The secret to Steffi Aberasturi’s winning streak

CEBU, Philippines —  Easily one of Cebu’s most popular faces, Steffi Rose Pearson Aberasturi is hard to miss. With her bright smile and friendly aura, you might find yourself endeared to the newly-crowned Binibining Cebu 2018. But little do onlookers know that it took a bit of gloom for her to realize just how brightly she could shine.

Known as Tepi or Teppay to close friends and family, Steffi was rough around the edges before she became a beauty queen. Growing up boyish, the future title-holder would shoot hoops and play billiards with her father. She preferred much simpler clothes back then and didn’t even bother dressing up. Her sister Crystal Star Aberasturi-Kang, older by two years, introduced Steffi to a new form of self-expression.

“My sister, she’s really kikay and super girly so she influenced me a lot,” Steffi tells The Freeman. “She taught me how to wear clothes and put on makeup. Thanks to her I turned out this way!”

Steffi looks up Crystal Star: they were partners-in-crime, frenemies and the best of friends. But she revealed it was a “great challenge” to grow up with someone as beautiful as Crystal. The way people showered Crystal with compliments did not go unnoticed for Steffi. She didn’t harbor ill-feelings though but instead, she put Crystal – a Miss Mandaue 2011 1st runner-up, Miss Cebu 2014 4th runner-up and a Miss Philippines Earth 2014 Top 10 finalist – on a pedestal.

“I never considered her as competition,” Steffi said. “Rather, a best friend and an inspiration.”

While their parents aren’t from Cebu (her father is from Malitbog, Leyte while her mother hails from San Francisco, in Mindanao), Steffi grew up in Liloan. With just the four of them, Steffi’s parents kept a close eye on their daughters, something young Steffi didn’t fully comprehend. Like any headstrong youth, she bemoaned her folks’ restrictions.

“Growing up, I never really had the freedom I wanted because I have strict parents. I would always complain and get mad at them because I never really understood their purpose,” said Steffi, now more mature and understanding. “As I grew older, I realized all the things they did was all for my own good and I’m thankful that I grew into the person they wanted me to become: a responsible, smart young lady.”

Now 24 years old, Steffi admires her parents greatly. They are her biggest influence. Among the many things they taught her are humility and the value of family.

“It’s because of my parents’ love that I am brought in this beautiful world and they didn’t only teach me how to humble myself towards others, but they taught me the most important thing in this world and that’s family,” she said. “Because of my parents’ wisdom, I am living my life full of happiness and genuine love towards the people around me.”

She also considers her parents as her greatest mentors. Steffi believes that everything starts at home, which is why she values her family so much.

Perhaps, the restrictions allowed Steffi to become more amiable. When people meet her for the first time, Steffi said that people’s first impression of her is that she’s a happy person.

“They’re right. The more they get to know me, I’m more bubbly and funny,” said Steffi, who loves to read books and go on food trips.

When she’s not gracing one event after the other in the metro, you might chance upon Steffi on the beach. She loves going on trips, with the beach her happy place. Spending time under the sun with her family is her absolute favorite thing to do. Recently, Steffi went scuba diving and can’t wait until her next excursion.

Joining pageants at a very young age, Steffi already has a bunch of crowns under her belt. At first, it was the prestige and aesthetics of pageantry that drew her in. Seeing all the beautiful, confident women, Steffi loved the extravagant gowns and the sparkly crowns. As she learned more about the industry, the Tourism Management cum laude graduate from the University of San Carlos began to see beyond the glitz and glamour.

“When I was young, I was always fascinated by women wearing beautiful gowns. But what really caught my attention is that being part of a pageant gives you the chance to inspire people, touch lives, promote your advocacy and make a difference to yourself and others,” Steffi shared.

While pageantry is mere entertainment for others, for Steffi, it’s the thing that gave her direction. While it was all fun during the countless muse competitions she’s joined, her passion for the industry has brought her to bigger stages and platforms to make a change.

“I just enjoy and love pageantry. It gives me a sense of direction,” Steffi quipped. “It’s a chance for me to share my passion, talent, promote my advocacy and for the people to hear my voice.”

Pageantry and modelling has become so much more than just a career for her. It has also been her way of paying it forward.

As an ESL teacher, she learns just as much from her students. She enjoys speaking with them (usually Korean and Japanese nationals) and is fascinated by their humility. She also likes how her job gives her an opportunity to introduce people to the Philippines, and how flexible it is for her modelling and pageant schedules.

Apart from teaching English, she is also a mentor at the Amore Modeling Institute, where she, alongside other beauty titlists, teach modelling to aspiring talents. Binibining Cebu batchmate Isabela Deutsch, who won Binibining Cebu Ecology 2018, was among her students.

“I just love to share my knowledge and skills. That makes me happy and I’m very passionate about it,” she said.

Among her role models in the industry is Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, whom she admires for being an inspiration and the ways that she tries to leave a positive mark.

“Her adorable qualities make her the timeless beauty queen that she is. She made us believe that we can be Miss Universe in our own way and inspired many through her genuineness and kindness,” Steffi shared.

