Ariella Arida clinches 3rd runner-up in Miss Universe pageant

Living up to pre-pageant predictions of making it to the Top 5, Ariella Arida finished 3rd runner-up and held her own against the Latina beauties she faced in the final round of the Miss Universe beauty pageant held at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia Friday night (Saturday morning, Manila time).

Miss Venezuela Gabriela Isler, a 25-year-old television presenter, was named Miss Universe while Miss Spain Patricia Rodriguez won 1st runner-up. The 2nd runner-up is Miss Ecuador, and 4th runner-up is Miss Brazil.



Isler’s victory marks the 7th time that Venezuela has won the crown. Only USA has more wins, at eight.

Although Arida’s finish did not exactly live up to the high expectations she had to live up with after successive runner-up finishes for the Philippines in the last three years, making it as far as 3rd runner-up is a major achievement for the 24-year old morena charmer from Alaminos, Laguna.

Arida’s Miss Universe journey did not come without its own share of adversities—from her controversial interview where she cited Latinas as examples of contestants who can’t speak English that was taken out of context by certain quarters, to her less than stellar performances in the National Costume and the preliminary evening gown competitions.

Despite those setbacks, Arida remained a strong contender for the title until the very end, figuring prominently not only in fearless forecasts but also in betting odds posted online.

Prior to the big night, she won the pre-pageant honors for Ice Princess for a winter-themed glam photo shoot. Her video for the pageant’s official “Truth and Dare” series had the most views on YouTube and was the only one to reach the 300,000 mark out of the 86 contestants.

Her momentum continued to be on the upward swing during the actual pageant. Arida drew some of the loudest cheers in the venue each time she advanced to the next round. She topped the online voting that automatically won her a slot among the 16 semifinalists but was the last to be announced to the relief of her fans. The other semifinalists were candidates from Costa Rica, Ukraine, China, Ecuador, Great Britain, Indonesia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, USA, Nicaragua, Switzerland, India and Brazil.

Trimmed down to 10, she again made it to the next round along with Ukraine, Ecuador, Great Britain, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Spain, USA, India and Brazil.

Contrary to the fears of many, Arida also did very well during the Question and Answer portion, she drew the name of Olympic figure skating champion Tara Lipinski who asked her, “What can be done about the lack of jobs for young people starting their careers around the world?”

As she promised prior to arriving in Moscow, Arida did not use a translator to deliver her answer: “We should invest in education. That is my primary advocacy. Through it we can land good careers in the future. Education is the ticket to a good future.”

A Chemistry major who graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Arida’s competitive spirit allowed her to represent her country admirably in the pageant.

Host Thomas Roberts, who is joined by Melanie Brown (Mel B.), dedicated the show to the people of the Philippines and Vietnam who were and are being hit by supertyphoon Yolanda. Visayas continues to reel from the strong winds and rains that battered the country Friday. The tropical cyclone left the Philippines Saturday for Vietnam.

source: interaksyon.com

Can Ariella Arida really win Miss Universe? How pageant experts see it

Prior to the Miss Universe 2013 preliminary competition last Tuesday, Miss Philippines Ariella Arida had been tipped as the top contender for the title. Was she able to maintain and even boost that momentum after her performance in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions? Is Miss USA Erin Brady still her closest competitor in the pageant? More importantly, can she live up to her frontrunner status and win?

The UK edition of the International Business Times reported on Friday that Arida and Brady are still the top favorites to win the title according to “popularity, betting and online pools”.

In assessing why Arida has a strong chance of taking home the pageant’s Diamond Nexus Crown, the IBTimes report written by Simi John noted Arida’s “smooth ride” in the competition following her arrival in Moscow two weeks ago.

“She impressed all during the Tony Ward Couture Fashion Show, and appeared twice on the ramp in the designer’s ensemble. She was one of the five beauties, out of the 89 contestants, chosen for the television advertisement of luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz. She bagged the top prize for the photo shoot for Italian lingerie brand, Yamamay, taken by New York-based Fashion Photographer Fadil Berisha. Most recently she was one of the ten contestants who attended internationally renowned culinary expert Chef Nobu’s Moscow Demo Show,” the IBTimes wrote.

The news site did not cite as many reasons why Miss USA is a top contender for Miss Universe other than saying that Brady is the top choice of bookies according to one betting odds site, Bet365. A check with the website of betting sites aggregate Nicer Odds UK, however, revealed that Miss Philippines remain the top pick of another betting site, BetFair which gave her a 3.85 Euro odds of winning the title, way ahead of Miss USA who is ranked 6th with a 12.0 odds of winning.

