The Mister International pageant held its finals at the Baguio Country Club, and it had a huge shadow looming behind it as its rival Thai counterpart staged a slick, flashy pageant. What can they do to counter this? And can they come up with a production that could be of a high caliber?
The finals started promisingly enough as they hired ballerinas and a male street dance troupe to open the show and the 26 candidates appeared in streetwear and danced along. Well, there are still that "pageant choreography" that made me cringe, but still it was a very energetic opening. I discovered that one contestant made a radical makeover from his appearance throughout the competition to the finals as he shaved off his beard--INDIA (Jairus Singh). If he went for this look from the get-go, he probably would've been a more competitive contender and possibly stealing NEPAL's thunder.
Now, we go to the element that far exceeded the Thai counterpart--the hosts. The hosts were Sean Ortega and Miss Intercontinental 2019 semifinalist Emma Tiglao. Both hosts expressed themselves with clear English diction, and both were very savvy in how to fill up time during lull periods. Sean got raves from some netizens with his deep voice, some even crushing on him because of that voice. Emma was almost impeccable and had three wardrobe changes throughout the evening. The only gaffe they committed was calling CANADA first in the Top Eight Q&A ahead of ARGENTINA, who was called out to the Top Eight before him.
The show then went straight to announcing the Top 16. Then, as the Top 16 switch into swimsuits, we were treated to an intermission number by Ballet Baguio set to the OPM hit "Raining in Manila" by band Lola Amour. Then, to a 2021 electro-reggaeton track by Leftside and NXTFRIDAY called "Pressure", the Top 16 paraded in grey swimwear. As the Top 16 change into formal wear, the reigning winner, Lukanand Kshetrimayum was called out and he gave a speech talking about his advocacy trying to stop drug and human trafficking in Manipur. For the formal wear round, they decided to borrow an element from the late 1980s-early 1990s edition of Miss Universe as the Top 16 were accompanied by little boys designated as "little brothers" and as a ritual, the Top 16 handed over replicas of their sashes/banners and hung them over their shoulders, almost like a boy scout investiture.. All the candidates (including the non-finalists) were clad in a white-jacket/black-trouser tuxedo combo--the stylistic personalization came with what dress shirts they would choose to wear underneath that ensemble. This sequence was set to this hip-hop track that seems to be entitled "In the Zone", but I couldn't quite find the matching track on YouTube. After that, in a slightly brutal cut, they whittled the Top 16 into a Top Eight.
I got 11 out of 16 correct in my "Fearful" Forecast. The five who I didn't get were all in my "Bubbling Under" list so I'm not that surprised by their inclusion, and four of the five that were left out were always on the verge of being replaced by any of the five. I'll first discuss the guys who missed the cut but at least had the consolation of winning special awards.
CAMBODIA (Thea Sok Tola) at least won a special award for being third place in national costume. I picked him on the "Striking Distance" list, so we consider this award as a consolation for not making the cut.
Most pageant fans and pundits would put POLAND (Maciej Skowronek) as the winner of the Lucas Malvacini Award as many dig his tall 6'3" height (as tall as the PHILIPPINES) and innocently boyish handsomeness. But I would only place him second runner-up for that dubious honor as I'm not into that kind of boyish look, and I sense he may not be as polished as other contenders out there. But he did earn a special award as Top Model, as admittedly his type is being prized in fashion circles these days so that award is apt.
SINGAPORE (Aidid Haidil) won the Mister Multimedia special award, and he's my first runner-up for the Lucas Malvacini Award. I thought people would gravitate towards his sexy, masculine features and supremely buffed bod and overlook his height deficiency, but the judges and insiders were simply not that into him, I suppose.
I expected a lot from SOUTH AFRICA (Kofi Adea-Adu) and included him in my Top 10 list as even if he's relatively subdued onstage compared to his flashier two black colleagues, I found him smoldering with a quiet charisma that I dig and rated him the one most likely to make it. But it turns out my assessment should be in reverse as the one I thought would bubble under ended up going pretty far. Anyway, he won the Mister Personality award, which makes me think he actually aced the interview, but simply fell short in the judges' and insiders' eyes and hence he missed the cut. He's my choice for the Lucas Malvacini Award.
Though the Top 16 by itself wasn't that shocking to me, the ones who ended up advancing and the ones who remained relegated to that level were shocking indeed..
I did predict NEPAL (Abishek Chudal) to make it as I find him a very polished presence and I know his beefy bod has its appeal. And I did predict this is as far as he will go, so we can say him winning Mister Congeniality is gravy to an already welcome achievement.
I know many netizens took a liking to MEXICO (Christian Cardero) and I actually understand his appeal, though I just find his looks a bit too rough for comfort. But him making the cut is very understandable especially in this milieu, so I'm very much okay with his inclusion. It's interesting to note that he's a key instigator of an epic moment at this pageant's end.
