Looking back at the 1994 Miss U

Filipinos still have recollections of the 1994 Miss Universe pageant since it was held in Manila (for the second time). However, there were little side stories then unknown to the public that I guess I can share with you now since that was already 16 years ago.

My memory of that event is still vivid in my head since I was assigned by ABS-CBN to host Miss Universe capsule shows for about a month (aired Mondays) prior to the contest. I also had the chance to interact with the contestants and even exchanged addresses with some of them (no e-mails yet). Miss Sweden promised to write and I waited but, sniff, she never wrote. I am still waiting by the mailbox, Miss Sweden. (She must be Mrs. Sweden by now.)

The Miss Universe usually has three major events: the presentation night (staged at the Araneta Coliseum here and hosted by Martin Nievera), the preliminaries (at the PICC) and the coronation (also held at the PICC — in the morning so that it could be beamed live to the United States during primetime).

I begged off from any assignment during the preliminary competition since that was the night Baby Gil’s only child, Sandy, got married and I promised to be there and told the bride’s mother that I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

But I can still share with you little details of what happened prior to the coronation day — a sunny Saturday morning.

The night before coronation, we already knew the Top 10. At the ABS-CBN production office, somebody jokingly suggested about how we should perhaps dial the hotel rooms of those who didn’t make it to tell them “na puede na silang matulog ng mahimbing (they can already sleep soundly) since they are no longer needed in the competition the next day.” Of course, that was cruel — although it was really just a joke. But that is how it is in most production offices where people go on days and nights without sleep and the staff only get by through their (sometimes) wicked sense of humor.

It was also during that time when I discovered that Miss Universe usually tape the opening production number (with a mock crowd in the venue) days before the actual finals to make sure it is perfect. Also taped is the girls’ musical number in the middle part because some of those who don’t make it to the semi-finals don’t bother to come out on stage anymore.

That night we saw the list of the 10 semi-finalists (video clips of them had to be readied), we all felt sad for Australia’s Michelle van Eimeren because she ranked No. 11! She only missed it by one spot to get to the semi-finals. (I think they’ve already increased it to 15.)

As early as the first week of the contest, everyone already loved Michelle because she will always be one of the sweetest and nicest girls I’ve ever met in this universe. I may not be in touch with her anymore, but she will always have a soft spot in my heart because that girl doesn’t have a single mean bone in her body. I’m just glad that even if her marriage to Ogie Alcasid didn’t work out, everyone’s happy with the present set up.

Expected to win that time was a European contestant, who — in the end — finished only in the Top 20. Although very pretty, she had a nasty attitude and the judges must have sensed that. The candidates then were given their “little sisters” and the girl with the attitude — along with another contestant from her neighboring country — would leave behind their young wards. Guess who would tend to their abandoned “little sisters,” Michelle van Eimeren, who else? She looked like a mother duck with little pretty ducklings around her. Now, you know why she was so loved by everyone even back then.

We also looked after the Philippines’ Charlene Gonzalez, of course, because, like Michelle, she was also very sweet, kind and cooperative to the staff. When she got to the Top 10 and was waiting for her turn to come out on stage for the swimwear and evening gown segments, the ABS-CBN people were secretly signaling to her the composite scores of her competitors to boost her confidence, especially if the scores of the other girls were low. Charlene actually did very well in the pageant — and managed to reach the Top 6.

Also well-loved was Dayanara Torres, the reigning Miss Universe that time. My every encounter with her was pleasant — from the time she arrived in Manila for the first time in October 1993 (I was the first Filipino journalist to interview her), all the years she was here pursuing her showbiz career and even when she flew back in 2005 for a visit.

In 1994, the Miss Universe organization put her on a diet and the Filipino crew would sneak in to her room in Manila Hotel canisters of Pringles (when this brand of potato chip still didn’t have a low-sodium version). When we did a shoot of her in her swimsuit, we were horrified to see that her tummy was bloated — water retention, no doubt from the Pringles that were smuggled in to her suite. The last time I saw her, she looked even sexier and more gorgeous than when she was still Miss Universe. 

When the Miss Universe contest was first held in Manila in 1974, Imelda Marcos was the First Lady and everyone rolled out the red carpet for the beauty delegates who were all pampered and treated like royalty.

Times were already different in 1994. How to feed the girls was a problem practically at every meal. Sometimes, they had to be driven to Sta. Lucia East mall, which was a sponsor and was willing to feed the contestants. On some occasions, the food was not enough and some of the girls had to push each other to get their share at the buffet table. (In the 1989 Miss Universe contest in Mexico, Sarah Jane Paez recalls most of the girls crying at mealtimes because all the food were spicy.)

The interest in beauty pageants had considerably waned by then — yes, even in this supposedly beauty contest-crazy nation. If Venus Raj wins the title today in Las Vegas, maybe most Pinoys will get interested in the Miss U pageant again.

But I can’t imagine the Philippines hosting another international beauty congress again. We just can’t afford to stage an event of that magnitude anymore.