svensson; Hyatt Hotel Marketing Director Eugene Tamesis; fashion maverick and Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Tessa Prieto-Valdez; Unilever Managing Director for Home and Personal Care Noel Lorenzana; educator and social entrepreneur Vivienne Tan; and socialite Rosemarie Baby Arenas. I had to mention them because this combination plays a crucial criteria on how the semifinal swimsuit round was judged. It’s actually a very difficult competition to judge as you have to consider facial beauty, stage presence, and figure. This year’s batch of 16 semifinalists have considerable strengths in at least two of the three criteria, and so you wonder what would the judges prioritize. If we look at the final results, they do like a balance of facial beauty, stage presence, and figure, but with figure having a slightly higher priority. If Oxana Fedorova were to parade in front of these judges, I don’t think she’ll get that stratospheric 9.88 swimsuit score she got at the 2002 Miss Universe pageant—more like a 9.4 or 9.5, I bet. With that in mind, allow me to now showcase the 16 semifinalists of this year’s Miss Earth pageant, starting with:
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA – Sanja Susnja. She is undeniably very pretty and she does have a good enough figure that she won over the preliminary panel. I was slightly surprised that she made the cut as she tended to be a little low-key in her public appearances that even if I do appreciate her beauty I thought she wasn’t as much in serious contention as the others. Still, at least we know that Carousel doesn’t have that much of a gripe against this country over Dzejla Glavovic the way some speculated the Miss World organization has against Germany over Gabriela Brum, that they would let her make the cut. Sanja wasn’t as vibrant onstage as the others that’s why I mentioned her first on this list, but still for her to hurdle such an extremely competitive group is a major achievement worth celebrating.
TANZANIA – Rehema Sudi. Thanks to her undeniably gorgeous face and beautiful ebony complexion, Rehema brought forth the Tanzanian breakthrough, becoming the first Tanzanian ever to make the finals in any of the four Grand Slam pageants ever. Her figure is very African (a voluptuous middle) and she is also a tad low-key in her catwalk, but her long legs and glowing complexion, not to mention her utterly beautiful face, helped her keep up with the best ones out there.
EL SALVADOR – Irma Dimas. Irma brought forth the El Salvadorian breakthrough in this pageant, impressing everyone with her very pretty face. She is like the replacement of Peru’s Sara Paredes in the “voluptuous” figure department, since she shared a bit of Sara’s stage chops as she exuded a significant amount of “salero” in her swimsuit presentation. I have to say I have underestimated her as even if I know she has a pretty face and a sweet and sympathetic personality, I discounted her for her figure. I suppose with the prejudging panel, they gave such a high score for her pretty face and sweet personality that it was enough for her to make the cut.
PHILIPPINES – Genebelle Raagas. Some pageant wags (oddly enough, mainly Filipino) would say that this lady is unworthy of landing a slot in the finals over many outstanding ladies in this group. Having witnessed her performances in various competitions, I say there is some merit in her semifinalist slot as she kept up with the best of them very well. The same should be said about her swimsuit performance this evening, as she showcased a fighting trim lean figure well proportioned to her statuesque 5’10” frame.
CZECH REPUBLIC – Zuzana Stepanovska. I’m glad that even if Zuzana didn’t garner enough buzz or publicity from the press or from the pre-pageant activities, that the judging panel noticed that virtues I saw in her and gave her a semifinalist slot. In a less competitive year, she could probably even advance further to the Top Eight or even Top Four, but well, this year there were so many gems that landing this far is already achievement enough.
ECUADOR – Cristina Reyes. In the swimsuit round, this lady could not be denied, with her va-va-voom figure (among the Top 16, she earns the BB Sweepstakes award) and very spicy stage presence. I thought that she could even sneak in the Top Eight, where she would then pull off an upset by advancing further with her strong communication skills. But I do know why despite her awesome figure and undeniable stage presence she didn’t advance beyond this round—her face is too strong for this panel’s taste.
KOREA – Yu Hae-Mae. It has been ten years since Korea made the cut in a Grand Slam pageant besides Miss International. This lady is very special as she displayed a lot more personality than most Korean beauty queens before her, and she is reportedly also a great interview. Of course she has the sterling stage presence that made her win the Best in National Costume award (over the extremely elaborate costume of Miss Honduras), plus the beauty and the luminous complexion that made Ponds select her as among their five “Youthful Beauty” awardees. If the panel judging this year’s batch of delegates was the same panel as the Miss Universe 2002 panel, they would’ve made her advance to the Top Eight. But to the actual panel judging this year, her figure most likely fell short that her stage chops and luminous beauty were not enough to allow her to advance further.
