It was a long-standing issue that needed to be clarified.
In 1973, the 23rd Annual Miss World pageant was held at the Royal Albert Hall in England.
Fifty-four delegates vied for the crown, with Miss United States Marjorie Wallace emerging as the winner and 17-year-old Evangeline Pascual from the Philippines, as first runner-up.
However, Wallace was unable to complete her reign.
The pageant organizers stripped her of her title, stating that she “had failed to fulfill the basic requirements of the job.”
As one would expect, the title of Miss World should automatically be passed on to Pascual, being the first runner-up.
However, different stories about the outcome came out. Most of them said that the organizers did not offer the title to Pascual, only the duties of Miss World.
So when the beauty queen, artist, actress and radio host came to visit the Asian Journal NorCal office, we just had to ask – did the Miss World pageant deny her the title?
“They did, they did offer me the title, but hindi ko na naging priority so I did not accept the title anymore,” she said.
She continued to say that after Wallace got dethroned, she was asked by her father, the late Dr. Francisco Pascual Jr. (who was also her chaperone during the pageant), as well as former First Lady Imelda Marcos, if she wanted to take on the crown.
“Little did I know naman that it would go down in history. Sabi nga sa Manila, ‘She’s the only woman who refused to be crowned.’”
There were also speculations about prejudice during the 1973 pageant. Pascual noted that she was expected to win the crown, being the crowd and media favorite, especially during the coronation night.
However, there was no Asian in the panel of judges. Leading the panel was American actor, Gregory Peck.
Still, Pascual feels privileged and thankful for all her experiences, during her stint at the 1973 Miss World Pageant.
She said that she has moved on to do other things after the coronation night. She did movies at age 18, playing lead roles with big name stars like Fernando Poe Jr., Joseph Estrada and Ramon Zamora. She also fell inlove and got married at an early age and became a mother of three. She became a radio talk show host, artist, student and a grandmother.
She only has high respect for her mentor and discoverer, beauty impresario and Asian Journal entertainment columnist Ferdie Villar. Villar, who was the original franchise holder of Miss World in the Philippines, produced more candidates for Miss World.
When he decided to retire, the franchise went to the Mutya ng Pilipinas organization. However, the organizations was unable to provide suitable delegates.
Later on, the franchise was given to Binibining Pilipinas Charities, under the tutelage of Stella Marquez Araneta.
The Miss World franchise is now carried on by Cory Quirino, the granddaughter of former Philippine President Elpidio Quirino.
At present, Pascual’s life is still filled with passion for life. Aside from being a much-sought actress, she has a long-running radio talk show (which has been running for 17 years): Echoes of the Heart on DWIZ 882 kHz AM in the Philippines. She does radio counseling on the matters of love and life.
Aside from that, Pascual is also an artist. Her paintings became part of exhibits and were sold both in the Philippines and abroad.
She shared that she started painting 20 years ago, but describes this passion as her “silent side.”
“I don’t speak of them, I don’t discuss them. I only put them on canvasses. But little did I know that it would be of interest to many,” she said.
Pascual is also a student at the School of Theology in Ateneo de Manila University. She is a family counselor for the Center of Family Ministry (CeFaM). She was actually invited by a Filipino-American organization in Oakland to participate in a school project for her Migration Theology course -- covering the concerns of Filipino migrants in the United States.
However, in her long list of passions and achievements, what truly stands out is her being a mother and grandmother.
In fact, she was beaming with pride when she introduced her son, Nino and granddaughter Francesca, who was also with her during the interview. Nino (who is a tattoo artist) and his daughter are based in Oakland.
What's notable is that Evangeline Pascual was the closest the Philippines ever got to the coveted Miss World crown. Actress Ruffa Gutierrez only made it as a 2nd runner-up in 1993.
Yet, Pascual turned the opportunity down. Still, she has no regrets about her decision.
“It was a great privilege to be part of that experience, but after the winner was announced, I moved on to other beautiful things in life,” she said.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(Northern California Aug 5-11, 2011 SomethingFilipino pg.2)
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