A win by either Miss Philippines or Miss USA would be a history-making achievement. If Arida triumphs, the Philippines would be the first country to bag the Miss World and Miss Universe titles in a single year since India’s Aishwarya Rai Sushmita Sen achieved the rare feat back in 1994.

If Brady wins, her country would have the first back-to-back Miss Universe titleholders since erstwhile powerhouse Venezuela romped off with the crown in 2008 and 2009.

A check with the fearless forecasts and preliminary competition reports of other reputable pageant sites, however, revealed that neither Arida nor Brady are locks to win Miss Universe. Over the last few days, other strong contenders for the crown have emerged and are still gaining momentum.

One of them is Miss Ukraine Olga Storozhenko now ranked as No. 1 in the top 20 Hot Picks of Missosology.org, a site that specializes in analyzing beauty pageants. Miss Philippines is ranked No. 10 while Miss USA is not even on the list.

Storozhenko is also at the top of the site’s Top 10 evening gown picks and No. 4 in their swimsuit top 10. Arida is at No. 10 in evening gown and No. 7 in swimsuit. Again, Brady is not even on both lists.

Miss USA is also not in the Top 5 list of Prestigious Beauty Pageants dubbed as “a haven of world beauty contests news”. The site has boldly predicted that Arida will win the title followed by Miss Poland Paulina Krupinska (1st runner-up), Miss Puerto Rico Monic Perez (2nd runner-up), Miss Spain Patricia Rodriguez (3rd runner-up) and Miss Australia Olivia Wells (4th runner-up).

Brady, however, is right up there in Miss Universe Pageant Hotspot, another reputable fansite of the pageant has also posted their top 5 that names USA, Puerto Rico, Spain, Ukrainer and Philippines as the last women standing in the final reckoning.

“She can be considered as one of the dark horses. Many might have foretold her to win it all, but it’s not the case in many pageant sites. Many forumers and pageant experts have already taken her off their lists… Based on how she performed in the prelims, she’s in for the top 5. We even chose her as one of the best candidates in long gown because no one registered well on stage like the way she did,” the site posted in its justification of Miss USA’s inclusion on their prediction.

On the other hand, the site described Arida as “controversial, one of the most-talked about candidates, she’s a frontrunner, and a real standout.”

It also noted that she is riding the Philippines’ current streak, with ascending runner-up finishes of the country’s last three representatives.

“She did an outstanding performance in the preliminary competition and aced every single battle in Moscow. She deserves every single right to be in the top list. She will be there like Janine [Tugonon], Shamcey [Supsup], and Venus [Raj].”

Other candidates who are also figuring prominently in online predictions are Miss Brazil Jakelyne Oliveira, Miss India Manashi Moghe, Miss Venezuela Gabriela Isler, Miss Vietnam Truong Thi May, Miss Panama Carolina Brid and Miss France Hinarani de Longeaux.

However, it is worth noting that all these predictions could be for naught because the pageant’s coronation night on November 9 (November 10, 2AM, Manila time) at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia will be judged by a new set of judges who will presumably look at the candidates with a fresh set of eyes.

source: interaksyon.com

3 Filipinas to compete for Miss Universe 2013 crown

At least three Filipinas will be competing for the Miss Universe 2013 crown later this year.

Besides the Philippines’ official bet, Binibining Pilinas-Universe 2013 Ariella Arida, the representatives from Canada and Gabon both have Filipino ancestry.

The Canadian bet is a familiar face to Filipino audiences. Riza Santos — a former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate and FHM Philippines cover girl — was born to Filipino parents in the Philippines but grew up in Calgary, Alberta in Canada.

Santos already had two national beauty titles tucked under her belt — Miss Earth Canada 2006 and Miss World Canada 2011 — before she won the Miss Universe 2013 crown under unusual circumstances over the weekend.

In an embarrassing gaffe, organizers crowned the wrong winner, Denise Garrido, on Saturday but discovered later that a typographical error had caused a mistake in the tabulation of the scores.

The corrected tally sheets revealed that Garrido was only good enough for a third runner-up finish and Santos was the rightful winner.

“I would like to say thank you to God, my family, friends, and all of my supporters during this humbling yet rewarding journey to become Miss Universe Canada,” Santos said on her webpage after being informed of her victory.

“I can’t begin to express my gratitude and excitement to represent Canada on the international stage. It’s an honour to represent our country and I ask you for your continued support and prayers,” she added.

Ruth Jennifer Ondo Mouchita — the representative from the western African state of Gabon — is half-Filipina, born to a full-blooded Filipino mother. Her Wikipedia entry says she stands half an inch shy of six feet.

Ariella Arida is a Chemistry graduate of the University of the Philippines Los Banos. She stands almost 5’8″.

source: interaksyon.com