I Blog, Therefore I Am.

I just finished watching in full-length the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant held yesterday at Doral, Miami. I wasn't able to tune-in yesterday because of work and I just updated myself with the live show via Twitter. I watched and replayed some parts of the show tonight to be able to "judge" objectively what happened. Read on!

Felicitaciones, Paulina!

Mabuhay Ka, MJ!

Miss Universe 2014/2015 became sour for me when Philippines' bet, Mary Jean Latimosa, failed to advance to the Top 5. MJ was supposed to be THE ONE. I've never seen a more prepared, determined and resilient candidate from the Philippines since MJ. It was truly a heartbreaking loss for the nation. Filipino pageant fans stormed social media with sadness and (later on) anger over the loss.

• MJ aced the pre-pageants and preliminaries and was easily selected as one of the Top 15 semifinalists. I laughed a little thinking about those "top" international beauty pageant sites who did not even consider her. I believe that some of them deliberately did not include MJ on their list just to spite the ardent Filipino fans.

• The swimsuit competition was easy breezy for MJ. This has always been her strongest segment with that swoon-worthy body and fantastic catwalk. She was included in the Top 10 as expected.

• Then comes the dreaded Evening Gown competition...and the blaming game. MJ wore a very dismal white gown by Colombian designer Alfredo Barazza. Almost everyone I know hates the gown and we all know that MJ cannot do anything about it. MJ was very consistent in her beautiful styling all throughout the competition except when she had this gown and the National Costume gown which was also made by Barazza. 

• Rumors are now circulating online that MJ wore a beautiful pink gown made by a Filipino designer at the last Dress Rehearsal. Some said that MJ was berated and scolded for attempting to wear it in the Finals and Madamme Stella insisted that she wear that  ugly white gown of Barazza instead of the nice Leo Almodal creation. MJ was mortified about the incident and reportedly cried and was in very bad spirits before the competition.  

• An ugly gown broke MJ's bid for the country's 3rd Miss Universe crown. It's okay to compare the gown with the 87 other dresses. But comparing it with 9 gorgeous gowns in the Finals is quite a stretch. The gown was not designed to flatter MJ's body and built.  It made her smaller compared to the other girls. It was definitely not a gown for a soon-to-be-crowned Miss Universe. 

• My heart really goes to MJ. She did the best she could for all of us but there are just things beyond her control. I admire her more because of this. 

• Trivia: The gown pictured above was already the improved version. MJ wore that white gown in the Prelims but she had it altered by top Philippine designer Veejay Floresca before the Finals. Veejay did a good job in repairing it by making it more sexy and flattering - but Veejay can only do much with an ugly ensemble.

We will know the successor of Gabriela Isler's Miss Universe crown in less than 12 hours. The Filipino people, being a nation of pageant lovers, are in the edge of their seats and praying hard that our bet, Mary Jean Lastimosa, will bring home the elusive crown after 41 years!

Philippines' bets to the yearly pageant are exemplary in the last four years with Venus Raj, Shamcey Supsup, Janine Tugonon and Ara Arida all placing in the Top 5. It's a good accomplishment that established the Philippines as a Powerhouse of Beauty and a legit threat to those leggy, brown-haired Latinas.

MJ, the fierce and glam rep for this year, is already a winner for me whatever is the outcome tomorrow. She trained a lot and never gave up her dream of winning Binibining Pilipas' top title even after numerous tries. I am not too sold on her in the beginning but she won me over with her humility, her love for the country, her determination, and her fierce attitude. I really really hope that MJ will end the Miss Universe drought for us. Aside from bringing pride and honor for the country - I truly believe that MJ deserves the crown more than anybody else - including the bets from previous years. :)

I share the same sentiments of my favorite pageant blogger, Norman: "I am not dreaming. I can definitely see the Philippines winng a 3rd Miss Universe crown via Mary Jean Lastimosa. While others will counter that there are more crown-worthy victors, there is this element of boldness and maturity that embodies her personality. In my opinion, she is the one who has shown the most determination to win the whole thing."