Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

IT’S A JOY in my life to be surrounded by beautiful people. Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of being invited to the birthday party of the exquisite Ms. Gloria "Bong" Dimayacyac-Nuguid. We all know her as 1983 Mutya Ng Pilipinas-Asia and Miss Asia Pacific Quest.

The soiree, held at the Pasadena home of the Nuguids, was like a hotspot for famous beauties of the 1980s. In attendance were 1984 Miss Universe 3rd Runner Up Desiree Verdadero-Abesamis, 1982 Miss Asia USA Gemma Hipolito-Javier, fashion model Cathy De Leon, and model Maribel Lastimosa-Steinmann.

Time has been kind to these women, I must say. After all these years, beautiful pa rin with fresh faces that still glow like pageant girls. It’s obvious that they take care of themselves.

Before Sunday, I’ve only been connecting with these women on Facebook. Being in the same room with them once again took me back to at least two decades during my pageant-mentoring days. With other friends such as Sonny Madera, Dave Tupaz, and Leo Baquiran, the beauties and I could not resist revisiting photo albums from when the women still had waist lines between 20 and 22 inches. Imagine that!

Amid flowing wine and delicious Thai food, we had a blast reminiscing about the heyday of the pageant industry.

It was really nice to catch up with old friends and know that they are leading happy, successful lives. The birthday girl Bong, one of the original models of my show Reflections, is now a busy mother of three and happily married to entrepreneur Victor Nuguid.

Another Reflections alum, Gemma Hipolito, was my discovery for the Miss Asia-USA pageant back in the day. She is my original anak and she still calls me "mother." We fondly recalled times when I would coach her on poise and how to walk.