‘Top model’ beauty

THE year 2010, so far, is a year defined by election and beauty pageant winners.

It’s been non-stop pageantry for 19-year-old Sharon Grace Angel who recently joined the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2010 court as its second runner-up winner.

As the Mutya ng Lapu-Lapu candidate, she easily won the Miss Photogenic Award from the same pageant, and is set to put her best high-heeled toe forward in the Top Model of the World competition that will take place in Greece early next year.

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Flying back and forth to Manila, while catching up with her studies—the Cebuana model is enthusiastic about her winning streak.

“Because of my Top Model of the World award, I’ll be flying to Manila for some photo shoots and fashion shows. And, I’m also set to do some more trainings to prepare myself for a hard competition in Europe,” Sharon shared in her weekend break in Cebu.

Standing tall, three inches shy from being a six-footer, the Spanish mestiza model has been a looker since she was barely a teenager. She has collected about 11 beauty pageant titles for herself, ever since she started as an intramurals muse in her high school. She has also been a familiar face in ramp and commercial modeling under the tutelage of designer and agent, Dexter Alazas. But it was not always rosy for this beauty titlist.

Early this year, things reportedly turned ugly between her and Miss Mandaue 2010 winner, Karina Gajudo, in the pageant. She finished as third runner up but days after the competition ended, she pressed charges against Karina for an alleged verbal and physical tousle that took place. But that chapter is over as far as Sharon is concerned.

“I already received my prizes right after we settled the case and everything turned out really okay and good,” she breaks her long silence about the controversy. And move on she will.

Sharon is setting sights for more national pageants, in a year or two. She is poised to join the Binibining Pilipinas competition and is all-too-willing to answer the Q&A portion in English.

She laughs off former Miss Universe, Gloria Diaz’s comment, with this burning response: “I definitely don’t agree with that statement! Cebuanos are known to be very good in speaking English than Tagalog. Cebu is not just the home of world-class beauties but intelligent and successful people as well.”

On the other hand, while she has not met Miss Universe 2010 fourth runner-up Venus Raj, she has expressed admiration for her fellow beauty queen. But if she were asked the same make-or-break question, her answer would be this: “I have committed a lot of mistakes in my life but I can no longer remember any particular mistake that I’ve done. I consider all those mistakes as a learning experience that made me a better and a stronger person.”