What really happened to Amparo Muñoz?

Twenty years before Puerto Rico’s Dayanara Torres conquered the Filipinos when she came to crown her successor (India’s Sushmita Sen, now a superstar in India, slated to star with Richard Gere in a Hollywood movie to be shot in Argentina) at the Miss Universe Pageant, there was Spain’s Amparo Muñoz who won the Miss U in 1974 (succeeding our very own Margie Moran), the first time the oldest international beauty search was held here.

Like Dayanara, Amparo became the darling of beauty-contest-crazy Filipinos. After relinquishing her crown, Amparo agreed to star in the movie Hayop sa Ganda with our very own Miss Universe (1969), Gloria Diaz.

Unlike Dayanara who stayed for a while and pursued a showbiz career, fell in and out of love before going back home with a broken heart ("mended" when she married fellow Puerto Rican Mark Anthony, the Salsa King by whom she has two children and from whom she is divorced; Mark is now married to Jennifer Lopez while Dayanara has remained fancy-free), Amparo’s showbiz life here was nipped in the bud by an ugly incident where she slapped a woman she accused of "pimping" her to wealthy businessmen. I’m not sure now if Amparo was declared persona non-grata by the government because of that incident.

Before coming to Manila in 1974 for the Miss U contest, Amparo was already a starlet in Spain, appearing in B-movies. She became an even bigger star after she won the title. Nothing much was heard about her since she left in a huff after that ugly incident where she showed her volatile Spanish temper.

That is, until rumors began filtering in more than a decade ago that she appeared in soft-porn flicks and, worse, she had died of AIDS.

What really happened to Amparo Muñoz?

Now 52, Amparo has lifted the mystery about her in a tell-all Spanish book called The Life is the Price (literal translation of the Spanish title), written by one Miguel Fernandez. Amparo was interviewed by the Spanish newspaper Cronica and excerpts of the story were sent to Funfare by "beauty expert" Felix Manuel, including choice shots of Amparo during the 1974 Miss U pageant and how she looks today.

In the Cronica interview, Amparo revealed that she suffered from a "cerebral disease" a few years ago and not from AIDS or brain cancer.

"I got sick the same day my Papa died of pulmonary infection," recalled Amparo. "I was devastated by his death because I wasn’t able to ask forgiveness from him for everything that I did. At first, I felt little symptoms. I would get dizzy when tying my shoes. So I consulted a doctor and at first he told me, ‘I’m afraid that you have cancer of the brain.’ Soon, I was vomitting and feeling tremors. I was checked again by my doctor who found an abnormal growth in my cerebellum. So I underwent chemotherapy."

Told that 87 percent of patients suffering from the same ailment die while being operated on, Amparo decided to return to her native Malaga to die, her first homecoming in 30 years.

The Cronica story excerpt didn’t say if Amparo has fully recovered and, if she did, how. Instead, the rest of the story touched on her failed romances and how she threw her Miss U crown out of the window because, she said, "it was cheap imitation jewelry." She said she regretted having done it.

More ‘beauty’ news

• 2006 Bb. Pilipinas-World Ana Maris Igpit left over the weekend for Poland to compete in the 2006 Miss World contest (grand finals set for Sept. 30) against more than 100 hopefuls.

Maris, 19, is a Boholana who grew up in Cebu where she is a B.S. Tourism sophomore at the Southwestern University. Before winning as Binibini, Maris was 2004 Miss Talisay (Cebu), 2004 Miss Kawasan, 2005 Miss Mandaue and 2005 Miss Bohol Sandugo.

Here’s a brief report by Felix Manuel and fellow Funfare "beauty experts" Joey Cezeare, Gery Yumping and Francis Calubaquib (who were at the media sendoff last Aug. 30):

Ana wowed everyone with her stylized performance of a T’boli modern dance, wearing an authentic T’boli costume, the same dance she’ll be doing during the Miss World talent portion. She trained for several months with former Bb. Pilipinas title-holders, Dale Carnegie and Fritz Ynfante. She also took up Polish lessons.

Our bets have made it to the semi-finals these past few years. Will Maris bring home the Miss World crown, the only international beauty title not won by a Filipina? Again, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

• Now in Shanghai competing in the 2006 Miss Global Beauty contest (grand finals on Sept. 17) is Ginger Conejero, reigning Miss Philippines-Air (first runner-up in the 2006 Miss Philippines-Earth contest).

Born of Filipino parents in Chicago and raised in San Francisco, Ginger works in L.A. She speaks fluent Ilonggo and Tagalog. A graduate of University of Southern California, Ginger plans to practise her International Law degree.

"Beauty inspires us to do bigger things and achieve greater heights, oftentimes effortlessly," Ginger told her California-based friend and supporter Bradford Adkins of Multi-Media Concepts, the franchise holder of Miss Philippine-Earth (USA) which handpicked Ginger to compete in the 2006 Miss Philippines-Earth three months ago.

Let’s wish her luck.

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