MISS PHILIPPINES
Beyond 2000

Great Moments in Pageant History

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Miss Universe Pageant 1999

1999, the last year of the millenium. Trinidad and Tobago, site of the. . .

48th Annual
Miss Universe Pageant

Representing the Philippines is the
beautiful, bronze-skinned,
Binibining Pilipinas . . .

Miriam Quiambao !

Parade Parade
of  of of  of of
ions Nations Na

Miriam dons an offbeat style of the national dress for the Parade of Nations. The costume sports
the traditional butterfly sleeves with a modern twist. For added effect, Miriam wears a 'sunburst' headdress echoing the emblem of the sun in the national flag. A co- lossal image of her flashed on a giant screen forms the backdrop to her moment on stage.

en  Ten  Ten Ten  Te
ists Semi-Finalists  Se

Miriam is the second Filipina to make it to the semi-finals  of the Miss  Universe  Pageant in the 90's. Charlene Gonzales made it  in 1994.

Miriam was the fifth delegate to be called for the semi-final round. As she responded to Jack Wagner's call, she waved her hand in the tra-
ditional 'Mabuhay' style and beaming with
confidence and charm, took her position with
the rest of the delegates. Miriam's entry into the ten semi-finalists was not a surprise at all. Prior to the pageant, the internet and the public have both included her in their own un-
official lists of the ten semi-finalists. Other countries who made it to the cut were Spain, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ghana, Botswana, South Africa, and of course, India and Venezuela. Sorry, no U.S.A. this year!

World World  Worl
ur  Tour Tour  Tou

Prior  to the  pageant  finals, Miriam was paired with Miss Guatemala for the 'World Tour' interview. Both delegates were given time to spend with one another and learn as much as they possibly can about the culture of  their partner's  country. Come  pageant night, whoever makes it to the semi-finals round will have to be prepared for whatever the  host, Jack  Wagner, will ask! Let's see how Miriam fared!

Jack : I understand that women in the Philippines love to sing and dance. Did you learn any Guatemalan songs?

Miriam : I did not learn any Guatemalan songs, but I learned about their musical instrument though, called the Marimba, which is like a xy-
lophone, and they have also used 'Marimba' to name a dance.

Jack : Women in the Philippines are very modest. How does that compare with the women in Guatemala?

Miriam : The women in the Philippines and in

Guatemala are very much alike since we were both colonized by the Span- iards and basically, we are conserva- tive in the way we carry ourselves.

Jack : I know something about you, you love to watch T.V. Now tell me, if you were in Guatemala, what would you watch?

Miriam : If I were in Guatemala, I'd see if they have a Discovery Channel there so I can find out more about the culture in Guatemala.

Jack : Oh the Discovery Channel, I love that channel with all those lions and zebras ! Thank you, Miss Philippines!  (Note: interview was not quoted verbatim.)

What did the judges think?

Based on the scores from a highest rating of 9.96 to a low of 2.00, what does that tell us? Personally, I think that 2.00 was punched in by mistake. What judge in his right mind would give a semi-finalist a 2.00? Never the less, Miriam did quite well in the in- terview, despite the fact that she did- n't look at ease and seemed rehears- ed in  some of  her answers. She did stammer quite a bit but generally, her interview was at the very least, infor-
mative. Could have used more hu-
mor,  better choice  of  words and more eloquence. By the end of the World Tour, Miriam was 9th in ran- king with an average of 8.78.

ercial  Commercial Co
reak  Break Break  Br

Miriam promotes tourism in Trinidad and Tobago!
Ice cream for the Filipina 'cream of the crop!'

suit Swimsuit Swimsuit
tition Competition Co

Set against the backdrop of Trinidad & Tobago's
carnival atmosphere, the ten delegates get ready to  strut their  stuff! Miriam opts for a one piece bathing  suit and decides to  keep her hair down. Thanks to  her inborn grace and a hush-rush course  in pageant  walking in Caracas, Miriam displays here feminine form in true Asian charm mixed with Latin vibrance and sexuality!

HOT ! HOT !

HOT ! HOT !

HOT ! HOT !

Miriam in a post pageant interview : "I did not feel
comfortable at all posing
suggestively in a bathing suit. The poses I was
taught to make were not only uncomfortable but I found them to be unnatural as well."

Who cares? Still
Hot ! Hot ! Hot !

What did the judges think?

Excellent !!! All the judges except the unhappy Victoria's Secret model, Stephanie Seymour, gave her whopping
9.00's across the board! Why not? Miriam Q. had the best moves,even surpassing that of Venezuela's Carolina Indriago, and also one of the best bodies in the group. Her choice of one piece actually worked to her advantage, hiding the fact that hers was a 'far from ideal' figure. In the end, Spain edged her by just 1/100th of a point and she tied with South Africa for second place with an ave- rage score of 9.32.

..Evening  
...Gown
..Parade

..Evening
...Gown
..Parade

..Evening  
...Gown
..Parade

Miriam shines in her light blue beaded Halston
evening gown choice. Serenaded by the teen-age crooner Julio Iglesias Jr., Miss Philippines took  the night away! The  gown is  a simple column in cutting  edge design  typical of the House of  Halston. For  once, the organizers
of Miss Philippines got it right! The fully bea-
ded one  shouldered  gown with a short train
perfectly matched Miriam's bronze skin, dis-
tinct  morena features  and inborn  elegance.
Every move she made was flawless, as if she was  walking on air. Such grace and sophisti-
cation, something we haven't seen in a very
long time!

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One of the reasons Miriam stood out during the evening gown competition was her carefully stu- died movements on stage. No room for mistakes here (though she fell earlier in the preliminaries), not this time, baby!

As she moved slowly around in a circle, you could
feel this incredible aura of beauty around her as if
she was there saying silently with her movements,  "I am a beauty queen. . ."

Perfect candidate, perfect evening gown, perfect
lighting, perfect grace and poise, what else do you want?

Miriam in her evening gown summari-
zes all there is to who a Filipina is.

*Elegance born of excellent upbringing.
*Charm inherent to Philippine culture.
*Beauty as inherited from centuries
..of mixed heritage.
*Poise as the result of lessons on social
  graces.
*Sense of Style developed through
..time and experience.
*Attitude and self-confidence as only
..a winner should have.

MIRIAM  Q.
MISS PHILIPPINES 1999

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What  did the  judges think?

Every  single one  of them gave  her a  score of  above 9.00's, including the aloof has been-super model of the 90's, Stephanie  Seymour. How Spain beat her is truly a mys-
tery. Miss  Spain's  evening gown was not all extraordi-
nary, except for the disturb-
ing low cut at the back! Be-
yond  that, nothing  special.
Never the less, beautiful Miss
Philippines came in a close
second  at this  competition with an average score of
9.42! Miriam is all set to win the crown! Will she make it
to top five?

FOR MORE OF MIRIAM QUIAMBAO IN MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT 1999 !!!

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