The people of Baguio City, the coldest city in the Philippines, gave the Miss Universe 2016 candidates a very warm welcome on Jan. 18. The candidates participated in a fluvial parade near Panagbenga Park in the morning and a dinner party in Baguio Country Club in the evening.
Miss Universe 2014 third runner-up Shamcey Supsup hosted the dinner event. She announced that Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach was sick and may not be able to participate but the latter showed in the latter part of the program.
It was evident during the dinner event that the dominantly Filipino guests were rooting for different candidates. Here are the 10 crowd favorites during the program:
12. Miss Haiti Raquel Pelissier
Both Baguio City and Pelissier's hometown Paort-au-Prince have experienced devastated earthquake. While this is not known to the guests during the evening, there was a strong connection when the quadrilingual Haitian beauty walked the runway and waved her hands to the crowd.
11. Miss Barbados Shannon Harris
It is predicted that Harris will make a history as the first Miss Barbados to place in Miss Universe. It appears that the guests that night feel this so they cheered for her generously.
10. Miss Universe Peru Valeria Piazza
With her fierceness, Piazza can be intimidating. But she is just so beautiful that her fans could not help but bother her with selfies although she was busy having her meal.
9. Miss Universe Australia Caris Tiivel
During the event, Tavel was spotted sitting beside Paula Shuggart and Chavit Singson. The latter is the franchisee churva.
8. Miss Universe Guam Muñeka Joy Taisipic
Many guests could not help but notice that Miss Guam looked like a Filipino. Some even commented that she looked even more Filipino than Miss Philippines Maxine Medina.
7. Miss Universe Spain Noelia Freire
More than century ago, the ancestors of the Igorots, the locals of Baguio City and its neighboring areas, beheaded Spanish friars. Fast forward to 2017, Miss Universe Spain 2016 was warmly welcomed by Igorot millennials.
6. Miss Universe Japan Sari Nakazawa
A cute anime look does not seem to fit the fierce beauty requirement of Miss Universe. But apparently, Nakazawa is an exemption. Her piercing stare and Mona Lisa smile are just two of the qualities that she has that evidently made the Baguio guests adore her.
Interestingly enough, it is not difficult to find Japanese-looking Igorots in Baguio City. A study of the history of Kennon Road can help explain this.
5. Miss Universe Korea Jenny Kim
Guests during dinner party in Baguio Country Club did not hesitate to approach Miss Korea and have selfies with her. This is not a surprise as Filipinos are known as avid fans of Korean pop culture.
Before Sandara Park became a member of the K-Pop girl group 2NE1, she had visited Baguio City, which is home to several South Koreans taking an English as a Second Language course. Some South Koreans were spotted during the fluvial parade in the morning.
4. Miss Universe Kosovo Camila Barraza
It could not be denied that Miss Kosovo was one of the more popular candidates during the evening. She almost could not finish her meal as guests keep on approaching her to take selfies with her but she did not seem to mind.
At one point, Miss Kosovo was seen taking a photo with a little girl. Miss Kosovo took her sash off and let the girl wear it for their photograph.
3. Miss Universe Canada Siera Bearchell
If there was a selfie queen award that evening, it would have been given to Miss Canada. Aside from allowing guests to take selfies with her, she would even take the guests' cellphones and take the selfies by herself.
2. Miss Universe Colombia Andrea Tovar
Filipino fans of international beauty pageants do not hold a grudge after the infamous error committed by Miss Universe 2015 host Steve Harvey as he mistakenly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierez as the winner instead of Wurtzbach. This even caused an ugly exchange of insults between Filipino and Colombian fans.
But Miss Colombia was shown so much love during the dinner event. She also rocked the stage as if she were saying that she would accomplish what Gutierrez was not able to achieve.
1. Miss Universe New Zealand Tania Dawson
The other candidates had a reason to be jealous of Miss New Zealand that evening. She had the loudest cheer when the candidates were presented on stage for the last time before the program ended.
Apparently, Miss New Zealand won the hearts of the Filipino audience as she is a daughter of a Filipino woman from Pangasinan, a province near Baguio City. The mother also worked in Baguio City, where she met Dawson's father.
Have a glimpse of Dawson's visit in Baguio City here: