MANILA, Philippines?Some pageants seek to save the Earth while others hope to spread goodwill. There are beauty contests that promote tourism and still some that seek to alleviate poverty.
But there is one competition that also encourages ladies to seek their roots.
The Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant has been inviting representatives from Filipino overseas communities to participate in the annual contest in the hopes of raising the level of competition, akin to the infiltration of Filipino-foreigners in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
However, aside from recognizing the Filipino ancestry of overseas-based women, the step also became an invitation for these ladies to discover the country their parents once called home.
Nineteen-year-old Christi Lynn Landrito was born in the United States. She competes as the representative of the Filipinos in East Coast-USA.
She has only been to the Philippines six times, and every time she visits she goes to her father?s province Mindoro, and Bicol where her mother was originally from.
She last came to the Philippines in 2006 as an ambassador of goodwill to help needy children in the province of Bohol. She came in her capacity as Miss Teen Philippines-USA and was sponsored by the pageant?s organizer.
?This is a new experience for me, to stay in the metropolis of the Philippines. It is also different from New York where I live now. I am also looking forward to seeing the other popular tourist attractions,? she told Inquirer in a telephone interview.
April Mendoza from the Filipino community of Midwest-USA also hopes to discover the Philippines more thoroughly.
Like Landrito, she was born in New Jersey and has visited the Philippines only six times. ?I visit my mom?s province Laguna, and Batangas, my dad?s province,? she said of her previous visits.
?I?m hoping to learn everything I can learn in this new experience, meeting new people,? she exclaimed.
The pageant?s main thrust is actually ?beauty tourism,? a term coined by the pageant?s owner, Roberto de Venecia. He explains it as using the beauty of Filipino women and the innate charm of the various destinations in the country to encourage both local and foreign tourists.
In line with this endeavor, the pageant has been held in some of the picturesque spots in the country such as Davao City, Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Subic Bay, and Baler town in Aurora Province.
In effect, the promotional tours to these destinations have also become exposure trips for the overseas-based bets where they learn about the country their parents left behind.
Mutya ng Pilipinas 2006 Kirby Ann Basken, who represented her father?s native Norway in the national pageant, fell in love with the archipelago that she has been bringing her Norwegian friends to the country for vacation. She has also embarked on a lucrative career as a fashion and commercial model here, jetting from Norway to Manila to juggle modeling projects from two distant continents.
Some local spectators delight upon hearing the overseas bets? painful attempt at speaking the vernacular. But throughout the competition, bonding with the homegrown bets has given these ladies the opportunity to study Filipino, and perhaps other local dialects.
Landrito is slowly trying to improve her Tagalog-speaking skills with the help of her fellow contestants. ?I can teach them English in return,? she said.
?It?s very broken,? Mendoza said of her Tagalog, saying she hopes that by the end of the pageant, she has gotten better speaking the language.
But the two bets still have a lot of learning to look forward to.
Unlike in the previous years when the pageant focused on one location, the Mutya 2010 edition will go places and hold major activities in different destinations.
The swimsuit competition will take place in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, the Cultural Night will be held in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, and the evening gown contest is set to happen in the newly-built Resorts World Manila in Pasay City.
The 2010 Mutya ng Pilipinas coronation night is on Aug. 28, also at Resorts World Manila.
