Miss Universe 2013: Four Filipina Contestants Vying for the Title
Filipinos can cheer not only to Filipino Miss Universe 2013 Representative Ariella Arida but also to three other Filipina beauties in the pageant with Filipino descent such as Riza Santos of Canada, Alixes Scott of Guam and Jennifer Ondo of Gabon.
Out of the four Filipina beauties, Riza Santos of Canada is the most experienced in the world of beauty pageants. The beauty was a triple national beauty pageant winner in Miss Earth 2006, representing Canada. She moved to Miss World in 2011 and in 2013, she's one of the Miss Universe contestants.
Riza was raised in Alberta, Canada and when she competed in Miss Universe Canada 2013, she was 1st runner-up to Denise Garrido. The next day, pageant organizers announced its mistake in the scoring process and hailed Riza as the true winner. After a week, she was crowned as the official Miss Universe Canada 2013 and this made a lot of controversy. Riza was a "Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition" housemate in 2007 and both having stayed in the Philippines, Ariella and Riza hit it off well being roommates in Moscow.
There are many Filipinos in Guam and it is not surprising to know that Miss Guam Alixes Polendey Scott is partly Filipino. She is a Hawaii-born beauty queen who moved to Guam when she was one-year-old. In her official Miss Universe profile, she is proud to have visited the Philippines. She is the youngest at 18 years out of the four Filipinas vying for the crown. She loves sports, adventure and travel. Her favorite activities include spelunking, swimming, hiking, rugby and volleyball.
News also circulates that African queen, Jennifer Ondo's mother was Filipina. However, she confirmed in Twitter that both of her parents are Gabonese but she was of Philippine origin.
With four Filipinas vying for the Miss Universe 2013 crown, the country can definitely say it's more fun in the Philippines, having won the Miss World 2013 title and several representatives in the 2013 Miss Universe beauty pageant.
The coronation night will take place Nov. 9 at the Crocus City Hall, Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. Official Fan Vote is currently ongoing until Nov. 8 and the winner will be automatically included in the semi-finals. Voters are required to have a valid e-mail address and can vote for a maximum of 100 times per day.