71ST MISS WORLD: AT THE HOMESTRETCH -- AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN (PART 2)

 

GUYANA - Andrea King.  There were some pageant fans and pundits who were so impresed with her appearance at the Opening Ceremony that they hyped her as a possible sleeper surprise.  However, since then she failed to figure in any fsat-track event and buzz about her dissipated quickly.  Could she still be able to impress the judges or will she end up an also-ran, at most a Holly Carpenter award candidate?

HAITI - Valierie Alcide.  With her shaved head, some might say she had the potential to make a standout impression in a looks-oriented competition like Top Model, but she didn't make any splash there--in fact, her blue designer dress could be described as a frumpy fizzle.  She failed to figurein any fast-track event so she is likely regarded as an also-ran.

HONDURAS - Yelsin Almendarez.  She's attractive, but she obviously has very little savvy in social media as she left her official page relatively threadbare, and it's obvious she lacks resources to make a standout impression.  

JAMAICA - Shanique Singh.  Considering her Indian ethnicity, she should've gotten a heads-up of the competition and win favor with the Indian host committee, right?  Plus she is a med student, and we know this pageant loves its doctors.  She made a very positive impression in the Openign Ceremony, but after that she failed to make a splash, and figure in any fast-track event, so it seems she's another possible Holly Carpenter contender..  It doesn't help that she lacks savvy on how to post her videos on her dedicated page, as she failed to post her BWAP and introduction videos on her main profile page, that you ahve to scroll through the BWAP and Life portions of the site to find them.

MARTINIQUE - Axelle René.  She has striking good looks that she reminds me a bit of Black Box frontwoman*2 Katrin Quinol.  Those striking good looks and superb catwalk and projection skills served her well that she was the deserving winner of the Top Model fast-track, and hence secured her slot in the Top 40.  It's possible she could make a play for the Top 12, but I don't think she possesses enough interview substance to make that leap.

*2 Note that I didn't say "singer" as the singer of all those hits was former Wather Girls singer Martha Wash.

MEXICO - Alejandra Díaz.  On the surface she seems to be a complete package like her predecessors befor her as she is good looking and a decent-enough communicator.  But she has failed to figure in any fast-track, and I'm afraid her book-reading BWAP project is not impressive or impactful enough for the MWO insiders that she seems to be another candidate for the Holly Carpenter award.

NICARAGUA - Mariela Cerros.  Of the members of the Central American contingent this year, this lady seems to have the prettiest face amongst them and the most material on the Miss World page.  But she only figured in Sports, which we know is a weak indicator of a contestant's overall Top 40 prospects.  Would she impress enough in interview to imitate her predecessor, the eventual reigning Miss Universe Sheynis Palacios?

PANAMA - Kathleen Pérez Coffre.  She stands out with her dark wavy hair but like NICARAGUA, her only fast-track highlight in this festival is making the shortlist in Sports.

PARAGUAY - Dahiana Benítez Gatzke..  She's a good-looking lady but she failed to figure in any fast-track event, and I'm not sure she made a standout impression with the MWO insiders and judges to be inserious contention for the Top 40.

PERU - Lucia Arellano.  There are several pageant fans and pundits who hyped her as a possible crown contender though she seemed a bit of a misfire early in her journey as she missed making the Top 25 in the Head-to-Head challenge.  However, she made up for it by making the shortlist in Top Model and placing 3rd overall in Sports.  Making the Top 12 is still a very strong possibility for her.

PUERTO RICO - Elena Rivera.  She is a gorgeous lady who probably only missed Top Model by very little, but at least she made the cut in the Head-to-Head challenge and was in the initial shortlist in Talent.  She seems to have an inside track to the Top 40.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Aché Abrahams.  There are many pageant fans and pundits who feel she has an inside track to be a crown contender as she has beauty, charisma, polished presence, superb communication skills, great social media engagement, and a strong advocacy for mental health.  Though I'm not wowed by her Opening Ceremony look, she soon made major splashes figuring in the Head-to-Head challenge, the first cut in Talent, and being one of the Top 10 BWAP finialists.  That last detail made me feel bullish about her prospects of becoming the top performer for this region, but there are certain formidable contenders from other regions who seemed to be closer in getting the blue crown within their grasps.

