In focus: Binibining Alcoy

CEBU, Philippines — Did yesterday’s first featured Binibining Cebu candidate had you jotting down a name in your early favorites list? Eager to get to know the rest of the ladies?

With six weeks more to go before the crowning of the first Binibining Cebu, we zero in on each finalist as we offer you a deeper look on what makes her tick, what lies behind the beguiling face and runway-ready physique, her aspirations not only for herself but also for her community, and why her city, town or municipality should be among our must-sees. Here’s another Binibining Cebu 2017 candidate for your perusal:

Vida Doriza Lim Reya, 25

Binibining Cebu is Vida’s second pageant yet, after her stint as a Miss Cebu 2016 finalist. Back then, the five-foot-eight MAC model felt like a fish out of water in the world of gowns and game of crowns.

“I learned that pageantry is not just about who’s the most beautiful girl and who has the brightest mind; who has the perfect body and who has the best walk; who has the best dress and the beautiful hair and make-up. It’s not just about who has the best advocacies in life,” Vida begins.

“Because everyone can be and have all those. The crown is only on your head for a year, and it is what you do with the networks and the opportunities that you gain during the competition that will take you further.”

For Bb. Cebu, Vida hopes to take advantage of this chance to promote her advocacies and showcase the Municipality of Alcoy.  

“This will be the doorway for those who want to be on the stage, give back and of course, learn about themselves. I wish to learn more ideas that are beyond mind-blowing of what more I can grasp. I think that this will be another journey of different trainings and experiences,” says Vida.

Vida, the daughter of a jeepney operator and a former banker, is a Business Administration graduate with a double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Among her goals is to establish her own business – but not just any money-making venture. “I am into social entrepreneurship, also known as business with a heart. A new kind of entrepreneurship that seeks to answer a social issue. I’m not rich. My family isn’t. I also want to be financially successful. However I don’t want to be alone in this journey. I want other people rising up with me.”

Her parents are now full-time farm managers, something she is particularly proud of. “Growing up, all our produce are from the garden, must be the reason why my brothers and I are tall. Hahaha! So yes,we grow our own food. So when my papa retired, we focused on our farm. We have a conventional poultry farm and we sell dressed chickens to public markets. When I was younger, me and my papa would go to the province and ‘mamasol’ (fishing with nylon and empty cans), then we’ll go help sa farm. So now, family income is from the farm.”

Once a finalist of Sinulog Idol (the first ever competition she joined), Vida is also a jazz, soul, Rnb and blues enthusiast. Among her music heroes are Regine Velasquez, The Beatles, Earth Wind & Fire, Jameroquai and John Mayer.

“When I stepped in the Sinulog Idol audition room, one of the judges immediately asked if I was lost. So I was that tall girl, with the long black hair. ‘Naa baya sa library and audition para sa Miss Cebu, this is Sinulog Idol,’” Vida recounts.

“Well, let’s just say I was never girly until I graduated college, and I kinda prepared for that day. To make the story short, I sang ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ in jazz and passed the audition.”

Model, singer farmer, former radio jock – as if those weren’t enough, Vida is also a mean cook! “Yes, I studied Culinary Arts while working as a Radio Jock. Before that, I had no idea how to cook. Now, I love cooking challenging recipes for people with strict or special diets like vegan, vegetarian low carbs, high protein, gluten free, and the like. Like how do you make a delicious dish with all those don’ts? Challenging, isn’t it?”

Among the women she has encountered, Vida names entrepreneur and breast cancer survivor Mary Anne Alcordo-Solomon as someone she looks up to.

“People know her for being a breast cancer survivor and an advocate on celebrating life. She went through all the challenges and have inspired people to be better and touched their hearts. She turned all the negativity to sunshine and her rays captivated my heart.”

What is she particularly proud about being the candidate who will highlight Alcoy? “When you go to Alcoy, you should never miss the ‘hayahay experience’ at noon time in the magical bukid in Nug-as, and have sunset watching in their beautiful sugary white beach which is free for everyone to enjoy. Alcoy is the home of the Black Shamba or Siloy, which is being celebrated on the month of August, dubbed as Siloy sa Alcoy. Alcoy for me is a paradise. It is a place to relax and an escape from the busy city life of Cebu.” (FREEMAN)