It was Miss Japan Riyo Mori who was crowned Miss Universe 2007 yesterday. The host city was Mexico. I came home early last night to catch the replay on Star World. And for a two-hour long televised competition, it didn't seem that spectacular compared to the 1990s.
If I can recall quite distinctly, the pageants of a decade ago seemed to be flawlessly dramatic, and by that I mean no funky music of a Mexican group to sashay the stage to. The contestants were gorgeous in their gowns. And by the time the last 5 finalists were thrown questions by the judges, they walked once more to give everyone that look, the would-be winning look.
I can still remember this song when the little girls handed them flowers on stage. It went something like this:
"When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true
Every wish is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true."
At least, that was how my sisters and I would sing it. We also made a beautiful scrapbook of that particular Miss Universe pageant when the Philippines hosted it. I think it was Charlene Gonzales who represented our country. Asked about our geography, Charlene, referring to the islands, answered, "high tide or low tide?" This gave the judges all the more reason to appreciate the wonders of our land.
In this recently concluded competition of beauty and brains, our hopeful Anna Theresa Licaros won the Most Photogenic Award. Consolation enough? Well, maybe. An unfortunately cringing highlight of the pageant: Miss USA, walks, and then momentarily trips, stands up and glides back. That black gown was gorgeous.
All in all, the show was alright. Not enough to make me jump though. Despite the rain and thunder last night (which my son got scared about), I give it a 7/10 on my entertainment scorecard. Donald Trump should be thankful. :-)
