A Beauty Pageant

Grey Livingston once said, "Beauty comes as much from the mind as from the eye." Every year, all across the world, various beauty pageants are being held sharing one common objective -- to search for the beautiful. We continuously seek beauty that is not just a manifestation of physical attractiveness, but of good character and intelligence as well.

The Filipinos is not an exception to this search. We do love holding beauty pageants. Earlier this month, I had a privilege of witnessing live, a beauty pageant, the Mr. and Ms. Gensan 2011, during the Soccskscargen Experience 3.

Before I proceed, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate our very own, Ms. Shamcey Supsup for being 3rd runner-up in the recently concluded Miss Universe 2011, held in São Paulo, Brazil last September 12, 2011. The lovely Shamcey is actually from General Santos City.

Ms. Shamcey Supsup, 3rd runner-up, Miss Universe 2011

The search for Mr. and Ms. Gensan 2011 was held on September 03, 2011 at the KCC Convention and Events Center in General Santos City amidst the annual Tuna Festival. It was my first time to attend a pageant, up close and personal! Thank you to event organizer Mr. Orman Manansala for giving us great seats and for a very successful pageant.

Contestants showcasing their respective Tuna Festival inspired costumes.

The pageant started with each of the 20 participants (10 ladies, 10 gentlemen) owning the runway with their respective costumes that was inspired by the Tuna Festival. It was my personal favorite. I have to give each of them a 2 thumbs up for sheer creativity!

Here are a few personal insights as an audience to Mr. and Ms. Gensan 2011:

1. Stage Simplicity - I appreciated the fact that the pageant stage had a very simple setup. There were no elaborate props. There was only a huge screen at the back to help audiences have a closer look at what transpires on stage. And when I say huge, it literally became the backdrop of the entire stage. You wouldn't miss a thing! Anyway, I found the simplicity a more practical approach. This made the judges and the viewers focus their attention to each candidate instead of being distracted by stage props.



2. Innovative - Mr. and Ms. Gensan 2011 is the first beauty pageant to make use of the iPad for the final question and answer portion. The idea is to eliminate the need to isolate a contestant if the same question would be asked for each one. My vote goes to pageants that have a common final question as each finalist would be challenged with the same level of difficulty.
   
   
   During the pageant, each of the 3 finalists were asked, "Who is your role model, and why?" They were given 2 minutes to type in their answers into the iPad provided. My concern with this approach is the difference of familiarity with the gadget of each contestant. For instance, I may type fast on a touch screen device, but someone will always be faster or slower than me. I was thinking, what if the finalists were given stylus pens instead? Handwritten answers could cancel the issue of who is better in typing and gadget familiarity.








Participants keying in their answers on an iPad for the Q & A portion.




3. Language - Prior to the Q & A segment, each contestant were reminded that they could answer in English, Tagalog, or in their native dialect. The questions were asked in English. Based on experience, people instinctively answer a question using the same language the query was asked. If a person talks to me in English, I would naturally converse with him/her using the same language. And so, I understand how most of the contestants struggled to answer in English. I can't help but wonder (as Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City would always say), if the questions were raised in Tagalog or in their native dialect, would the contestants still answer in English?

Winners of Mr. and Ms. Gensan Pageant 2011 From left: Windy Lou Pontino and Serafin Lim (2nd runners-up), Caroline Lim and Marc Jeric Chan (Ms. and Mr. Gensan 2011), Ayana Grico and Jeffthie Cardino (1st runners-up)

The Mr. and Ms. Gensan 2011 has set a new standard for beauty pageants with its well-organized procedures and innovations. It has been a pleasure to have witnessed the event personally. Congratulations to the winners and most of all, to its organizers.

SHARE THIS →

Tweet