UNITED STATES - Victoria DiSorbo.  She's the first representative under Miss World 2021/22 1st runner-up Shree Saini's directorship, and she made an initial splash making the Top 25 in the Head-to-Head challenge and winning the designer dress award.  With Shree being designated as the social media correspondent for this pageant, would that help this lady make serious inroads into the Top 40?

URUGUAY - Tatiana Luna.  She seems not as polished as most other contenstants, so her making the shortlist in Sports should be deemed achievement enough for her.

VENEZUELA - Ariagny Daboín.  One would expect that a delegate from this highly touted pageant powerhouse would be making a major splash here, but like COLOMBIA and MEXICO, she failed to figure in any fast-track event.  I have a feeling she is one of the nominees for the Holly Carpenter award.

COMING UP:  AFRICA (ANGOLA to MAURITIUS)

71ST MISS WORLD: AT THE HOMESTRETCH -- AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN (PART 1)

This year, Miss World decided to revert back to the Continental format, but with a few tweaks:  for starters, the groupings are not only applicable to contestant introductions, but also apply to all fast-track events, most especially Sports, as each region is also the same as the team (unlike in previous editions where the teams are like a random hodgepodge).  Moreover the Americas and Caribbean were combined into one group.  This makes sense as the Caribbean is typically a small segment and the mainland Americas would normally be also small in relation to say, Europe, and since these regions belong to the same hemisphere, why not combine them into one group?  So does this mean that a Continental Queen for the Caribbean would not be awarded?  I have a feeling that this will still be awarded.

Typically this region would be considered a powerhouse containing a crown contender.  But I've observed that buzz seems muted for members in this group, and there was no-one from this group that had been dominating the fast-track events.

ARGENTINA - Mariela Fuchs.  She's an attractive contestant, but not enough to make a standout impression, and this is evident that she failed to figure in the shortlist of any fast-track event.  Would her lack of facility with English be a hindrance for her?

BELIZE - Elise Gayonne Vernon.  She is attractive, though my attention seems to be more focused with other lookers out there.  But she does seem th have a vibrant personality going for her, and she does regular updates on her webpage on the Miss World website and shared her background as a farmer and politician.

BOLIVIA - Fernanda Rivero.  This blonde makes a lot of regular updates on her page on the Miss World website, and she does have a decent command of English.  However, it seems a lot of her content is basically your typical Instagram-style outfit-for-the-day type of content with of course a smattering of her advocacies.  She hasn't made the shortlist in any fast-track event, so there is a sense that she is likely to be overlooked.

BRAZIL - Leticia Frota.  I find this brunette not as stunning as previous contenders fielded in this pageant, but she has got most of the bases covered that she is considered as having an inside track to the Top 40 and beyond.  She made the Top 25 in the Head-to-Head challenge, Top 20 in Top Model, and her BWAP project (on Hansen's disease) was deemed the top perfomer for the Americas after being shortlisted in the Top 10.

CANADA - Jaime Vandenberg.  She's well-spoken, so it's a bit of a surprise that she missed the Top 25 in the Head-to-Head challenge.  However, she made the shortlist in Sports and Top Model, and it's likely she will do well with the judges' interview and hence secure her Top 40 slot.

CAYMAN ISLANDS - Leanni Tibbets.  If this were Miss Universe, she would have been a potential "diversity" choice with her tomboy vibe (she's a pilot who tends to prefer wearing mannish clothes).  As progressive as this pageant has become especially with its emphasis on advocacy and female empowerment, I have a feeling they still prefer their contestants to exude a more feminine vibe.  She also obviously lacks polish in her presentation, but she has a redeeming feature with her solid communication skills and simpatico personality.

CHILE - Ambar Zenteno.  She has these angular patrician features that would've worked if she created a standout impression in, say, Top Model or if her advocacies piqued the attention of the judges and MWO insiders or if she makes for a memorable interview or has a compelling human interest story.  But her big highlight during this festival was being 1st runner-up in Sports, and with Sport being regarded as a "homely" fast-track, this historically has not been a good predictor of a contestant's prospects for making the Top 40.