RUSSIA – Tatiana Yamova. I was surprised that Tatiana failed to advance further, considering she has an undeniably pretty face and outstanding stage presence. She’s another one who could’ve gone all the way into the Top Four if she was allowed to advance further. But apparently the judges thought her figure fell short of making beyond the Top 16, hence she was left out. Well, at least she could go home with the fact that she made so many fans here in this country and that she was the favorite of many to win it all. Also, she was also the first Russian finalist in this pageant.
The Top Eight shared one thing in common—lean, buffed hourglass figures. It was a slightly surprising group considering that Russia, Korea, and especially Ukraine failed to advance this far, but each lady in this group is actually truly worthy of belonging here. These eight ladies were subjected to two competitions—the interview and the evening gown competitions. Without further ado, let’s start with…
CHILE – Nataly Chilet. Nataly one-upped Nazhla Abad’s showing three years ago by being at least two notches higher than her, making it as far as she did with her body for sin, very attractive mestiza face, and spicy stage presentation skills. She was asked by actor Piolo Pascual about which celebrity she wanted to rule the earth. Nataly answered Mahatma Gandhi because he cares about other people, cited a motto of his about having to be the person to change the world. It’s an okay, but rather cliché answer. In the evening gown round, Nataly changed into a white gown that looked very similar to Natalie Glebova’s winning gown at Miss Universe. She ain’t no Natalie Glebova, but she did worked the gown with aplomb. Nataly’s also a surprise winner for Miss Photogenic.
U S A – Amanda Kimmel. After a string of subpar competitors, Amanda brought the US back into prominence with her striking looks and awesome figure. She was asked by 2004 International Public Speaking champion Patricia Evangelista about what she wants to tell the youth about their future. Amanda answered that it is important to teach environment education to the youth, and she then advised the youth to never give up on their dreams and make it possible. She then closed by addressing the audience with “Mahal ko kayo” (I love you). There were pageant fans who said that her answer was the best of this group. I beg to differ and thought her answer was a tad cliché and she didn’t really answer the question. Some wags also said that she won’t be wearing the same evening gown for the finals—but she ended up wearing the black velvet gown with sequined accents again. It isn’t a bad thing because she looked wonderful in it anyway.
PUERTO RICO – Vanessa de Roide. Thanks to Vanessa’s gorgeous features and polished stage presence, Puerto Rico has finally made the cut in this pageant—and with a major splash. Besides becoming a Top Eight finalist, Vanessa likewise was selected as among the five Ponds “Youthful Beauty” awardees and won best in long gown. 2005 International Performing Arts competition champion Jed Madela asked what issue she would espouse if she wins the crown. Vanessa mentioned about educating the youth and others about conserving our environment, and she closed with a Tagalog message: “Matutong magingat sa ating kalikasan” (“Let’s learn to take care of our environment”). It was an adequate answer, but perhaps not strong enough for her to advance further. She wore the very clean white low-cut dress that made her win the best in evening gown award, and of course she continued to impress in that number.
PARAGUAY – Tania Dominiczsky. Though a friend of mine had quibbles about Tania’s figure, that her legs seemed too short, I thought she was in perfect shape, with a perfect hourglass torso. Her experience in various pageants (including a win at Reina Sudamericana) served her well here, and she makes a very polished presence throughout. In the Q&A round, she was asked by boxing champ Manny Pacquiao about how can one be a true champion in conserving the environment. Tania gave a well-composed answer about how a champion is someone with a strong spirit, who wants things for the goodwill of others, including respecting “animals, plants, and minerals”. If they were judged by Q&A alone, Tania could have conceivably advanced to the final Four. But, even if she looked sexy in her sheer lacy white evening gown (that she wore at Maja Mundial last year, where she competed against Ma- An Bayot and Natalie Glebova and landed a runner-up spot), it was arguably the weakest in the Top Eight, so she might have been prevented from advancing because of the gown. Still, it’s a major achievement that Tania was able to sustain Yanina’s precedent (it should also be noted that Tania was runner-up to Yanina in their national pageant—this country is starting to garner quality delegates lately).
