What type should we send to make a bigger splash and ensure at least a Top 5 finish next year? A transwoman? A mother? A plus-size model? A senior citizen?
It’s not too early to start preparing for the next Miss Universe pageant. And with the lessons we’ve learned from the just- concluded controversial 2023 edition, we should be able to get an even better result next year.
Of course it all boils down to the candidate. What type should we send to make a bigger splash and ensure at least a Top 5 finish? A transwoman? A mother? A plus-size model? A senior citizen?
We’ve gone beyond labels and into specifics. These are the Top 5 of WHO we feel would do great at the 2024 Miss Universe which will be held in Mexico.
Dyan Castillejo
She has been covering Miss Universe up close for years, so she already has a solid grasp of how the pageant goes on ground. She can easily navigate her way through the entire competition like a seasoned pro. Physically this former athlete remains fit AF and maintains a slim figure: that she’s already pushing 60 (she’d be 59 by the time of the pageant) will only add to her incredibility luster.
Being a veteran broadcast journalist, she’ll surely hit every interview out of the pageant park. Her proficiency in Spanish is a big plus especially in Mexico. She may even consider giving her answers in an intoxicating mix of three languages including Filipino. And then there are her gowns. They have been spectacular through all these years she’s been covering Miss U, some of them even better than the candidates’. Dyan definitely has everything it takes to slay and take home the Philippines’ fifth Miss U crown.
Iza Calzado
First off, Iza easily beats Michelle as an award-winning actress: she has a handful versus Dee’s lone trophy. Having played Darna on TV, she also ticks off the “high flying” box of both MMD’s and Celeste’s national costumes. Facially, Iza has the dusky, square-jawed Latina Barbie look that continues to magnetize judges, if not the powers that be behind the scenes. As a mother, she could potentially take up Miss Colombia’s space from this year’s pageant and fly to Top 5, maybe even all the wat to the very Top.
Karmina Constantino or Pia Hontiveros
Maria Ressa already has a Nobel for advocating for a press that’s free of disinformation and false news. That leaves either Karmina or Pia to take that fight to the Miss Universe stage and be the Voice for Change in the platform. They are certain to ace the Q&A with their veteran broadcast journalist’s clarity, precision, and substance. Both have the beauty of face to boot and, in Pia’s case, the height. Also going for Pia: her mad skills with the hair flick that would do her especially well in the swimsuit competition.
Kaladkaren
If the Philippines was to send its first trans candidate to Miss U, there may be no one better than this award-winning actress, comedienne, and news anchor. That’s a lethal combination right there that should help her conquer the selection committee in the preliminary interview. With her smarts, wit, relatability, and she-seems-so-much-fun-to-be-friends-with personality, she may just prove to be an irresistible proposition to be the first-ever trans woman Miss Universe winner.
Marian Rivera
Our final slot belongs to one of the reigning queens of Pinoy showbiz. She has been both Dyesebel and Marimar, which means she will probably do swimmingly in the Swimsuit competition and stun in Evening Gown. As for the Interview, she could make Miss Universe history as the first Philippine candidate to use an interpreter and answer in Tagalog. She definitely has an angelic, ethereal, if not Marian (for Mama Mary) face that can launch a thousand hosannas in the pageant world, the universe rather.
Being a mother of two only enriches and deepens her personal narrative and world views that should help her make a good impression with the judges during the Q&A (with the help of an interpreter). She has also been Darna and by the time the pageant unspools in Mexico, she’d already hit the big 4-0. Flying high in the competition and taking home the country’s fifth Miss Universe crown would be a great way to begin her life.