I know the Filipino public have a sentimental heart for UZBEKISTAN (Laziz Rastomov) and wanted him to go far, perhaps even all the way to Top Eight, but the fact that he has these modesty restrictions may have inhibited his chances of going further.
I pegged BRAZIL (Eduardo Onofre) as a Top 10 contender, but since it turns out they were going to go for a Top Eight instead, I can imagine this guy also being relegated to stay in the Top 16, and that is where here ended up. At least he got a 1st runner-up award for Best National Costume as a consolation.
I thought NIGERIA (Michael Adebowale) and UNITED KINGDOM (Ryan Larson) would be Top Eight shoo-ins, but the judges on final night seem to have a few other bets that they preferred, and perhaps they are not as favored by the insiders and preliminary panel as I initially perceived, so they were shut out from advancing to the next round.
The biggest shocker, though, was shutting out COSTA RICA (Ricardo Mena) and CUBA (Brandon Alaen) from advancing to the Top Eight, much less making the Final Five as I had forecasted. The composition of the final board of judges may have played a key factor, as the five judges consisted of an Arab, an African, an Indian (the only female in the panel, and yes, not the reigning titleholder in this edition), a Filipino, and a Malaysian. Maybe most of the members in this diverse mix do not cotton well to the Classic Latino Handsomeness exhibited by these two guys, and maybe found their presentations onstage a tad too slick (especially in the case of CUBA--who in hindsight reminds me of 98 Degrees lead singer Nick Lachey) that they shut them out. If the judges were perhaps 4/5 Filipino (just like the composition in the Pradinunt edition was more than 4/5 Thai, the only two foreign judges were the reigning Mister International from Dominican Republic and the 2013 winner from Venezuela). these two guys would've made a serious play for the Final Five as I have forecasted.
After the Top Eight was selected, though Sean and Eva declared they will have a casual chat with the Top Eight, it's actually not "casual" but actually a structured format, with the Top Eight expounding on a relevant world topic they randomly selected from a bowl. And arguably in this round (and the next) the pageant nearly went off the rails because the pageant's communications director, Norman Tinio, volunteered to be the Spanish translator even if he is not that fluent in that language and had to rely on a translator app to perform this task, and unfortunately that app returned an incomprehensible translation. Many netizens viewing the livestream cringed and posted that they should've employed CUBA to do the translation instead because he's fluent in both English (he speaks with an American accent) and Spanish--in last year's Mister International, they employed the non-finalist from Puerto Rico as the translator, so this is not an unprecedented event. To be blunt, I think this is a horrible lapse of good judgment on Norman's part and I hope he never does this role again.
I got only three of the Top Eight in my "Fearful" Forecast, and I was so way off, four of the members of that Top Eight were merely in my "Bubbling Under" list. So it can be said that the Top Eight is very much a shocker.
I have to note about how to pronounce the last part of MYANMAR (Aung Khant Kyaw)'s name, "Kyaw". If you know how to pronounce former prime minister and Nobel Prize Winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, the "Ky" part sounds closer to a "ch" sound than how you normally pronounce a "ky" dipthong, so his given name sounds more like "Kant-Chow", which sounds almost identical to the Tagalog word "kantiyaw", meaning to tease mercilessly, and this guy created a moment worthy of a kantiyaw as when NEPAL was called into the Top 16, he was the one who moved forward instead of the actual semifinalist. Thankfully it turned out he made the cut anyway as he was called out last. I only placed him in my "Bubbling Under" list as I thought he would be edged out by the likes of AUSTRALIA (Casey Van Ryan), INDONESIA (Isach Kbarek), and others, but it turns out the insiders and preliminary judges took a liking to him. At least, for his Top Eight Q&A, Norman was not on-hand to translate for him but they used an actual Burmese/Myanmar person (possibly his director).who at least gave a decent translation of what this guy related when asked about his thoughts on pollution. Basically he gave a decent but shallow answer acknowledging the existence of pollution in this world, and that we should do the basic steps like recycling to help fix this problem.
I also placed CANADA (Dhruv Kumar) in my "Bubbling Under" list, but I understand his inclusion as he gave an energetic presentation during the Preliminary Competition, and repeated that in his performance in this final. I guess the diverse panel took a strong liking to him and that is why they made him advance over early favorites COSTA RICA and CUBA. His question is about unemployment, and basically his approach is to talk about everyone having innate talents in themselves and if they work hard enough, they would be able to achieve their dreams. It's a well-composed speech, though I felt he went slightly off-tangent in relation to the topic.