Finally, we go to the Top Four. Though there was a surprise in this group, this is another superb quality, highly deserving, and babelicious bunch. The results are unquestionable. I have to say that the final question—“If you are ton save only one of two elements, water or air, which would you choose and why?” was a slightly touchy and challenging question to answer. It’s hard for Without further ado, let’s proceed…
MISS EARTH-FIRE: SERBIA & MONTENEGRO – Jovana Marjanovic. Though Jovana impresses with her stunning figure, pretty face, and tanned complexion, very few pundits thought she could advance beyond the Top 16. It’s a good thing she won over the panel with her lean curves, and then because she was struggling without an interpreter (though the Spanish interpreter attempted to make the question simpler for her), she charmed the panel with her heroic effort to express herself in English, thus gaining herself a ticket to the Top Four. During the Top Eight round, she was asked by actress and environmental activist Chin-Chin Gutierrez about how can a beautiful woman make a difference in the world. Jovana answered in halting English that beauty has to be respected, and with that respect, it could bring positive things and then bring about change. For the gown round, Jovana wore the same sexy shiny white gown she wore at Casino Filipino—a tad too haute couture for the solemn, romantic mood evoked by the children’s choir, but still good enough for her to remain in the Top Four. For the final question, Miss Macedonia come forward to volunteer as translator. Jovana answered that God made human beings and everything comes from him and from water, so we have to respect and save water. Unlike the two other runners-up who chose both, she at least made a choice—too bad it wasn’t reasoned out as well that she could only garner fourth. Nevertheless, she sustained the awesome track record this country had in this pageant, landing the finals in three of its four appearances.
MISS EARTH-WATER: POLAND – Katarzyna Borowicz. This lady has been constantly among the front-runners from the get-go, and she delivered the goods during the finals—yes, she benefited from the help of the Polish translator who helped unlock some gray matter that was absent during her Miss World stint. She was selected as one of Pond’s five “Youthful Beauty” awardees. Anyway, she was asked by singer Sarah Geronimo about if she were to write a song, what message will it convey. Katarzyna answered that her theme would be never forgetting Mother earth, that living on earth we are not alone, that we should work together to preserve our planet for the sake of our children. During the gown round, Katarzyna emerged in that rainbow- colored gown she wore when she relinquished her Miss Polonia crown. It was too sexy and avant-garde for the mood evoked by the children’s choir—it deserved more like supermodel runway music—but well, she carried it so well anyway. During the final round, she actually gave the worst answer in this group, as she incoherently explained why she has to choose both. But well, her gorgeousness could not be denied, that’s why she outranked Jovana and bring Poland its best showing so far. It’s a three-year winning streak for this country so far—could they sustain it next year? We’ll see…
MISS EARTH-AIR: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Amell Santana. I’m glad this lady delivered the goods when it counted, bringing forth not only a Dominican breakthrough to this pageant, but made it a four-peat for this country in terms of Top Three finishes in the Grand Slam pageants (ironically, the lady who beat Amell at her national pageant, Renata Soñe, ranked the lowest at a “mere” 2nd runner-up at Miss Universe). She joined Claudia Cruz and Yadira Geara Cury as 1st runner-up in a span for less than a year. Amell’s statuesque 6’1” stature and pretty face (in some ways, she is like a black Renata Soñe) were just too undeniable. She earned a special award as one of Ponds’ “Youthful Beauty” awardees. She was asked by Miss International 1979 Melanie Marquez about when she wakes up tomorrow, what she would want to disappear. To be honest, I thought she gave a weak answer as she didn’t really answer it, but perhaps the judges took into consideration that Melanie didn’t really ask her question that clearly so that’s why they gave Amell the benefit of the doubt. Amell answered by saying she wants to wake up in the Philippines representing its wonderful people and that she hopes we could all become more conscious about taking care of the Earth. I suppose she made up for her weak answer by wearing a red-and-purple number with bare side panels. She looked elegant in it, and that probably offset her weak Q&A. In the final question, she gave an “incorrect” answer by saying “both, because we cannot have one without the other and we need both elements to live.” But I suppose her simple point and the conviction of her answer made the judges give her another benefit of the doubt that’s why she became 1st runner-up.