A Miss Sinulog 2011, Miss Campus Femme 2012, Miss IPI 2012, Miss Mandaue 2013, Reyna ng Aliwan 2014,  Miss Beauché International 2015 and Binibining Cebu 2018 title-holder, Steffi has not once lost the major pageants she’s joined so far. When she signed up for Binibining Cebu this year, people were quick to label her as the one to beat. Asked why she keeps on winning, Steffi says the secret is faith.

“I guess it’s because of prayers!” Steffi mused. “I do believe prayers can move mountains and I’ve been a devotee of Señor Santo Niño. From day one up until now, He has showered me with great blessings. Prayers plus hard work – I guess that’s my secret!”

When talk came to admirers, Steffi, who has a very supportive boyfriend (who she also thinks is her lucky charm), laughs before saying she is thankful for the encouragement. Even with the people wanting to take photos of and with her, Steffi doesn’t feel the celebrity status.

“Honestly, no! When I look at others, they achieved so much already compared to me,” Steffi said. “With this mentality, it helps to keep my feet on the ground. But I’m very thankful that I get this chance to inspire and share my happiness to them.”

Despite being in the limelight and facing cameras for a living, Steffi admitted that it didn’t take overnight to gain the confidence that she radiates today. The beauty queen had doubted herself, even at the height of her career when she was on a winning streak.

When it was announced that Steffi would be joining Binibining Cebu 2018, representing Mandaue City, pageant fans were excited for her comeback. It had been three years since she had been on the pageant stage. Throughout her hiatus, Steffi faced issues about herself.

“I was tired of competing and I got scared. If ever I’ll join national pageants, maybe I won’t make it. A lot of negativity was just running across my mind,” Steffi shared on why she was off the pageantry radar for a bit.

Overcome with fear, Steffi watched herself slowly turn away from her bubbly and optimistic disposition. When she thought everything was possible, suddenly, it became difficult for her to even take the first step.

“I started to lose my confidence and kept telling myself that I’m not the same girl I used to be. I used to be very optimistic and believed that I can make the impossible possible! That’s one of the reasons why I took a break from pageantry,”  Steffi revealed.

However, Steffi was able to overcome the anxiety because of helpful friends and family who constantly uplift her. In those three years of absence, she ventured into the food business, which she later on had to temporarily shut down. Around that time, she realized that she should be doing something remarkable instead of staying inside her comfort zone. Steffi declared that life is all about “taking risks and pushing yourself beyond limitations.”

“I’m really happy that I took the risk and joined Binibining Cebu. It was totally worth it. Sometimes, you just have to do something that scares you in order to attain your dreams.”

That risk did present Steffi with a path that led to her next major crown.  Taking us back to the coronation night when everyone thought that it would be an easy win for her, the eventual victor shared that it was the complete opposite on her end. Apart from competing with 52 other candidates, Steffi knew there were ladies who had made it to national pageants. She worried that she might be a bit rusty after her absence.

“I never felt it that way [easy win]. I never saw myself as the strong candidate. Looking at the other candidates, some were title-holders and were very well experienced. It was a great challenge since I took a break for three years and it felt like starting all over again and I‘ve forgotten all those trainings.”

It was tough during the rehearsals. She would come home past midnight and have very little rest. But she shrugged it off, knowing that nothing ever comes easy.

Steffi felt so blessed to have a lot of people rooting for her. It helped take her mind off of her anxieties. She wouldn’t have gone home with the crown without the undying support from friends, family, and her Kagandahang Flores squad.

Steffi believes in free will, and that’s what she channels to make it through each day, good or bad. She says we all have choices to make and it’s up to us which way we want to go.

“I read a quote saying: ‘Will it and it will!’ I believe in the power of choice. Waking up every morning knowing that I have this in the palm of my hand liberates me from all the weaknesses that I have. That motivates me to be better and to progress,” Steffi quipped.

When she was asked about the most important quality of a Cebuana, Steffi declared that it was compassion. Steffi, who plans on preserving the culture and history of the country’s indigenous communities through the craft of weaving, said that she wants to be remembered as someone who got to use her voice and walk the talk.

“I want to be remembered as a person with words and deeds. In this modern world, it is a great privilege to take advantage of the opportunity where we can take action and have our voices heard. So a woman should say the word and do the word. To stand for the right and fight for your principles,” said Steffi, whose advocacy project centers on uplifting workers and hopefully get them out of poverty through weaving. Selling native bags online, she hopes to show people that crafts aren’t just for the eyes but can also be for livelihood.

At the moment, Steffi wishes to focus on her reign before maybe, fulfilling her other dream of becoming a flight attendant. She said it would be great to represent Cebu and join Miss World Philippines someday as she was inspired by Miss Eco International 2017 – her best friend – Cynthia Thomalla. Until then, Steffi would like to improve herself, especially her speaking skills.

To the people who look up to her, Steffi wants to tell them to always pursue their aspirations. She reminds everyone that failure is part of life and if you can’t help but have your missteps define you, then at least put those to good use.

“Aim high and never give up on your dreams,” Steffi said. “Failure is inevitable and it happens all the time. The strength of an iron chain is defined by its weakest link. So fail and fail hard so that when you do, you would have learnt how not to fail ever again.”