As expected … Rachel Gupta of India and CJ Opiaza of the Philippines were the two last women standing in the Miss Grand International 2024 finals. It was a bloodbath and no doubt both deserved their placements as the winner and the first runner-up. There was no cooking show whatsoever and for the first time Filipinos were content with the result and there was no after-show bickering. Filipinos were actually in an appreciative mood … as they even went to the extent of leading the crusade of greeting Miss India with heartfelt congratulations in person and in print.
What marred the show was not Uncle Nawat’s doing …(that’s what I thought) but Thae Su Nyein - Miss Myanmar’s temper tantrums where she unabashedly cried her heart out for just settling the second up. Htoo Ant Lwin … the National Director even grabbed her crown and removed her sash … as she was escorted outside with the histrionics of a five-year-old child. That is what one gets when you expect a lot … and when the moment of truth comes … you fall short of your towering expectations.
The height of this brewing controversy was Miss Myanmar shown crying … BAREFOOTED … she must have removed her shoes to show her protest. And the National Director was on a war path … as videos of him were circulating … cursing kibitzers in full regalia as they secretly recorded the juicy tidbits of what is going on behind the scenes. In his social media, the National Director has only two words: Goodbye … Forever!
Who was really at fault here? The news from the grapevine says there is something fishy again and they said it involves some under-the-table deals that involved money (allegedly in exchange for winning some special awards … or was it the title? My advice to everybody: “ Chill ... and let us be prudent and have some self-control not to jump to conclusions right away. Let the story unfold … for sure the involved parties will shed light on what really happened.”
As of press time, we haven’t heard if Uncle Nawat has already given some reaction … after the fiasco when he shipped ASAP the candidates out of Cambodia because of his tiff with the Cambodian organizers … it looked like the organizers are really fishing for another scandal. Publicities to them … whether negative or not …what counts and what matters is that the pageant world is talking about MGI once again.
There is only one crown left so Philippines will complete the Grand Slam titles. So far only Puerto Rico has achieved this rare feat. Will Christine Julianne Opiaza make it happen tonight?
One pageant observer who was very superstitious … said there is a possibility! She thought highly of CJ and thought of her as a a deadly typhoon. With the way CJ unleash her fury in the MGI stage she came in wild and wet … and when she left she brought the crown with her. Such parallelism. And to think the current typhoon wrecking havoc in the Philippines in real time was CHRISTINE … and in a striking distance ….typhoon JULIANNE is slowly creeping in.
Is she having a mirage? Let us wait … better still … let us watch the finals of Miss Grand International 2024 tonight at MGI TV in YouTube at 7 PM to night!
Starting the Magpasikat Week is one heck of a job ... for one thing the first group of performers has to set the tone for what their audience should expect for the rest of the week. And team VIce, Ryan and Karylle did not disappoint.
Their theme is all about HOPE, a very relatable topic dahil lahat naman tayo ay umasa ... at namumuhunan sa salitang SANA ,(sana magbago ang mga anak ko ... sana maging responsable sila ... sana tularan nila ako maging isang good provider ... in the real essence of the word).
The vignettes of life that was depicted are true to life stories of the main protagonists. Karyll's family life is an open book. This is the first tiwme she had actively talked about it on TV ... especially her relationship with his father that was cut off because he passed away. Karylle's only hope was "sana nabigyan pa sila ng time to show their love for each other.
Her scenes singing an original song written for his Dad ... was almost palpable. Her angel scene was beautifully photographed ... had I not blinked I was almost seeing on screen the younger version of Zsa Zsa Padilla hanging in the skies.
Ryan Bang came from a broken family . And that is the reason why in his early formative years, he migrated to the Philippine. When he has a family dinner with his Pinay girlfriend ... Ryan notice how his mother laughed at the jokes of his father. She was responding to him positively ... and these fuels HOPE in Ryan na "SANA magkaroon ng part 2 ang kanilang samahan."
Ryan's family dance routine where the three were mounted in some kind of a rolling platforms ... that every time they move no matter how they reach out to each other ... the oscillating motion prevented them from holding hands and bond together as ONE family - a perfect dance symbolism for a family in squabbles.
Meme Vice has a different issue ... it is more about his relationship with Ion and his suspicion that somebody out there is making a concerted effort to bring him and his show down. In his words... ang mga intriga ay parang mga suntok at tadyak na sabaysabay pang dumating ...na parang pinagtulong-tulongan siya ... at pinagbugbug sarado is enough to make him feel defeated and disillusioned. His only HOPE ... "SANA malmpasan niya ito ... at huwag siyang sumuko.
His dance sequence where the dancers lifted him in the air ... sabay sumabog ang ang apoy sa paligid gave me a semblance that he was made a sacrificial lamb ... sabay sabay naglabasan ang mga voice over na "di maganda makita sa TV si Vice Ganda .... hindi magandang ehemplo ... bakla eh. Tapos dinagdagan pa ng sahog na "Wala kang matunan na mabuti diyan ... puro panlalait lang ... " Or maghiwalay din yan ... siyempre si Ion maghanap talaga yan ng babae. Perfect symbolism indeed.
Another dance symbolism that was perfectly accomplished was in the sequence where VG was ascending in a steep reclining platform and his detractors relentlessly chasing him ... pulling him from his legs para hindi makaakyat at tuluyang bumagsak. But Meme persevered ... and won his battle in the long run.
The inclusion of SB19 was so appropriate and I commend who ever thought of this is a genius. SB19 is a perfect example of young men who struggled and become victorious. They even changed the lyrics of their song Liham so the message will become ensynch with the theme. SO generous.
The highlight however was the inclusion of madlang people trying to win over their individual struggles. One of them were two kids who grew up away from their Mom who was working in Dubai for six years. The genius twist however ... is this group desire to bring this mother back to Philippines and gave these yearning kids a lachrymose and tearful family reunion. Congrats Viceryll.
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