MISS EARTH 2005: VENEZUELA – Alexandra Braun. I knew she was a front-runner from the get-go, though I thought there would be a serious challenge from the likes of Mz. Russia, Ukraine, Korea, Poland, etc. But it seems that as the finals wore on, she simply dominated the competition. She won both the Best in Swimsuit award (though I thought she should’ve won Best in Gown, and someone else for swimsuit, but this was still a well-earned award) and the Ponds “Youthful Beauty” award. With her elegantly polished stage skills and well-proportioned figure, she was a shoo-in for the Top Eight in the swimsuit competition. Then, when asked by philanthropist Tony Melobo about why there is so much child abuse, she gave a strong answer that there was not enough tolerance, and with lack of tolerance there is ignorance, and that the best way to solve this problem is to educate people so children would have a better future. Of course in the gown round she wore that red satin ballgown that was truly peerless in its elegance, so she again dominated the Top Eight. Finally, she gave a simple answer to the final question: she chooses air because it is what gives us life and what we breathe, though she also acknowledged that the other elements were also essential. With that, most pageant fans can’t help but scream out “VENEZUELA!!!!!” With the likes of Russia and Korea out of the way, it turned out to be an easy victory for this charming and “cariñosa” lady. Not only has Venezuela finally stamped its presence in this pageant, it made its presence felt in a very big way. Now, will Osmel begin sending winners to this pageant too? This pageant definitely should not be ignored.
It will be exciting to see how Santiago, Chile would be able to sustain the sudden growth this pageant has exhibited this year. It was wonderful for me to witness how Miss Earth developed from its infancy into this major event. I’m not sure if I’ll be physically present next year when it moves to another country, but I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled on how this pageant will unfold next year. Will there be a deal with Univision or Telemundo for the pan-Latin market the way there is a Star World deal for Asia? I hope so…
From MANILA STANDARD NEWSPAPER -- Lurker, 04:26:43 10/27/05 Thu
One last hug. Ms. Venezuela Alexandra Braun Waldeck gives Ms. Dominican Republic Amell Santana de Jesus a final hug for luck Sunday before the winners of this year’s Miss Earth competitions are announced at the UP auditorium in Quezon City. Venezuela walked away with the top prize, while Dominican Republic was adjudged Ms. Air (first runner-up).
Miss Earth 2005 Thoughts -- Alex Sarmiento, 04:20:20 10/27/05 Thu
A year after Brazil's Priscila Meirelles de Almeida won Miss Earth and thus made her country the first to win all four major crowns at least once, Venezuela matches (nay, exceeds) that achievement.
Alexandra Braun Waldeck, 4th in the Miss Venezuela finals won by Miss Universe-bound Jictzad Vina Carreno, not only placed (a first for Venezuela at Miss Earth) but won the whole thing. This gives her country an unprecedented 14th major crown, to go with the four Miss Universe/five Miss World/ four Miss International triumphs. Though she was sent to Miss Earth by a different organization, Alexandra's triumph will likely prompt Osmel Souza to acquire the franchise in the future. After a disastrous 2004, it is great to see the Venezuela pageant system back in the saddle.
Silver-medalist Amell Santana bested the MU rank of the woman who beat her for the Miss DR Universe crown, Renata de Jesus Sone Savery. This is the first time (correct me if I'm wrong) in some time that a country has placed in the top three in four consecutive majors (Claudia Cruz Rodriguez 2nd at MW 04, Renata 3rd at MU 05, Yadira Geara Cury 2nd at MI 05, and Amell 2nd at MU 05). The pressure is now on Elisa Abreu de los Santos to not only place at Miss World, but to possibly take the crown.
Poland's Katarzyna Borowicz looked much better at Miss Earth than at Miss World last year, where she was the worst of an otherwise illustrious final five. Not since Malgorzata Rozniecka won MI 01 has a Polish woman made top-three in a major. Poland has done well at Miss Earth, and it has three Miss Internationals and a Miss World win from 1989. Now, Poland should try for similar results at Miss Universe.
I didn't expect Serbo-Montenegrin beauty Jovana Marjanovic to be in the hunt, but she proved me wrong. Her fourth place finish is the best in the majors since Sanja Papic took the same spot at Miss Universe 2003.
I thought that there would be a top 20, but instead it was a top 16. I divided the 80 contestants into four groups of 20, and from the elite group my choices made the cut: Venezuela, South Korea, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Poland, USA, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico. From the secondary group: Chile, Russia, Czech Republic, Serbia and Montenegro, and Paraguay. From the tertiary group: Tanzania, El Salvador, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Rehema Sudi's placement is the first ever in the majors for Tanzania. Tanzania is sure to be in the hunt at Miss World, and Miss International yielded a National Costume award for Margareth Wilson Chacha. Miss Universe should be next for the Tanzanians.
Once again, Ukraine comes up with diddly squat. Oleksandra Nikolayenko failed to make the semis at Miss Universe 2004, despite people saying over and over that she was the one to beat. And here, Yevheniya Rudenko falls victim a la Oleksandra.
