Anamorphic Goddesses

Queen Cebu had goddesses as its theme for 2010 and like the proverbial messenger of the gods, two golden clad acrobats soared through the air in a spiraling motion using a single piece of silk rope suspended in the middle of the grand ballroom. two bodies contorted and fluidly morphed as one, mimicking constellations that dot the night skies and eliciting amazed awwws, ooohhhs and aaahs from the audience.

in keeping with the theme of THE event, the stage was set up like mount olympus, with a mounted platform on top of the stage accessed by three staircases, one in the middle and the other two on both ends. a long wide ramp ran right in the middle of the ballroom where dancers pranced in the gayest (pun intended) display of gold hues.

the audience, very much like the commoners of middle earth, stared in amazement and clapped, the thundering roar could easily be a bolt sent down by zeus himself.

there was a split second of silence when the announcer called out the first goddess from China and the whole ballroom thrummed with the cheer that felt like a tsunami coming from the balcony. wave upon wave of cheers washed over the venue as each goddess ethereally floated down the ramp in killer stilettos that reach all the way to heaven.

and don't forget the goddess costumes. where 2009 was the battle of headdress, the parade of national goddesses had capes and gowns that stretched from the east coast all the way to the west coast, and then some more, proving once and for all that SIZE does matter.

at that point, the energy never let up and if it did, it was to give the audience enough rest to gather their breath for another round of baranggay cheering competition. junjet primor helmed the director's chair with an iron hand and i can just imagine him screaming his head off when the show failed to start on time. aside from that, the execution was flawless.

GAYA JAYA in action

the entertainment was spot on and polished compared to 2009. gaya jaya returned to queen for the opening for a standard lipsync number with her amazing contortionist lips. the crowd cheered a group of sprightly, ehem, senior men that formed a singing quartet. incidentally, they elicited more cheers than jimmy marquez who sang a justin bibo song and capped with a very pitchy rendition of "home". the cebuano crowd is a tough nut to please and calling them "bangag leps" more than once can start to become annoying. slightly.

unfortunately, one of the anticipated "portion" where half naked brazilian male models strutted down the stage to thumping dance music quickly turned into uneasy squirming reaction from the audience. first of all, two of them are not even brazilian. second, a surf board made to dance to the tune of the philippine national anthem by charice pempengco would have looked more alive than those guys. oh by the way, rexona is really not that expensive. a deep penetration agent (in short, a tsismosa stage hand, and no, it wasn't carina mislang) twitted that a couple needed one.

but then again, the real star of the night are the goddesses themselves. like anamorphic gods, they transformed from their national goddess costumes to ease into their swimsuits. and like any other year, some people still wondered where they kept the magic 8 ball. duh, that's why it is called magic - it magically disappears for the night!

and it wasn't just an ordinary beauty pageant, it was a designer competition as well with the stellar cast of cebu's fashion atelier in full force to provide the wardrobe for the goddesses. five changes in all including the traditional parade of nations, the goddess costume competition, the swimsuit portion, the fun wear and the evening gown competition. in every category, a winner is announced as well as a designer awardee for the best outfit.

out to stage the grand spectacle is the clothes for life foundation that made THE event possible. under the helm of santiago and quisido, various groups, individuals and powers-that-be lent their support to THE event of the year. last year's luminaries still paraded to the ballroom in their finest, shiniest ensemble. tinga, lhuiller, salimbangon-yeung, ponce-enrile - some of the power ladies that came to support THE celebration together with cobonpue, florendo, gayatin, paras, protacio, benipayo that acted as the discriminating judges for THE competition.

and when a bevy of gorgeous ladies sashayed in front of a highly appreciative audience, the judges have to keep a sharp eye for the one that will wear the crown as queen of cebu.

jude bacalso

scrap that, they have to score and choose not only beauty, but brains. with the roster narrowed down to the top ten, jude bacalso expertly coaxed the queen candidates to banter and share their thoughts about parenthood, advocacy, the workplace and the burst-into-song "besame mucho" that had the crowd wildly clapping.

2009 Ms. Lebanon / Queen World

compared to 2009, the 2010 winners may not be as statuesque or regal in bearing but they shone nevertheless with the same queenly bearing that sets them apart from mere mortals. we went away convinced that the judges gave equal bearing to beauty AND brains. trust bacalso to expertly carry a conversation with the candidates that made them shine.

what was more interesting (at least to me), is the fact that this year's winner, maki representing venezuela, works for the same mother company as i do. more intriguingly, last year's queen, rain of the philippines also worked with the same group.

Ms. Venezuela, Queen 2010

Ms. Philippines, Queen 2009

to put it simply, jude made an astute observation when she hosted the year end party of my company last year that she has never seen such genuine and wide acceptance of queens in any industry, and in any company, period.

as the confetti rained down on stage, i could hear the champagne bottles opened as celebrations began. what sophomore slump? as the cliche goes, BIGGER is BETTER and the biggest accomplishment of clothes for life was living up to the bar set for 2009.

with two years a-banging, what can we expect for 2011? Angels? Sirens? Vampy Vampires? my camera is set to "ready" as i wait for another installment of this extravaganza. for now, the goddesses reign supreme on high!

now, can someone pick up my jaw? i still left it hanging after the grand show last week.

visit my website for more incessant rambling.

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2010 Queen Cebu
November 6, 2010