Roberta Tamondong’s Grand National Costume embodies The Philippines’ first beauty queen
Known for its loud and gimmicky nature, Miss Grand International’s National Costume Competition will surely be a memorable spectacle. With elaborate looks and larger than life performances, expect the contestants to go all out while representing their country with pride.
In her pursuit to win the country’s first golden crown, Roberta Tamondong have been nothing but consistent. Keeping her eyes on the prize, her national costume doesn’t only live up to the pageant’s opulent branding. It also demonstrates her goal in achieving a historical win.
Unang Reyna
It’s already a given fact how Filipinos love beauty pageants. It is a part of our culture and is deeply seeded in our history, dating back as far as during the American colonization.
If you don’t know, the first beauty pageant in the country wasn’t Bb. Pilpinas but rather the Carnival Queen Contest. The highlight of what was then known as the Manila Carnival, the contest was known for its extravagant and beautiful costumes.
It was this tradition and level of artistry that Roman Sebastian drew inspiration in creating Roberta’s national costume. Calling it ‘Unang Reyna’, it nods to the contest’s first ever winner, Purificacion “Pura” Villanueva.
In an Instagram post, Roman shares that the costume was created to serve as a symbol towards Pura. A major advocate towards the progression of every Filipina, Pura was a key figure in pushing for women’s voting rights.
Furthermore, he explains that:
The “First Queen” was created to honor the legacy of a girl, who used her fame to fight for women’s rights and become a feminist pioneer, leading the campaign for women’s suffrage in the Philippines. It also introduces contemporary audiences to the original Pinay beauty queen, who created a new prototype for the modern Filipina.
The costume is also a manifestation of Roberta’s pageant journey. As she pays tribute to the nation’s first beauty queen, the hope in witnessing her win as the country’s first MGI titleholder lingers ever so strong.
Following the design of what carnival queens typically wore before, it is intricately fused with a modern twist. Adorned with more than a thousand pearls, it incorporates MGI’s color scheme of Green and Gold.
Miss Grand International 2022 is currently underway in Indonesia with the finals taking place on October 25. With rumors flying that Miss Grand have already parted ways with Binibining Pilipinas, Roberta is giving her all to win. We just hope it doesn’t go unnoticed.
Congratulations to both Roberta and Roman for a show-stopping costume! We’re all with you in claiming that you will be our first golden queen. With the preliminary competition only days away, go get them!
