Mr.Philippines-USA 2007 After Thoughts...

... Ok, I am back in SD after a very hectic but fun-filled weekend. I arrived in San Francisco thursday evening at around 1015 PM, on Thanksgiving. My Thanksgiving dinner actually consisted of honey-roasted peanuts and a can of Diet Coke. I know, it was pretty bad, but that's all they were serving on the plane so it's all good. Oh, the stewardess gave us a bar of this awesome tasting gourmet chocolate, and that was yummy! I arrived in SF, confident that I'd do well. I've been working hard for the past few weeks and although I haven't really met the rest of the candidates, but there's no doubt in my mind that I'd do well. Friday, I had a photoshoot with Walter Parada. Around noon, I came back to the hotel to rehearse for the Preliminaries. It was very intimate. They've converted the ballroom into a small runway with the judges sitting on each side it. We started off with the preliminary interview with the 10 judges asking questions. Each of us were asked about 2-4 questions. I got 2. First question: WHY DID I JOIN MR.PHILIPPINES? and I answered, that there are alot of sterotyping not just towards Filipino Men, but to Filipinos in general, and I joined because I wanted to show that Filipinos are not "just domestic helpers" or "maids". There's more to us than that, and I wanted to show how beautiful, talented and hard-working Filipinos are, that's why I joined. Second question: HOW MUCH BEARING DOES A TALENT HAVE IN THIS TYPE OF COMPETITION AND WHY? I answered that I was a little bummed knowing that there isn't any talent segment this year. There are so many talented Filipino singers, dancers, performers, models, etc. out there and to me i think talent should weigh more than how it is now in this competition so that we can showcase some of the things we Filipinos can do. After all having a talent is a blessing in itself.
After the second question, my time was up, and the executive producers thanked me and signaled me to go and get ready for the next event, which was the "Barong Tagalog" Competition. "Barong" is a traditional attire worn in the Philippines which is equivalent to the formal suit and tie here in the US. I wore a pink Barong with lime-green embelishments and a flat-front black slacks. The preliminary runway show started and as we walked down the runway, at the end, we introduced ourselves and the state/city we came from. Next up was the BENCH Underwear Competition. and the last part was the Tuxedo Competition.
The next day, Saturday (November 25th), we headed to the Palace of Fine Arts at 9 AM to rehearse for that evenings show. The auditorium was huge and a sudden rush of nervousness and excitement came rushing down my spine and I suddenly realized that going through that day, the producers already knew who the Top Ten were. I thought to myself, well I have done my best during the preliminaries, and today, I am just going to have alot of fun and not expect anything but still hope for the best. 7 PM came and the show started. It was pretty smooth over-all, and there were a few surprises but indeed it was fun. The time came for the emcee to call the TOP TEN FINALISTS and I got a little nervous again. Finalist number 1 was called, then 2... then 3.... then 4.... then 5... half way through, and I was getting more and more nervous... then 6th was called and 7th, and still my number has not been called ( I am candidate #7)... then what relief when the 8th finalist was none other than ME!!! Wooohoooo, I almost jumped for joy but retained my composure. All the Top Ten was called and each of us were handed an envelope containing our final question. My question: WHAT DOES A GINOONG PILIPINAS (MR.PHILIPPINES) EMBODY? My answer: "A ginoo is strong and tough, yet he is sensitive. He is smart, intelligent and witty, yet he's modest and down-to-earth. We cannot discount the fact that he's beautiful, handsome, etc. But most importantly, a ginoo knows his heritage, his culture and the Filipino People. Having all these qualities will definitely make someone a very very good representative of the Filipino People. Thank You!" It's all done and everything is in the hands of the judges. And I thought, even if I don't win, what's important is that I had fun. And the moment of truth came and I didn't place. Which was cool! but i was curious what my ranking was.
The next day, Elton, one of the executive producers came to my hotel to pick me and Dave Tiu (one of the judges and my new manager) and Elton told me that during the preliminaries, I was ranked #2, and everybody was expecting me to win or atleast 1st runner-up. Come pageant finals, I went down to rank #6, which was not too bad. I knew I did good and tried my best and I think that's what's important. If you ask me, would I do it again? DEFINITELY!!! The producers actually asked me to join again, and I'm considering it... anyhow, here's a backstage picture of Ingel, Mark, Dru and I (from left to right). I'll try to post more pics soon...
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving...