MISS INTERNATIONAL 2022: AT THE HOMESTRETCH (CONCLUSION

 

With all 66 contestants accounted for, let me trot out my leaderboard:

TOP CONTENDERS:  PHILIPPINES, CABO VERDE, SPAIN, COLOMBIA, PERU

SHOO-INS:  VIETNAM, MEXICO, PUERTO RICO

LIKELIEST:  HONG KONG, INDIA, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, TOGO, BELARUS, BELGIUM, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, ITALY, NORWAY, POLAND, ROMANIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, CHILE, COSTA RICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PUERTO RICO, U S A, VENEZUELA

SASH FACTOR:  JAPAN, KOREA

EXCELLENT:  LAOS, MACAU, MONGOLIA, NEPAL, TAIWAN, KENYA, NAMIBIA, NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA, CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, HAWAII, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, JAMAICA 

VERY STRONG:  CAMBODIA, SINGAPORE, DENMARK, UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA, CUBA, ECUADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, 

STRONG:  PORTUGAL

VERY GOOD:  UZBEKISTAN, MAURITIUS, NORTHERN MARIANAS

Now, let me trot out my "Fearful" Forecast:

FINAL FIVE:  PHILIPPINES, CABO VERDE, SPAIN, COLOMBIA, PERU

TOP EIGHT:  VIETNAM, MEXICO, PUERTO RICO

TOP 15:  INDIA, INDONESIA, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, COSTA RICA, U S A

BUBBLING UNDER:  HONG KONG, JAPAN, KOREA, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, BELARUS, BELGIUM, FINLAND, GREECE, ITALY, NORWAY, POLAND, ROMANIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, CHILE,  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, VENEZUELA

STRIKING DISTANCE:  LAOS, MACAU, MONGOLIA, TAIWAN, KENYA, NAMIBIA, NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA, TOGO, CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, HAWAII, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, JAMAICA 

It looks like a five-way battle for the 60th Miss International crown.  Could we see a seventh crown for the PHILIPPINES (Hannah Arnold), or a fourth title for either SPAIN (Julianna Ro) or COLOMBIA (Natalia López Cardona), or will the big favorite PERU (Tatiana Calmell) secure the first win for her country, or maybe we will see a breakthrough win for CABO VERDE (Stephany Amado).  It's beauties like these that will make the arduous four-hour-plus finals worthwhile.

JUST ME!

JOSEPH

MISS INTERNATIONAL 2022: AT THE HOMESTRETCH (AMERICAS GROUP)

 

Just when you think the Europe group is very competitive, the delegates from the Americas prove to have an abundance of high-performing contenders worth reckoning.

BOLIVIA - Carolina Fernández.  She's polished and very good looking and performing at a high level so she could be a Top 15 possibility.

BRAZIL - Isabella Oliveira.  She's tall and good-looking, but her look during the preliminary swimsuit and casual wear competition lacks finesse, so she's turning out to not be as strong as many contenders coming from her country.

CANADA - Madison Kvaltin.  There are some angles where she resembles Miss International 2013 Bea Alonso from the Philippines, and she showcased a polished presence that she can also be a Top 15 possibility.

CHILE - Catalina Huenulao.  She prides herself of being indigenous as reflected in her SDG video, and she's also a polished presence so she's also in serious contention for a Top 15 slot.

COLOMBIA - Natalia López Cardona.  She possesses a classic beauty and exquisite finesse that she is regarded by many pageant fans and pundits as a front-runner.  I definitely agree with that assessment and feel she is one with an inside track to the "royal court".

COSTA RICA - Mahyla Roth.  This blonde ingenue has been generating a lot of strong positive buzz.  Yes, she's a bit on the short side compared to her peers from this continent, but she's still acceptably tall enough to still be in serious contention for a Top 15 slot.

CUBA - Rachel Martin.  Her preliminary swimsuit performance shows a lack of polish, which would likely hamper her prospects of making the Top 15.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Celinee Santos.  If we base it on how she looks in public and how she performed in the preliminary swimsuit and casual wear competition, she looks like to have a lock on a Top 15 spot with a possible play for the Top Eight.  However, according to some insider reports (like as reported by pageant vlogger Adam Genato), she could be marked down for conduct behind the scenes and may be prevented from advancing to the Top 15.

ECUADOR - Valeria Gutiérrez.  There are some angles where she looks pretty but she was a letdown during the preliminary swimsuit and casual wear competition.

EL SALVADOR - Genesis Fuentes.  She may not be buzzed about but she looks like a worthwhile contender.

GUATEMALA - Dulce López.  In more candid shots, she seems to be slight and willowy.  She's also on the shorter side so it might be an uphill battle for her to make a standout impression.

HAITI - Angélique François.  In other major international pageants, she may make serious inroads with her exotic looks, but in this milieu, they tend to gravitate towards more classic modes of beauty.

HONDURAS - Zully Paz.  See GUATEMALA, but more polised brunette.

JAMAICA - Israel Harrison.  See HAITI, but with a taller stature, and dreadlocked hairstyle.

MEXICO - Yuridia Durán.  She looks like she covers all bases and looks like one of the Top 15 shoo-ins.  She looks like she can make a play for the Top Eight and maybe a spot in the "royal court".

NICARAGUA - Fernanda Salazar.  She may not be buzzed about, but she could be one of those ladies who can pull off a sleeper surprise and make the Top 15.

PANAMA - Ivis Nicole Snyder.  She looks polished and finessed, that even if she's actually one of the shorter delegates in this batch, she has those proportions like Miss International 2005 Precious Lara Quigaman that makes her register like a taller woman when standing on her own without anyone standing alongside her to compare with.

PARAGUAY - Ariane Maciel.  She has a gorgeous face, but her figure leans towards voluptuous and zaftig, which is not what is favored by the predominantly senior Japanese panel.

PERU - Tatiana Calmell.  Many pageant fans and pundits are raving about her and she is deemed the clearest front-runner of this batch

PUERTO RICO - Paola González Torres.  She looks undeniably polished presence, so she looks like she has an inside track to the Top 15.

U S A - Corrin Stellakis.  She made the Top Eight at Miss Earth 2016, then assuming the Miss Earth - Fire title after the resignation of the original titleholder Bruna Zanardo from Brazil resigned.  She can tap that experience to make inroads in this pageant, but I'm not sure that her slightly angular features may be to the liking of the predominantly senior Japanese panel.  Still, she still has got what it takes to make the cut.

VENEZUELA - Isbel Parra.  See PUERTO RICO.  Buzz is polarizing about her--some might feel she has what it takes to secure a Top 15 spot, and there are others who felt it's a challenge for her to advance in a crowded field.

COMING UP:  LEADERBOARD and "FEARFUL" FORECAST