Miss Universe 2013: PHL in beauty grand slam?

And the answer is: we can hope! :)

After the coronation of Mutya Johanna Datul as Miss Supranational 2013 in Belarus, Megan Young as Miss World 2013 in Bali, the pressure is high on the chemist-beauty queen from the province of Laguna, Ariella Arida to bag the Miss Universe crown, something which has eluded the Philippines since 1973.

Reports state that Ariella is a top favorite in a field of 86 equally beautiful candidates from all over the world, and we wish her luck! The live telecast of Miss Universe 2013 from Crocus City Hall in Moscow happens in a few hours!

Beauty Grandslam

My beauty watching friends say the Question and Answer portion of the pageant will be very crucial. I retrieved Ariella’s answer in the Bb. Pilipinas 2013 Q & A and contrary to what some people say, it wasn’t bad at all. I am sure she will do better in Miss Universe 2013 because she had ample time to train for it.

Prior to winning Bb. Pilipinas Universe, Ariella or Ara was a contestant to Binibining Laguna and Miss Philippines Earth 2012. Her parents are both public school teachers and she graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of the Philippines Los Banos.

We caught Ara during a crying moment with her mom after the winners were announced in the Bb. Pilipinas 2013 pageant.

arielle arida with mom

Miss Universe 2013: our Top 5

Avid beauty watchers can’t wait for the wee hours of Sunday, November 9 (about 2am) when Miss Universe 2013 will be telecast live from Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia. I won’t be up so early to watch the pageant so I will probably just wake up to announcements in my social media feeds about who the winner is :)

The good news is that the Philippines’ very own Ariella Arida is emerging to be a heavy favorite in the world’s most prestigious beauty tilt, even winning the title Ice Princess in a pre-pageant contest. The pressure is up because Venus Raj in 2010, Shamcey Supsup in 2011 and Janine Tugonon in 2012 all landed in the Miss Universe Top 5 and won runners-up titles. So let us wear our colors proud Team Philippines and vote for Ariella using this link

Ariella - Miss Universe 2013

Remember, we also predicted Olivia Culpo to win Miss U 2012 in our fearless forecast here . Here’s our Top 5 bets for Miss Universe 2013: (all photos courtesy of the official pageant site at www.missuniverse.com)

1. Bb. Pilipinas Ariella Arida – for patriotic reasons and because her beauty can stand out with the rest of the 85 world-class contestants ;)

2. Miss USA Erin Brady of Connecticut

Miss USA - Miss Universe 2013

3. Miss Spain Patricia Yurena Rodriguez

Miss Spain - Miss Universe 2013

4. Miss France Hinarani de Longeaux

Miss France - Miss Universe 2013

5. Miss Puerto Rico Monic Perez

Miss Puerto Rico - Miss Universe 2013

The rest of our Magic 14:

6. Miss Colombia Lucia Aldana

7. Miss Dominican Republic Yaritza Reyes

8. Miss Venezuela Gabriel Isler

9. Miss Croatia Melita Fabecic

10. Miss Poland Paulina Kropinska

11. Miss Israel Titi Yitayish

12. Miss Czech Republic Gabriela Kratochvilova

13. Miss Panama Carolina Brid

14. Miss Australia Olivia Wells

Megan Young photos: the making of Ms. World

So Megan Young has done what Ruffa Gutierrez failed to achieve: win the elusive Miss World title. Of course, beauty is subjective and the judges’ tastes differ through generations, but Megan has the classic look and is easy on the eye. Most of all, she’s super articulate, thanks to her stint as an actress and TV host.

But I can tell from rummaging through her pictures that the beauty queen is uber down-to-earth and has a crazy side. Her Instagram and Twitter handle @meganbata is a play on her name.

One shot has her sleeping on the MRT, acting out the role of a tired student

Megan in MRT

….. and making a face while grabbing a piece of macaron.

megan & macaron

The future Miss World as a baby. Who would think she would grow up into a beauty?

Megan as a baby

In second grade…

megan in second grade

In high school, her facial features are almost the same as today’s…

Megan high school

Megan Young with Bb. Pilipinas 2013 Arielle “Ara” Arida who competes for the Miss Universe crown in Moscow in November. The pressure is out on Ara after the beauty title sweep of Megan and Mutya Datul (Miss Supranational 2013).

megan young & ara arida

Megan with fellow beauties from the Aces & Queens group of handler Jonas Gaffud: Ara Arida, Bb. Pilipinas 2013 1st runner up Pia Wurtzbach and Bb. Pilipinas Tourism 2013 Cindy Miranda.

Megan & Aces & Queens

Guesting on Unang Hirit with rumored boyfriend (??), actor Mikael Daez.

Megan with Mikael Daez

…and then there are killjoys like this nincompoop who posted on Facebook. Behold, bigots are everywhere!

Devine

I am sure Megan’s win reverberated through Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and other places where lowly-paid domestic helpers are found. It was one shining moment! It is not the Filipino workers’ fault that they continue to be paid pathetically small salaries because this world remains a political, capitalist place. It doesn’t reflect at all our Intelligence Quotient, Emotional Quotient, grammar ability or character as a race & people. Tsk, tsk…darn haters.

(All photos, except Facebook screencap, courtesy of @meganbata Instagram)