I did notice some pageant fans and pundits highly rating U S A (Anthony Borengasser), some of them including him in the Final Five. I didn't rate him that high and only placed him in the Top 16 as I find his facial appearance a tad rough. But I'm not that surprised he advanced. I have to make a note of his performance in the swimsuit rounds, as he opted to do bodybuilding poses--his physique is not yet to a modern bodybuilders' competition level, which prefer bulkier muscles with extreme definition, but I came across footage of 1940s bodybuilding contests and found out most male pageant candidates and him would fit perfectly right in that era. I like his physique just the way it is, but I have a feeling he might want to go towards bodybuilding contests in the future, just like Mister International 2010, Ryan Terry, who is now a regular in the British bodybuilding circuit. For the Q&A his topic is about poverty, and he used a similar approach to CANADA, stating that poverty is a state of mind and it can be overcome if you know what gifts you have and use it to rise above it. It's solid, but the "woke activist" in me felt that he didn't quite address that there are systemic factors that is causing the poverty, as reflected in the increasingly glaring income inequality experienced in his country and several others (like ours). His answer couldn't address the situation of hard-working folks who exerted all their efforts to rise above but are still mired in that state.
I got three of the Final Five correct, and was surprised at how highly regarded the two I didn't get were that they ended up finishing this high. Their final question is "How would you inspire the next generation as Mister International?"
4TH RUNNER-UP: MALAYSIA - Abdul Rahman Lee. I'm quite surprised at how several netizens regard him as a front-runner, as I don't quite get it looking at his facial features. But he does seem to have a charming personality and decent communication skills and this is probably how he won over the insiders and preliminary judges. With a Malaysian in the final panel, his chances of making the winners' circle seems almost guaranteed, and indeed that is what happened. For the Top Eight Q&A, he was asked to expound on food security, and he basically talked about hygiene, doing practices to keep food clean and make sure you wash your hands. He probably didn't understand that food security is actually about ensuring the supply of food reaches everyone, and not about hygiene, so I felt he went off-tangent, but I think the judges didn't mind he went off-tangent and allowed the conviction of his answer to let him through. For the final question, he basically talked about working with the organization to work on his advocacy on mental health. It wasn't a substantial enough answer so I unerstand why he ended up as 4th runner-up.
3RD RUNNRR-UP: ARGENTINA - Angel Olaya. There might have been some fans and insiders who complimented him by saying he looks like Superman or Clark Kent, so for the finals he decided to apply that to his hairstyle by adding that front lick like the comic book superhero. I prefer his more natural, original style and found the Superman look too contrived, but well it does make him stand out in this group. Anyway, it's a given he'll make the Final Five, and he did deliver on the hype and hence made it this far. Now, I wonder if Norman Tinio's attempt at translation hindered this guy from ranking higher. For the Top 8 Q&A he was asked to expound on the issue of global health, he seemed to give a substantive answer about how health serves a foundation to how well a society fares and progress, that a healthy society leads to better opportunities for everyone and allows this society to give back to help other societies in need. Arguably I think he delivered the best answer in the Top Eight and in this round, In the Top Eight round, Norman's app seemed to work though he had to navigate and get context cues to communicate his answer well. For the final answer, he seems to be speaking eloquently about generating programs to leave a legacy for the youth so they can learn and be empowered to change our world for the better in the future, but the translation app couldn't seem to capture his speech adequately and returned incomprehensible gobbledygook which baffled Norman, and many bilingual netizens argued he actually gave the best answer but Norman's app botched it and felt he deserved way better than his actual finish. I've heard the Argentinean dialect could be considered a bit incomprehensible (supposedly the "y" and "ll" sounds would sound like "sh"), but it seems Angel was not even speaking in that dialect and instead was using normal Latin American Spanish or maybe even classic Castillian Spanish (the accent/dialect from Spain). That is why I can't excuse the app for failing to capture his speech.
2ND RUNNER-UP: JAMAICA - Tamichael Watson. If there was a guy I was most reluctant to place in my "Bubbling Under" list, it's this guy. I thought Filipino preferences for more Caucasian types like AUSTRALIA and POLAND would prevail over him, but I didn't realize that he has been charming the preliminary judges and insiders so much that he turned out to be the "black man most likely". For the Top Eight Q&A , his topic was climate change, He just basically made a statement acknowledging climate change is indeed a problem and that authorities should come with solutions to either totally or mostly eradicate the problem, and that's it. But for the final question, he did provide a more substantial answer about how a winner being an exemplar of poise, stature, and "most importantly, empathy" and talked about his advocacy on mental health, especially about talking about all that worries them and by letting all that out and getting the needed support, the next generation can help build for a brighter future. I suppose the strength of that answer helped him advance ahead of ARGENTINA and deliver this finish.
