Will lightning strike twice in Miss World?

Cory Quirino (seated in red) with the Miss World Philippines 2014 candidates and Aster Amoyo, president of Toki Restaurant

On Oct. 12, the Philippines will have a new Miss World after Megan Young, the first Pinay to win the crown in the Miss World Int’l pageant. Very big shoes to fill? You bet.

Miss World Philippines license holder Cory Quirino, who mentored Megan, is unfazed.

“We’re hopeful and we set our sights always, every year on the crown of Miss World International. Walang pagod, walang tigil, walang sawa. We’ve set the bar so high with Megan—she’s the total package—but we have wonderful candidates this year.

“Let’s see what the final decision of the judges will be on Oct. 12. It will be a very tough call. They will be a confused bunch of judges because many are qualified to win,” she said in an interview held at Toki Restaurant at the Fort where she and the bets had enjoyed sumptuous Japanese food following some charity works at the Philippine General Hospital.

Though the Philippines has already broken the “curse” with Young’s triumph, Quirino said they’ve not identified the formula in winning the pageant simple because there’s none.

“We can never tell with Miss World because we don’t know what kind of beauty or total package the other countries are sending. We just have to be prepared by doing our best. We’ll send our best,” she said.

Asked what advice she gives candidates, Quirino said it’s to be “authentic” in all their ways.

“In their speech, their actions, their feelings – because the judges see that (authenticity) immediately. Judges don’t like anything scripted or canned or pre-produced. They want someone spontaneous natural and fresh.”

This is the reason Miss World Philippines trains all its candidates to be relaxed on camera, and confident in meeting people. Quirino said they should not be fearful of projecting the wrong image, or at least, constantly worry about it.

“Just be real,” she quipped.

Winning tips

Should they use “key words” during the question and answer portion, we joked. You know, “for world peace,” we added.

“Oh, no! Don’t say that, you’ll definitely lose. Miss World wants a sharp candidate, no memorized answers. And don’t say ‘Thank you for that question’ or ‘That’s all, thank you.’ They don’t work,” Quirino said, laughing.

As with “creating” a certain way of walking. Quirino said Miss World’s walk is “very simple, regal and dignified.”

“If you watched the top model portion of Miss World last year, Megan won that. But if you see it, she had the simplest walk, did not sway (at all). She was just regal, very graceful and feminine.”

When it comes to the question and answer portion, Quirino believes it’s hardest for Miss World candidates because there’s only ever been one question.

“’Why should you be Miss World?’ Or even locally, it’s just ‘Why should you be Miss World Philippines?’ The simplest questions are the toughest ones to answer because how many ways do you answer that would seem original? The challenge is even greater when you already know the question yet you don’t memorize your answers, there’s no script.”

The most that Miss World Philippines does in preparing their bets for that portion is to give them a background of the pageant so that the candidates would truly know what it is they’re getting into and take it from there.

Do they allow candidates to answer through interpreters?

“You have to say beforehand if you’re going to need one. No, we don’t discourage them to have an interpreter. ‘If you feel more comfortable answering in Ilocano or Bicolano or whatever, you will be judged fairly, I tell them.’”

Good or bad?

Because the Philippines holds the crown, some people wonder if that’s an advantage or not. After all, Miss World might not want to give the crown to the same country consecutively.

“India did it in the past and two other countries. It won’t be a deterrent. We just have to send a strong candidate; someone who walks as though the star is shining down on her, like she is already Miss World. She has to declare it in her heart, claim it, and affirm it. That’s what Megan did,” Quirino said.

While many people think winners are determined in the question and answer portion, Quirino always has an almost infallible inkling on who is going win from the get-go.

“The minute the candidates are introduced and they walk the stage, you can almost tell who’s going to win. It doesn’t matter if she’s been seen as underdog before that. It’s that moment she walks as if the crown is already on her head that will spell her place in the pageant,” Quirino said.

Final words

Quirino recalled the time she saw Megan off at the airport just before the latter flew to Bali, Indonesia where Miss World International 2013 was held.

“I told Megan, ‘I have a good feeling about you.’

“Then suddenly, I asked her, ‘Are you Miss World?’ And she answered right away, ‘I am Miss World.’”

And after winning the crown, Megan had only received one other big advice from Quirino: “Don’t just wear the crown, BE the crown.”

Will lightning strike twice in Miss World?

Source: Mb.com.ph (October 04, 2014 at 04:00AM)

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