She may not be currently wearing the Miss Universe 2010 crown, but Maria Venus Raj definitely made our country proud by bagging fourth place in the most anticipated beauty event of the year. After the horrendous series of events at the Quirino Grandstand, Venus gave most Filipinos a worthwhile diversion and a cheerful reason to celebrate Pinoy beauty and Pinoy pride in this year’s Miss Universe pageant, held in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
The dusky beauty carried out her role quite regally throughout the night, with even Donald Trump—owner of the Miss Universe Organization—noticing and telling reporter Dyan Castillejo, “Miss Philippines looks like she was born into royalty.” Flaunting her incredibly svelte figure in a studded periwinkle bikini in the preliminary swimwear competition of the pageant and later, in a slinky silver evening gown created by Colombian designer Alfredo Barazza (wonder why her gown wasn’t designed by a Filipino designer?), Venus was the embodiment of beguiling Filipina beauty.
Venus was one of the most applauded contestants during the show—the Philippine contingent cheered for her so loudly that the hosts of the show, Natalie Morales and Bret Michaels, were prompted to cheerfully comment on their very audible support. The question and answer part of the pageant, however, sealed her fate as a contender; her response did not merit the top spot in the competition. The last of the five finalists to go, she picked judge William Baldwin’s question: “What is one big mistake that you’ve made in your life and what did you do to make it right?”
“Thank you so much, Sir for that wonderful question,” she replied at first. She then followed up with: “You know what, Sir, in my 22 years of existence I can say that there is nothing major major, I mean, problem that I have done in my life. Because I am very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving to me. So, thank you so much that I am here, thank you thank you so much.”
She may have clearly fumbled, but that still didn’t stop the outpouring of love and support of Pinoys who are rooting for her. Twitter was abuzz with outbursts of cheers and support, and naturally, the fashion community was at the forefront of it all. Designer Rajo Laurel tweeted, “OMG!!!! Venus Raj!!!! I am shaking!!!!” when he found out that Venus made it to the top five, later tweeting “So very proud of you!!!! Miss VENUS RAJ!!!!” and mentioning that her answer was “very honest and truthful!”
Celebrity stylist Jenni Epperson, meanwhile, made light of Venus’s Q&A fumble, tweeting, “Everyone in the studio is in ‘Major, major’ mode—major, major lafang; major, major chika; major, major fashion,” but ended the post with “We major, major love VENUS!”
Former beauty queen Ruffa Gutierrez had a similar reaction, tweeting, “What would I answer if I was Venus? With my past mistakes i have sooo many 2 choose from. Mag-iisip muna ako in a MAJOR MAJOR way! LOL!
” A few minutes later she says, “Gosh naluma ang GRABE, OVER, CHORVA, BONGGA! The ‘IN’ word for today is ‘MAJOR, MAJOR’! Thanks 2 Venus Raj who captured our hearts! GO GIRL!”
So, yes, she definitely may not have bagged the top prize in the competition, but Venus still undoubtedly made our nation proud in a major way. And we have no doubt that even President Noynoy Aquino is proud of her!
![154364052-c63794b7acb0229bd7d12ca3f079214c.4c7dc8b8-scaled Venus meets President Aquino [Photo: Francis Toral (@francisbtoral) from his TwitPic account]](http://blogs.stylebible.ph/previewblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/154364052-c63794b7acb0229bd7d12ca3f079214c.4c7dc8b8-scaled-300x217.jpg)
Venus meets President Aquino [Photo: Francis Toral (@francisbtoral) from his TwitPic account
Congratulations, Venus!
Jae





































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