COLOMBIA - Camila Pinzón.  There are pageant fans and pundits hyping this lady's Top 40 prospects, as they felt she covers all the bases with her documented her charity work in war-torn areas like Ukraine and Syria, plus her educational background studying in prestigious universities like France's Sorbonne and the UK's Cambridge, and her ability to speak seven languages.  So it's quite shocking that she failed to figure in any of the fast-track events.  Would her background and advocacies still impress the judges and MWO insiders enough to secure a Top 40 spot, or is she a front-runner for the Holly Carpenter award?

COSTA RICA - Krisly Salas.  She's a pretty face (with a mild passing resemblance to Miss World 2013 Megan Young) but she failed to generate a highlight and it seems her videos for her advocacies and introduction are missing or she failed to submit them.

CURACAO - Nashaira Balentien.  I find her good looking, polished, and well-spoken, but she didn't seem to impress the judges and MWO insiders that she failed to figure in any fast-track event.  For me she's a potential Holly Carpenter award candidate.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Maria Victoria Bayo.  Like COSTA RICA, she has a facial resemblance to Megan Young, if she has a more statuesque, athletic frame, as she touts her background as a volleyball athlete and her BWAP project is linked to sports.  But interestingly, she missed making the shortlist in that fast-track--she did make it to Top Model, which most pundits feel tends to be a good predictor for finishing in the Top 40, and with that her Top 40 prospects are very strong.

ECUADOR - Annie Zámbrano.  She has a passing resemblance to Miss World 2001 1st runner-up Zizi Lee from Aruba, but she seems neither as polished nor as vibrant as Zizi during her Miss World stint*1 and hence as expected failed to make any standout impression.

*1  She later competed at Miss Universe 2004 but her vibrancy seemed dissipated by the time she made it there.

EL SALVADOR - Andrea Aguilar.  She is good looking and seemed a good communicator, especially since she is currently residing in the US, but she doesn't seem to have much resources or support as her page on the website is threadbare, and hence she failed to figure in any fast-track challenges.  With the proper support, she has potential.

GUADELOUPE - Marie Hatchi.  She has an attractively exotic vibe, but obviously doesn't qute make an impression of being a serious contender for the Top 40.  But she at least delivered a highlight durign this festival as she made the shortlist in Sports.

GUATEMALA - Marcela Miranda.  She deployed her extensive background in gymnastics (she'[s only 19 years old but reported to have been a gymnast for 13 years) to make a splash in the two "homely" fast-tracks of Sports and Talent, with the latter she was given the opportunity to showcase in the BWAP Gala.  Like EL SALVADOR, she lacks support and resources, but at least she had these highlights to remember by.

COMING UP:  GUYANA to VENEZUELA

71ST MISS WORLD: AT THE HOMESTRETCH -- PROLOGUE

After Karolina Bielawska's victory at the postponed 70th Miss World pageant, it was decided that they allow Karolina to reign for the full 2022 and make plans for the 2023 edition.  It was initially announced that the United Arab Emirates will be the host of the pageant, but it seems talks fell through in the end, and India stepped in as host.  Initially, they scheduled the pageant for November 2023, but supposedly some political considerations (ongoing elections, supposedly) had to be made that caused the pageant to be postponed further to March of this year.

There wree supposedly 117 contestants that were expected to arrive, but we only got hold of info for 116 of them.  And of those 116, four ended up not making it to India.

ALBANIA - Endi Demneri.  Reportedly, she almost made it to India to compete after settling her visa issues, but she had one big obstacle preventing her from going to India--she carries a Kosovo passport, and India doesn't recognize that country.  Reportedly she'll compete in the next edition of Miss World instead.

LAOS - Phonevilai Luanglath   She was the first confirmed candidate to send her regrets that she would not make it to the competition, as reportedly there was a death in her family.  

LATVIA - Anastasija Ivanova.  She seems to be an attractive woman who doesn't seem to have enough support or resources that she didn't quite update her site and her social media, and she emerged as a no-show.

