Why Miss Universe matters

The crowning of Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach as Miss Universe 2015 brings a warm glow to our Christmas this year. Her victory provides us with a brief distraction from traffic and other everyday Philippine problems that seem far from solution. Her being the third Filipino to hold the Miss Universe title means that Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margie Moran (1973) will now be remembered as footnotes to the history of the Filipino obsession with beauty pageants.

Diaz is best remembered for her wit during the question-and-answer portion of the pageant where the contestants are asked rather stupid questions, not so much to elicit a profound answer as to watch grace under pressure. Remember, it’s a beauty contest, not an IQ test!

In the prefinals, Diaz was asked about her family, and told to give the names of her siblings. Rather than answer the question directly, she did an old Filipino trick of answering a question with another question: “How would you want it? Alphabetically or by rank?” The show host was flustered and the audience roared in approval. She recited the names of her siblings and missed one; only the host was counting.

But that was not the best part of the evening. The five finalists were asked this question: “In the next day or so, a man will land on the moon. If a man from the moon landed in your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?” Diaz gave the most sensible answer: “(Giggle) Oh, just the same things I do. I think if he has been on the moon for so long, I think when he comes over he’d want a change, I guess.”

A few weeks ago I spotted Diaz window-shopping in Greenbelt and I watched the people around her, trying to gauge if they recognized her from show biz, or knew that she was the first Filipino to win the Miss Universe title. The people kept a respectful but curious distance from her, which led me to an Internet search on Miss Universe 1969.

It proved to be a quite challenging search because the news was overshadowed by Apollo 11 and the first man to set foot on the moon. The New York Times headline for Monday, July 21, 1969, reads: “MEN WALK ON MOON. Astronauts land on plain; collect rocks, plant flag.” Of course, the Manila Times headline is different: “RP’s Gloria Diaz wins Miss Universe Contest!” Below the Diaz story is written in bold letters: “MOON LANDING TODAY.” No wonder it was said in Manila at the time that the United States conquered the moon on that day, but the Philippines conquered the universe.

In the online Official Gazette of the Philippines, you will find the following entry for July 20, 1969, in the President’s Week in Review:

“[President Ferdinand Marcos] sent congratulations to Miss Gloria Diaz, who was selected ‘Miss Universe’ in the beauty tilt held at Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

“The President’s message follows:

“‘The Filipino people are very much elated and proud of your winning the Miss Universe contest. You brought honor not only to yourself but to your country as well. On their behalf and our own, the First Lady and I extend to you our sincerest congratulations.’

“Miss Diaz comes from Parañaque, Rizal. She won the Miss Philippines tilt this year. This was the second time in five years that a Filipino won in an international beauty contest. The first was when Miss Gemma Cruz (now Mrs. Antonio Araneta) won the ‘Miss International’ title in 1964.”

Diaz was given a heroine’s welcome when she returned to Manila. She caused traffic that day, because crowds lined the route from airport to Malacañang to catch a glimpse of her. The car stalled at one point and people pushed it on; the motorcade left the airport at 8 a.m. and reached the Palace at around 1 p.m. where she paid a call on the President. She told Nick Joaquin about this meeting as follows:

“I hardly had time to talk to the President. He was very busy and there were so many people there. He just gave me a few minutes and I said, ‘Thank you for the warm reception.’ After that I was taken to the dining room because I had told them I was very hungry. I had not eaten breakfast or lunch; we were lunching at the Hilton. But they told me to eat something first. Mrs. Marcos gave me a nice big santol and I also ate a mango. I read in the papers something about Mrs. Marcos and me having a secret; that is misinformation. All those people waiting outside must have been wondering what we were doing inside when actually we were only eating santol, you know.”

It is said that beauty is one of the first gifts that God (or Nature) gives a person, and it is also the first gift he takes away. Gloria Diaz knew early on how to separate glitz from reality. She tells us why Filipinos like beauty pageants, and why it brings honor to us and the country:

“The prizes will go and the affairs will rot away; I don’t think you’ll remember those. But it will be fun to remember how you were treated as somebody very important. Oh, that’s really nice, you know, it’s a lot of fun. Even when I get old, I will think of it. Because, you know, when you’re abroad, they won’t think of you as the Gloria Diaz who won $10,000 and a mink coat or something. They will think of you as the country you come from, and it’s the country that becomes popular. Everybody will be talking about the Philippines, not Miss Universe.”

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