17/100 Girls came from Miss Earth
9 Girls in the top 50 came from Miss Earth
Best of 2005 in International Pageantry
BEST NATIONAL COSTUME
2nd Place- ASIA - MONGOLIA EARTH, Sarnai Amar
Finalist: EGYPT EARTH, Elham Wagdi
VIBRANCE & PERSONALITY
Finalist:VENEZUELA EARTH, Alexandra Braun
PHOTOGENIC
2nd Place- POLAND EARTH, Katarzyna Borowicz
EVENING GOWN
Finalist:VENEZUELA EARTH, Alexandra Braun
SWIMSUIT
2nd Place- SERBIA & MONTENEGRO EARTH, Jovana Marjanovic
3rd Place- BRAZIL EARTH, Isabella Chaves
BEST NON-FINALIST
Finalist: UKRAINE EARTH, Yevgeniya Rudenko
MISS EARTH PAGEANT - 3rd Place Best Pageant of the Year
2005 Miss Earth Pageant Results (80 Contestants)
Miss Earth 2005: Venezuela Alexandra Braun
1st RU: Dominican Republic Amell Santana
2nd RU: Poland Katarzyna Borowicz
3rd RU: Serbia & Montenegro Jovana Marjanoviæ
FINALISTS:
Chile Nataly Chilet
Paraguay Tania Domanizcky
Puerto Rico Vanessa de Roide
USA Amanda Kimmel
SEMI-FINALISTS:
Bosnia & Herzegovina Sanja Susnja
Czech Republic Zuzana Stepanovska
Ecuador Cristina Reyes
El Salvador Irma Dimas
Korea Hie Mi Yoo
Philippines Genebelle Raagas
Russia Tatyana Yamova
Tanzania Rehema Sudi
* If our judges had been Miss Earth judges, results would be: 1) Poland, 2) Venezuela, 3) Serbia & Montenegro, 4) Dominican Republic; TOP 8: Ukraine, USA, Puerto Rico, Paraguay; TOP 16: Korea, Bosnia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt and Russia. El Salvador, Tanzania and Philippines would not have made it.
Miss Earth Argentina 2006 -- Marcelo González (Beautiful and Natural), 16:06:00 11/08/06 Wed
Dear Friends from The Philipines and the world...
These are pictures of Andrea Carolina García and this is her profile...
Age: 19 years old.
Birthday: November 15, 1986.
Place: San MIguel de Tucumán, Tucumán -Rep. Argentina.
Ocupation: Student 2º year on Turism and model.
Sports: Gym and Parachuting.
Talent: Spanish dancer.
Miss Earth 2006 -- Jaz, 13:19:56 10/27/06 Fri
I have been reading a lot of postings about Miss New Zealand and I think she is going to be right up there. She is not only beautiful but she is out there looking out for the environment of her beautiful Country New Zealand. So a very big good luck to her.
Miss Earth 2005 Homecoming in Venezuela.. -- MVmb, 05:36:03 11/19/05 Sat
Miss Earth 2005 en Venezuela... Bienvenida Alexandra Braun
Este Martes en horas de la tarde llegó a Venezuela nuestra flamante Miss Earth 2005 "Alexandra Braun Waldek".
Hoy en horas de la tarde Alexandra se reunirá con los medios de comunicación y luego compartirá con todos sus amigos y colaboradores en una fiesta que le ofrece la Organización Sambil..
Felicidades Reina, y que Dios ilumine tu camino durante este año de reinado y por siempre... Hoy celebramos....
• THE NEW MISS EARTH is Alexandra Braun of Venezuela (above photo, second from left) who was crowned in Manila's University of the Philippines Theater last night. Braun defeated over eighty delegates. Her court includes Miss Earth-Air Amell Santana of the Dominican Republic, Miss Earth-Water Katarzyna Borowicz of Poland, and Miss Earth-Fire is Jovana Marjanovic of Serbia & Montenegro. Braun also won the Best in Swimsuit award. The quarter finalists included the delegates from Puerto Rico (Best in Long Gown), Chile (Miss Photogenic) USA and Paraguay. The semi-finalists included the reps from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Korea (Best National Costume), Philippines, Russia, and Tanzania. Ukraine won Miss Talent and Canada was elected Miss Friendship. Pond's, one of the major sponsors, chose five delegates with the most beautiful skin: Korea, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Poland and the Dominican Republic. Borowicz was third in last year's Miss World. Braun's victory makes Venezuela as the second country after Brazil to have won all four grand slam pageants, maintaining its supremacy in international pageantry.