ZAMBIA - Natasha Mapulanga.  This lady was the second to confirm she won't make it, mainly because of lack of resources to fly to India and compete on top of visa issues.

There were some fresh tweaks to the fast-track format this year that most especially affected the Head-to-Head challenge.  Instead of a video series where we see a roundtable of contestants being interviewed and then we see their intro videos, the Head-to-Head challenge is now determined by the contestants submitting videos about their commitments for te UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)--a concept that seems to be borrowed from Miss International as the latter has been hyping this for the past two editions.  There is also seems to be a focus of promoting the Miss World website itself, as most of the material cn be found there.  We don't see that many Miss World videos on YouTube anymore, and neither do we see a brrage of updates on Facebook and Instagram as in previous editions, though there would still be some material shown on those platforms.

The final roster of 112 contestants were organized by continents throughout their stay in India--but this time, the Caribbean region is integrated into the Americas so they formed one group.  Asia & Oceania are also combined into one group, especially since Oceania is only represented by two countries, and Africa and Europe are obviously separate contingents.  It makes for a very logical grouping, if you ask me, and I wouldn't mind this format to be maintained in subsequent editions.  So how are the contestants like and how well they performed in the challenges?  Well, read on...

MISS EARTH 2023 "FEARFUL" FORECAST

I apologize that I wasn't able to do a full-fledged review of last year's Miss Earth pageant.  So let me do a brief recap of last year's pageant before I proceed with this year.  First, it was a welcome treat to see the pageant return to a live format (although it had a bunch of virtual pre-activities prior to the series of live activities in the Philippines).  The pageant final had high entertainment and production values.  The choice of Top 20 turned out to be a great looking lot, though there were a bunch of surprises.  But as the creamiest of the crop emerged, it was mostly the ones that gotten heavy buzz.  For the elemental queens, I got three of the four correct, and as I expected the superb commnication skills by Korea's Mina Sue Choi and Australia's Sheridan Morlock helped them pull away and garner the top two crowns of Miss Earth 2022 and Miss Earth-Air 2022 respectively.  Colombia's Andra Aguilera (who finished in the Top 13 at Miss World 2021/22 and should not be mistaken with the reigning Miss Supranational from Ecuador who shares the same name) was very charismatic all throughout and gave the biggest impact in the evenign gown round with her fuchsia ballgown, but in the Final Four round gave the relatively weakest answer so she ended up as Miss Earth-Fire, and the one I didn't get (but was always on my radar as I rated her a shoo-in), Palestine's Nadeen Ayoub rose and ganrered Miss Earth-Water.  This is what I call a babelicious elemental court, with all members renowned for their facial beauty--only the courts of 2004, 2005, 2019, and 2020 would fit this distinction.

Miss Earth 2022 Elemental Court:  Miss Earth-Air Australia (Sheridan Morlock), Miss Earth 2022 Korea (Mina-Sue Choi), Miss Earth-Water Palestine (Nadeen Ayoub) and Miss Earth-Fire Colombia (Andrea Aguilera)

For this edition of this pageant, they did still maintain a hybrid format, with virtual pre-activities prior to almost a month of activities at the ultimate venue--Vietnam.  This is the second time Vietnam hosted this pageant and only the third time that the pageant is held outside the Philippines.*1  The delegates were treated to a cultural immersion combined with environmental activities that is a hallmark of tis pageant.

*1 Vietnam previously played host in 2010.  In 2015, Austria was the host.

Miss Earth delegates at the welcome party, Xin Chao Vietnam.

Due to transitioning to a new career, I wouldn't have time to do a Homestretch Review for this pageant, so instead like Miss Universe, I'll do a Delegates' Review with a full-fledged finals review afterwards.  Anyway, I have to salute thsi pageant for consistency as they never went below the 80s level in terms of number of delegates since 2005.  In fact, this year, it slightly exceeded Miss Universe's roster as it drew 85 delegates.  That roster could have been 87, but two delegates failed to show up in Vietnam.

