Binibining Malinta Twelve Years Ago

Last Friday, I was invited by a good old friend to judge the pre-pageant of “Binibini At Ginoong Malinta 2016,” held at the VCCPA Auditorium.

It was a pleasant experience seeing young confident ladies and gentlemen ramp on stage.

Yours truly was a title of the same beauty contest in 2004 and 12 years after, I am still being invited back, this time to judge the pre-pageant.

Former Title Holders

My cousin, Angelo Fulgencio, the reigning Ginoong Malinta title holder, was also there accompanied by his ever supportive mom, Tita Cel. He will be passing the crown to the next winner in the next couple of days.

Ginoong Malinta 2015 with his mom

Binibining Malinta has been running for over two decades now. It is more consistent that its city-wide counterpart, the Binibining Valenzuela. The Ginoong Malinta on the other hand is already on its ninth year according to its founder-organizer, Boc Clariño.

Bb. Malinta Swim Wear Competition

Ginoong Malinta Swim Wear Competition

Bb. Malinta 2016 Intermission Number

Ginoong Malinta 2016 Intermission Number

It was nice to see familiar faces on stage. Two of the candidates were my former students – both were good looking and smart in class. I also saw another one who is a regular customer at my small internet shop. Despite my familiarity with some candidates on stage, of course, I am setting aside my bias. Deep in my heart, I am just wishing them luck, hoping that this community activity could also help them gain more guts.

Looking back, although joining beauty searches is not my cup of tea, I could say that being a winner of local beauty pageants is still helping me become a better person. Once in a while, it reminds me to become a little more of a beauty junkee which is somehow essential for women in the field of teaching profession and public relations. There is some sort of an invisible force telling me to live by my three titles because it’s easy for people to judge how others look. People easily associate being kind or nice to being pretty. On the contrary, it’s easy to regard people as incompetent or unimpressive if they look plain.

Although it’s ideal not to care about how people think, somehow, image management is a must for me because beauty is already etched on my personal branding. It’s already in me that I could no longer erase even if most of the time, I prefer to be invisible and I’d rather go unnoticed. It’s not that I am bragging nor am I thinking highly of myself. I am a simple person who’d rather read books and write articles than put make up on. But then again if my ‘reputation’ is helping me put something on the family table, why not carry on?

Beauty is not everything though. As you age, skin deep beauty fades away too. It’s a good thing that I was raised in a household that puts premium on education. While beauty is an amazing accessory, it is still your character and substance that will define you better.