The 4 Bs and the need to reinvent

A. Paulita Roa

THIS concept of beauty pageants came from the West. It started in ancient times in Europe when it was the custom of the people to choose symbolic kings and queens for their May day festivities and other community celebrations. Beautiful young women were chosen to symbolize the virtues and ideals that they held dear as a people.  In 1839, during a re-enactment of a medieval joust held in Scotland, a Queen of Beauty was selected among the women who gathered there. The fairest of them all was Georgina Sheridan, the wife of Edward Seymour, the 12th Duke of Somerset.

In 1854, P.T.Barnum, considered the greatest showman in the United States, was so successful in his baby, bird and dog beauty contests that he planned to stage the first American beauty contest for women. But this was closed down due to strong public protest. In 1880, the first “Bathing Beauty” contest was staged in Delaware as a way to promote a local business. It was the Americans that brought to our shores their “beauty contest culture.” This was quickly received by the Pinoys and from the extant pre-war photos of local beauty queens, you can see that this has become a popular social institution.

We have this photo of the 1920 Miss Cagayan, the lovely Amparo Chaves. Her father, Don Ramon, founded the town’s first electric company, known today by its famous acronym — Cepalco. Queen Amparo was crowned in a setting reminiscent of a European royal court. She sat on a high throne with her long train reaching to the floor. Her male courtiers were in formal black evening jackets with white ties and three ladies were in elegant gowns and wore coronets.

Several years later, the sweet and demure Felicidad Velez, the niece of the revolucionario, Gov. Apolinar Velez, was the town’s Miss Cagayan. She was crowned wearing a beautiful terno with a panuelo and the theme of her coronation night was Filipiniana. There was a time when the Miss Cagayan’s theme for her coronation was an Eygptian court. It was amazing to see how the costumes and the opulent setting closely resembled the court of the Pharoah.

Decades ago, it was unthinkable for a young woman to apply as a contestant for Miss Cagayan (later known as Miss Cagayan de Oro). Instead, there was this committee composed of prominent citizens and civic leaders that invited young women with the three Bs — Beauty, Brains and Breeding — as contestants of the city’s most prestigious beauty tilt. So at that time, it was considered an honor to be chosen as a candidate. It was in a sense a strong stamp of approval, that the candidate indeed possessed the three Bs.

However, the winner was declared based on the fourth B — ballots! Mrs. Esther Causin, a great beauty in her own right and was one of the city’s foremost civic leaders, told me that most of the proceeds from the ballots of the Miss Cagayan de Oro contest in the 1950s and ’60s went to worthwhile civic projects like in the construction of the Community Amphitheater.

In the 1960s, we had the honor of having the first Kagay-anon to win a prestigious national beauty title. Cecilia “Tetel” Borja, daughter of Mayor Justiniano R. Borja, started by being in a select group of five women who were all equally beautiful, smart, gracious and coming from de buena familia or had impeccable family backgrounds. The five beauties were known as the Caltex Girls. It was an annual beauty contest sponsored by the giant oil company. The five candidates toured the major cities in the country and did not wear swimsuits. Instead, they modeled creations coming from Manila’s top couturiers. They were feted royally and had a big following of admirers everywhere they went. After the nationwide tour came the final judging and from the five, emerged the winner who was then crowned as Miss Caltex. In 1966, Tetel Borja won the title and received many fabulous prizes. Some of the past Caltex Girls were socialite Amparito Llamas-Lhuiillier, Henrietta de Villa, former Philippine ambassador to Vatican and prominent travel executive, Elsa Payumo.

At present, most of the beauty pageants are, as one guy aptly commented, “A feast of the senses.” It is a copy and paste thing from the Miss Universe contest that we see annually via satellite TV. It is to say the least, a  bore as we already know that it features the very skimpy swimsuits and long gowns with high slits or plunging necklines and very low backs. And then there is the question and answer portion that could immortalize a candidate either to shame or fame — whatever her answer will be. This is one segment of the contest that has already spawned a major, major horde of jokes all told at the candidates’ expense. In fact, there are still those jokes and stories that persist to this day about such boo-boos way back in the 1970s!

Can the organizers do something more creative by re-inventing the whole contest and bring back the glory and dignity of the whole pageant when it choose the young woman who will be the fairest queen of Cagayan de Oro for a year? That like the old custom in Europe where this beauty contest concept started, the young woman must symbolize all that is true, virtuous and wonderful about our golden city.