The Clenci Debacle
by Jetset Alejandro
The Philippines’ participation at the
Miss Grand International Beauty Pageant had been very productive and fruitful. In
the 5 editions of the pageant, a total of 4 out of 5 participations saw the
Filipina participants entering the Magic 5. However, all of these ended up as
runner-up positions and not the title. Let us review the different years and
see how our candidates performed during their participations.
During the maiden year (2013) of the
pageant, the franchise was still with John Dela Vega (JDV). He sent Analie
Forbes as the country’s representative. Analie is a singer who is such a beauty
clothe with glamour and sensuality. Despite being petite by other’s standards,
at 5’4”, she commands attention because of her sultry and attractive looks. But
she was found wanting. In her stint at the Binibining Pilipinas 2012, she
bombed at the Question and Answer segment and she never fully recovered from
that debacle. Armed with her charms, poise and a beautiful countenance, she was
able to get past the elimination rounds and was able to secure a slot in the
Top 5. She met her crushing defeat in the final question and answer round. She
managed to finish 4th place amidst a bevy of tall and intelligent girls.
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| 2013 Philippinr Candidate Analie Forbes |
In the second year of the pageant, JDV
launched a search for the country’s next representative and it was won by a
19-year old Filipino-Swedish girl, Kimberly Karlsson. She was even crowned by
Janelee Chaparro the Miss Grand International 2013 together with outgoing Miss
Grand Philippines, Analie Forbes. Unfortunately, despite the blend of the East
and Europe in Kimberly, she failed to qualify for the semifinals and was outed
early in the competition. She was no match to the Latina
qualifiers as well as even the African candidates. She blended with the other
candidates while the others radiated well above the others. Kimberly could have
done well if she was honed and trained much more. As for our 2013 candidate
Analie Forbes, her training in the runway, her work as a singer and her ability
to connect with her audience had developed her to stand out among the rest.
These are some of the things she lacked. As one pageant critic have said, we
have sent a weak candidate to the contest.
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| 2014 Candidate Kimberly Klarksson |
Then, there was a change in the
franchise holders. The Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. sent Parul Shah,
then Bb. Pilipinas-Tourism for the said pageant. Parul Shah is a dusky
Fil-Indian beauty. She moves and walks on the runway like a Latina. She made
heads turn when she won the Best in National costume. She was a looming dark
horse candidate, a great ploy for the likes of Annea Garcia of the Dominican
Republic and Claire Parker of Australia. But Parul Shah despite giving an
adequate answer could only manage a 3rd runner-up position. As pageant critics
say, an adequate answer cannot overpower a brilliant answer.
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| 2015 Candidate Parul Shah |
In 2016, BPCI crowned a tall, beautiful
and intelligent candidate in the person of Nicole Cordoves. Nicole is even a
speech writer and nothing can go wrong with her. Everything was going right in
her way but they were given a tricky question. Nicole played her cards but
lost. I understand Nicole’s predicament at that time. But had she answered the
question directly and defended it directly, the audience would have come out
more sympathetic with her. She knew that her answer was not the popular answer
among the crowd, being in the public area for some time, she should have
grasped that opportunity. Another comment that I had with Nicole during her
participation was that she did not even try to experiment with her hair. Her
hair looks unkempt and the radiance of her face was overshadowed by a poorly
styled hair. Look at Ariska, the eventual winner. Her hair was well-kept, in a
bun and looks chic and elegant. Nicole was the best bet but her
participation was not conceptualized and not well-thought out.
 |
| 2016 Candidate Nicole Cordoves |
This year, the girl in question was
Elizabeth Clenci. Clenci is not the usual candidate that we see just like in
the past. She does not fit a mold. She is not doll-like. She is not very
“mestiza” in the eyes of the fans. She is not that tall. She looks ordinary so
to speak. But Clenci catches attention because of her movement and the way she
speaks. She has regal bearing and speaks with eloquence - qualities that the
Miss Grand International Organization would love to have from her. But what
marred an almost successful campaign for Miss Clenci? Let us review her
participation to this pageant and learn the lessons from here and let us hope
the next candidate would take the lessons to their heart.
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| 2017 Candidate Elizabeth Clenci |
Clenci arrived in Vietnam and the people
were just amazed that she exuded so much class. Then on the welcome ceremonies,
she just had brought the house down with her walk, with knowledge of the camera
position and when she presented herself, she was already labeled as the “girl
to win!”
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| Arrival Photo - very regal and queenly |
When she attended the Welcome Gala
dinner, she was resplendent and awesome in that red gown. That alone nailed for
her the tag as the leading contender in the contest. This is her best look. She
was elegance personified. I was saying that if she had dresses like this, her
competition gowns would be a lot better, I suppose.
 |
| Her best appearance - The Welcome Dinner |
Truly, she was very resplendent and
stunning in the National Costume presentation. Only a Clenci can do an act like
that so magnificently. Now during the swimsuit presentation, she was bubbly and
she did a lateral butt out pose that even liberals were left in disbelief. Who
thought her that? I thought the mold that they were using for Clenci was a
modern version of Armi Barbara Crespo and Margie Moran. Both girls were known
for their regal and queenly demeanor. Look at the template, Crespo walks tall
despite her height – her hair is in an upward bun and she was in a long-sleeved
polka dotted outfit. Look at Clenci
during her arrival, she was in a high bun, long-sleeved dress in pan
suit. During the presentation, she moved regally like a queen already, and
pageant pundits can’t help but reminisce Margie Moran’s regal bearing. She was
very Miss Universe they say. But Clenci was all that until the swimsuit
presentation event came. The fans and her followers were expecting that she
would metamorphose further during the preliminary competition but alas, the
swimsuit butt out move was still there and then she wore a golden/nude gown
done by Benj Leguiab where sequins were placed vertically. It hugs her outline.
The gown was stylish, current and well-designed. All hopes were pinned on her
for the pageant night.
On pageant night, Clenci still used her
patented poses in the swimsuit competition. At the evening gown segment, she
changed in to a Val Taguba emerald-silver gown with a nude base. It clearly
hugs her outline and a choker of sorts hugs her neck. In general, most of those
who watched her that night felt that it is a downgrade.
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| Prelim versus Final Evening gown |
Although pictures do not lie, Clenci
looks very good in pictures but on the virtual tube, Clenci’s grades need improvements. Her styling, her gown and her walk in the swimwear did not do her
good. Everyone must admit that a smize on Clenci does not look good but a full
smile was the best for her. Our candidate should have gone above the rest but
unfortunately, she became just one of the 4 girls. I said 4 girls because after
the question and answer portion, Czech Republic is now relegated to the 5th
position. When you are one of the girls, anybody can occupy any position and
the usual decision criterion used by the judges is the totality of the
candidate. And because of this, Clenci lost the crown.
We are surely mending hearts after that
Clenci’s loss but there is next year to hope for. We should learn from the
lessons of the past. Four misses mean we have not learn that much. We hope on
the next try, the title will be ours.
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