1ST RUNNER-UP: PHILIPPINES - Austin Cabatana. Well, he has garnered innate favoritism amongst fans and insiders as he's the host candidate, and there is that 6'3" stature as he's tied as the tallest candidate (alongside POLAND) in this batch. His Top 8 topic is about human rights, and he gave a basic answer that this topic is important and every person's life decisions need to be respected and that governments and institutions ensure that these are respected. For the final question, he simply talks about inspiring the youth to be educated as education is his advocacy. Compared to the answers delivered by JAMAICA and potentially, ARGENTINA, this answer is also very basic, and if we decide the final results based on that answer alone, most fans and pundits will place him in a lower rank, but I have a feeling because of his favoritism status early on, it built up and helped him secure this lofty result.
THE MISTER INTERNATIONAL 2023: SPAIN - Jose Antonio Campos Calle. If we follow Spanish naming conventions, Calle is his mother's surname and Campos is his father's, and normally that would mean he should be known as Jose Campos for short, but he prefers to go by his mother's surname so his shortened name is Jose Calle. I'm intrigued by the reason behind this--is it because Campos is a very common surname and for him to stand out a bit he opted to use his mother's maiden surname? Or perhaps he's primarily raised by his mother with little connection to his father? Or is there any other reason? Anyway, his charisma is undeniable and all throughout the evening he was competing at a stratified level that all the rest had to keep up. So how did he fare in the interview rounds? His Top Eight topic was about lack of education, and as Norman translated his answer, it seems he is stating that education starts with the family, and with the help of family stressing the importance of education, it can open one up to possibilities. I don't know if Norman was able to properly translate the "lack of" part of the topic as it seemed slightly off-tangent, but could still be considered an acceptable answer as education is not necessarily about formal schooling but can be attained in what you have in your surroundings. For the final Q&A, from what I was able to pick up and did my own Google translate, he answered about conducting workshops and talks addressing social causes for the youth to be aware and act on as this is important for the youth to know, but Norman's app just botched it into incomprehensible gibberish that like ARGENTINA he forced this guy to repeat his message and still the app's output was still gibberish. It may not be as eloquent as what ARGENTINA potentially gave, and perhaps not as strong as JAMAICA, but it's still a solid enough answer and his victory was secured.
To be honest, the caliber of the answers delivered by the candidates in this contest pale in comparison to the Thai counterpart--though this group is the one who is more serious about causes and advocacy, the candidates didn't quite deliver the substance that the candidates from the Pradinunt group delivered. Though overall it's still a good pageant, there are a lot of things the Deldio group would need to improve upon so they can fully convince the world that they are the legitimate Mister International and not the other team. On Instagram, Manuel did mention addressing the winner that there will be challenges ahead. Do they have what it takes to be able to assert its prominence?
A few days after this pageant, the winner of Pradinunt's pageant visited Manila to support the conduct of Empire PH's The Miss Philippines and Mister Pilipinas Worldwide pageants, which were conducted jointly as The Filipino Festival. Manuel Deldio issued a cease-and-desist order attempting to prevent Thailand's Kim Thitisan Goodburn from making an appearance identified as the reigning Mister International, but it seemed to have fizzled as Kim still made an appearance identified accordingly as "Mister International" and displayed his sash at that. So why did it fizzle? Well, I think Deldio is no match to the owner of Empire PH, Jonas Gaffud, as he had cultivated friends in high places over the years that he can afford to ignore such legal orders. At most Jonas will probably pay Deldio a fine for this breach and it will likely only cost a pittance especially with Jonas's connections.
Besides the near-impeccable hosts, the biggest saving grace of this pageant was the finale, as the candidates performed the now traditional Victory Lift--it was the rowdiest, most enthusiastic celebratory lift I have witnessed. It was so fun and energetic as the winner was actually tossed upwards a total of seven times, as documented by Facebook user Muscle Unlimited in a reel. MEXICO initiated the lift by tackling the winner, and the others quickly joined in to lift and toss him. Considering the intensity of the tosses, it's amazing how SPAIN managed to hold on to his trophy and keep it intact as he was repeatedly tossed about. This moment created heavy buzz in the internet that it made this pageant generate a high profile over the web which the other party could no longer suppress.
Moving forward I will identify this pageant as Mister Internaional (Distinctively Handsome) and the other pageant as Mister International (New Era). Though the New Era group has the upper hand, the Distinctively Handsome group may still have life that they can remain viable (especially since it recently got a pan-African franchise deal so expect a multitude of candidates from that region next year). Of course, the dispute of who is the legitimate holder of the Mister International name remains unsettled (despite assertions of the opposite) but it makes for colorful fireworks ahead.
JUST ME!
JOSEPH
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