AUSTRIA - Zoe Müller.  This country had three placements between 2013 and 2018, bookended by Miss Earth-Air finishes in those two aforementioned years.  They seemed to be back in the pageant doldrums since then, and this lady, if she made it to Vietnam, would likewise miss the cut.

PANAMA - Nicold Castillero.  She participated in some of the virtual activities prior to the Vietnam leg, so it's a wonder why she ended up a no-show in Vietnam.  The Miss Earth Facebook page still featured a picture of her in their roster, and probably hoping against all hope that she'll show up in the preliminary competition, but to no avail.

Now, here's my take on how the 85 delegates of Miss Earth 2023 stack up in my leaderboard:

TOP CONTENDERS:  ALBANIA, NETHERLANDS, PHILIPPINES, THAILAND, 

SHOO-INS:  BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, MONGOLIA, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH AFRICA, VIETNAM, 

LIKELIEST:  BELGIUM, BULGARIA, CANADA, CHILE, CROATIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, ENGLAND, ETHIOPIA, FRANCE, GREECE, INDIA, INDONESIA, MADAGASCAR, MALAYSIA, MAURITIUS, MEXICO, MYANMAR, NAMIBIA, NEPAL,  PARAGUAY,  POLAND, PORTUGAL, RUSSIA, SLOVENIA, SOUTH SUDAN, SPAIN, UKRAINE, VENEZUELA, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE

INTELLIGENCE/ADVOCACY FACTOR:  AUSTRALIA, BELIZE, DENMARK, GHANA, KENYA, NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, U S A, U S VIRGIN ISLANDS

EXCELLENT:  ARGENTINA, ARMENIA, BANGLADESH, BELARUS, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, CAMBODIA, CUBA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, GERMANY, HONDURAS, IRELAND, JAPAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KOREA, LAOS, NIGERIA, NORWAY, REUNION ISLAND, ROMANIA, SERBIA, SRI LANKA, WALES

VERY STRONG:  CAMEROON, CHINA, HAITI, KOSOVO, LIBERIA, MONTENEGRO, NORTHERN MARIANAS, PAKISTAN, PALESTINE, SIERRA LEONE, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, 

STRONG:  BOLIVIA, PERU, 

And now, my "Fearful" Forecast:

ELEMENTAL QUEENS:  ALBANIA, NETHERLANDS, PHILIPPINES, THAILAND

TOP EIGHT:  BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, PUERTO RICO, VIETNAM

TOP 12:  INDIA, MONGOLIA, PORTUGAL, SOUTH AFRICA

TOP 20:  BULGARIA, CANADA, INDONESIA, MADAGASCAR, MALAYSIA, PARAGUAY, SOUTH SUDAN, ZAMBIA

BUBBLING UNDER:  BELGIUM, CHILE, CROATIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, ENGLAND, ETHIOPIA, FRANCE, GREECE, MAURITIUS, MEXICO, MYANMAR, NAMIBIA, NEPAL,  POLAND, RUSSIA, SLOVENIA, SPAIN, UKRAINE, VENEZUELA, ZIMBABWE

STRIKING DISTANCE:  ARGENTINA, ARMENIA, AUSTRALIA, BANGLADESH, BELARUS, BELIZE,  BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, CAMBODIA, CUBA, DENMARK, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, GERMANY, GHANA, HONDURAS, IRELAND, JAPAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KENYA,  KOREA, LAOS, NEW ZEALAND, NIGERIA, NORWAY, REUNION ISLAND, ROMANIA, SERBIA, SINGAPORE, SRI LANKA, U S A, U S VIRGIN ISLANDS, WALES

I remember in previous years how the Americas were prominently featured in the elemental court.  But tis year, it seems to be a battle between Europe and Asia.  Could it go to a blonde (or strawberry blonde) European stunner like ALBANIA (Drita Ziri) or the NETHERLANDS (Noa Claus) or can it go to an Asian like the PHILIPPINES (Yllana Aduana) or THAILAND (Nicole Bliault) or maybe even the host country VIETNAM (Do Thi Lan Anh).  Will there be another shocking shut-out, and what surprises may be in store?

JUST ME!

JOSEPH