The 2005 Miss Earth pageant was tough — Rehema Sudi, Miss Earth 2005 Semifinalist -- Informer, 00:29:22 11/05/05 Sat
The 2005 Miss Earth pageant was tough — Rehema Sudi, Miss Earth 2005 Semifinalist
Tanzania’s representative in the Miss Earth beauty pageant, Rehema Sudi, says the competition was very tough.
Rehema made the remarks in Dar es Salaam yesterday at Dar es Salaam International Conference Centre (DICC), when briefing the Sunday Observer about the event which took place in Phillipines last Week.
The Tanzanian queen qualified in the top 16 Semifinals in the contest which featured about 80 contestants from various countries in the world.
She said that the event had given her more experience to share with next year’s Tanzania’s representatives in the contest.
’I never thought I would get this chance. It is the first time for Tanzania to qualify in the top 16 semifinals,’ said Rehema.
She commended the Director of Compass Communication Tanzania Limited, Maria Sarungi for staging the contest which enabled her travel and feature in the Miss Earth beauty pageant.
Apart from Rehema, Maria also sent two Tanzanian queens to feature in the world beauty pageant.
They are Joan Cassian who competed in Miss Intercontinetal pageant held in China and won the talent award.
The other was Magreth Wilson who represented Tanzania in Miss International and won the Miss International Best in National Costume award.
Yet another Tanzanian queen who is enjoying Maria’s support is Tetemaria Mallya who left recently for Hong King to compete in the Miss Model of the World. The event will take place on November 15.
MISS EARTH Promotional Video -- ME fan, 21:15:52 08/23/06 Wed
This is just a clip to see what the Third Most Prestigious pageant of the world is like. The person interviewed is Cheryl Hanson, Executive Director of Miss Earth-Denmark.
thanks to www.missearthsingapore.com for the video. ...
8th GB Awards - AFRICA -- <<>>, 06:36:35 04/28/06 Fri
Congratulations to the following African delegates of Miss Earth 2005 for making the 8th GB Awards:
Elham Wagdi - EGYPT
1st place - Best National Costume
3rd place - Vibrance and Personality
4th place - Photogenic
2nd place - Swimsuit
4th place - Face
3rd place - Non-Finalist
5th place - Over-all Contestant
Cynthia Kanema - ZAMBIA
2nd place - Best National Costume
5th place - Stage Presence
5th place - Evening Gown
Re: Poland 2005 - Katarzyna Borowicz -- shella, 02:48:42 11/28/06 Tue
she's gorgeous, stunningly beautiful, carries her own style very well. I felt very sad when I didn't get the chance to see her live on the miss earth 2005 pageant held in our country.
MISS EARTH LEBANON 2006..GOODLOCK.AMAL BALTAJI -- 
gazo, 06:29:49 08/04/06 Fri 
ERES PERFECTA (NT) -- SANTY, 11:38:21 08/27/06 Sun
manysos@yahoo.com -- kolinka (kolinka), 01:15:00 02/13/07 Tue
vanysa@yahoo.com -- kolinka (kolinka), 07:41:13 02/13/07 Tue
kanya@yahoo.com -- Sanik (Sanik), 01:15:47 02/13/07 Tue
kanya@yahoo.com -- Nick (Nick), 01:15:44 02/13/07 Tue
manya@mail.ru -- Denik (Denik), 01:15:40 02/13/07 Tue
vanysa@yahoo.com -- Ivan (Ivan), 01:15:37 02/13/07 Tue
kanya@yahoo.com -- Nick (Nick), 01:15:15 02/13/07 Tue
kanya@yahoo.com -- John (John), 01:15:10 02/13/07 Tue
danya@yahoo.com -- John (John), 01:15:06 02/13/07 Tue
manysos@yahoo.com -- Banik (Banik), 01:15:05 02/13/07 Tue
danya@yahoo.com -- Denik (Denik), 01:14:54 02/13/07 Tue
anik@yahoo.com -- Banik (Banik), 01:14:52 02/13/07 Tue
manya@mail.ru -- kolinka (kolinka), 01:14:50 02/13/07 Tue
Vanessa during the Heal the Earth event in Manila -- <<>>, 17:50:23 10/31/05 Mon
kanya@yahoo.com -- Ivan (Ivan), 01:14:40 02/13/07 Tue
manysos@yahoo.com -- Nick (Nick), 01:14:37 02/13/07 Tue
anik@yahoo.com -- Denik (Denik), 01:10:26 02/13/07 Tue