All Hail the Queens!
The month of March marks the official women’s month as we celebrate women’s achievements and women’s empowerment. Women have participated in various activities and competitions as they shed light on different issues. A lot of these competitions include beauty pageants.
To people’s knowledge, beauty pageants such as Miss Universe, Miss Earth, and Miss World are not just battles of looks and who wore the best costumes. Instead, these beauty pageants emphasize womanhood and are great avenues to advocate for positive change.
To Kick-off this month’s feature on empowering women, let us introduce five amazing Cebuanas who represented Cebu and the Philippines in different international and national pageants.
1. Pilar Pilapil
Let us start strong with none other than Pilar Pilapil. The veteran actress, a native of Liloan, represented the Philippines during the Miss Universe stage in 1967. She did not place in the top 10. However, she pursued a career in acting when she returned to the Philippines.
Like a true beauty queen with a heart, Pilar Pilapil uses her resources to help women. She now runs her foundation that helps women who are victims of domestic abuse.
2. Gazini Ganados
Hailing from Talisay City, Gazini Ganados represented the Philippines during the Miss Universe 2019. She was hailed as Miss Universe-Philippines and won Miss Photogenic and Best in Evening Gown.
Gazini honored the country by placing a spot on the Top 20 in the Miss Universe pageant.
3. Beatrice Luigi
Beatrice Luigi Gomez’s Miss Universe Philippines win is historic because she is the first winner who is openly bisexual. In addition, she brought honor to the Philippines by placing in the Top 5 of the Miss Universe pageant. Beatrice proudly hails from San Fernando, Cebu, and was raised by a single mother.
4. Karla Paula Henry
Filipina-Canadian, Karla Paula Henry proudly represented Cebu during Miss Earth 2008. She proved to be a beauty with a heart as she led tree-planting activities. She also helped in educating public school students about environmental issues.
5. Jamie Herrell
Jamie Herrell is the second Cebuana to claim the Miss Earth title after Karla Henry. She was only 20 when she was crowned Miss Earth in 2014. The beautiful Filipino-American was born in Glendora in Los Angeles, California.
She settled in Cebu City after spending most of her childhood in the US.
6. Shaila Mae Rebortera
Shaila Mae Rebortera won the Miss Philippines Multinational 2021. She is a licensed dentist. She also joined Sinulog Festival Queen and Miss Millenial Philippines in 2018. The now-licensed dentist is a native of Talisay City, Cebu.
Kudos to these Cebuana women for representing the Queen City of the South. With beauty and grace, they take on the world one positive change at a time.
