With Mexico as the host country of the pageant this year, MUO may have decided to get a host that would cater to the Mexican audience. Flashback, 1993—the last time Mexico hosted the pageant—Dick Clark did the hosting job and was paired with 1987 Miss Universe Cecilia Bolocco. Despite efforts of providing a Latin American flair with the former Miss Universe, the pageant officials were not prepared for the heckling and booing that Dick Clark received (along with Miss USA 1993 Kenya Moore) all because Miss Mexico was not part of the 10 semifinalists.
From the looks of it, MUO may have learned from the past and decided not to have Nancy O’Dell and Billy Bush (the tandem that hosted the pageant in 2005 and 2006) do the hosting job this year. Instead they gave the job to Mario Lopez (clearly an MUO favorite as he has hosted Miss Teen USA before), and former Miss Teen USA Vanessa Minnillo. Mario provided the more authentic Latin flair this time around and Vanessa, the upbeat American counterpart. From my perspective, it was a good choice to have Vanessa host the affair. She has her MTV (TRL) experienced tucked in her belt along with the fact that she was a beauty queen. Their pair appealed to the global market (even the Asian market since Vanessa is part Filipina).
Booing, though, seems to be something that Mexicans love to do. In 1993, they did it, and this year, they did it again during the National Costume show. Evidently, they just hate USA so much that even an innocent delegate like Rachel Smith had to deal with the harshness that is Mexico. So from the looks of it, the choice to have Mario Lopez and Vanessa Minnillo could be a tactic to balance the emotions by picking people that Mexicans can actually look up to.
It was nice, though, that in between segments, video clips of Mexico were shown. This somewhat reminds us of the glory days of Miss Universe when it was more than a pageant, but a way to educate the world about a particular host country. Sadly, this kind of “tour” was not done in 2005 when the pageant was brought back to Thailand.
The Reigning Queen
In a tradition that started in 2003, the reigning queen was called on stage for some words following a video clip of the year of her reign. This was something that was done this year (again). Puerto Rico’s Zuleyka Rivera was introduced and she emerged on stage in a flowing gown. It was a good choice for a gown because she didn’t look fat. However, the moment she turned sideways to greet the hosts (and talk with them), you can’t but notice that her stomach is just out there. Yup, the girl gained one hell of a weight since the time she sashayed in her infamous gown made of chains.
Zuleyka made an effort to look bubbly—the same bubbly Zuleyka of 2006. However, you can really feel the coldness in her face. Could it be really true that she had some falling off with some people from MUO? Whatever the truth is, it was still evident that the outgoing Miss Universe was walking on that stage with the word HAUGHTY written all over.
The Top 15
This year, 11 of my picks made it to the Top 15. I missed out on Misses Denmark (what was she doing there anyway?), Czeck Republic, Nicaragua (there were other Latin American countries deserving of her spot), and Slovenia.
There were delegates I feel who deserved to be part of the Top 15. I would have wanted to see Greece, South Africa, Spain, and Dominican Republic in the list, but hey, I’m not a judge. I respect the decision of the Preliminary Judges and MUO.
What is a bit baffling, though, are the rumors that circulated after the pageant. I’m labeling them as rumors because there are no evidences to prove otherwise. Was it true that Miss Philippines was indeed part of the Top 15 along with other countries, but was removed because MUO puts their 5 choices in the semis? Hmmm…Honestly, while I feel that Miss Philippines was the most elegant and classiest delegate this year, I felt that her evening gown presentation was not enough to take her to the next level. She lacked the spunk and the fierceness that the semifinalists had.
Still, the semifinalists this year were competitive. They were also the most diverse set of semifinalists since 1999. Thank God people are finally realizing that the term BEAUTIFUL does not necessarily equate to Latinas. It was a good mix.
(To be continued)
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