Dion Trinidad
These beauty queens leave the competitiveness when they go off stage.
The highly anticipated 71st annual Miss Universe pageant finally kicked off in New Orleans over the weekend. Ninety beauty queens representing their countries from all over the world have gathered for the event, which the organization calls “the greatest celebration of women.”
Each show draws in both seasoned fans and curious newcomers, eager to see their country’s representatives, most especially the creative interpretations during the national costume, the segment that’s said to set apart the program the most.
This year’s pageant has proved to be an interesting one for Filipinos all around the world, who are known as the biggest Miss Universe fans, with the news that three contestants participating this year have Filipino blood. Besides Celeste Cortesi, who is representing the Philippines, R’Bonney Gabriel from the United States and Alicia Faubel from Spain are both also half-Pinoy and are quite connected to their Filipino roots.
Each queen is vying for a prize which includes a large sum of prize money, access to the Miss Universe apartment in New York City, and a trove of other benefits. With every contestant after the covetable prize package, it can be easy to assume tensions behind the scenes are high. Yet the girls are showing the world that they leave the competition onstage.
Offstage they’re bringing a glamorous new meaning to “girl’s night out.” In between their busy pageant schedule, the girls took some time off to enjoy a dinner at Brennan’s, a James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Finalist, and beignet’s from the famous Café Du Monde.
Like Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality, fans are delighted to see that when the lights go down, there’s nothing but the spirit of camaraderie and some incredible women coming together to show that the power of female friendships is unlike any other.
See the fun snaps the girls shared of each other on their social media below:
