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Sunday, June 11, 2006
Footnote to beauty
By Carmen Urbina
June is sailing full speed ahead and yet here we are, still writing about Santacruzan, a socio-cultural event associated with May.
Don’t worry. This is the last of the long series of flowery allusions to the religious-historical festival that features beautiful women.
The festival tells of the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena (Reina Elena), mother of Constantine the Great. Story has it that after the Holy Cross was found in Jerusalem, it was brought back to Rome where it was met with a joyful thanksgiving celebration.
So what better footnote to beauty than to say how fascinating it was to look at the hands of woman as she gestured to emphasize a point. Such slender fingers with oval-shaped nails unpainted. It impressed you, because the hands belonged to the reigning Ms. Bohol Sandugo and Bb. Pilipinas-World Ann Maris Igpit.
You always thought she would have scarlet, or at least, pink-tipped fingernails, and some airs but it was otherwise.
She, with the radiant smile, was the Reina Elena in Rotary Club Tagbilaran’s first Santacruzan, held at Bohol Cultural Center.
It was an event with a conscience. The proceeds from the grand gala went to the local club’s various socio-civic projects with the Village Aide Project, an Adopt- a-Village project with regular feeding medical consultation, and hospitalization programs as the main beneficiary.
Rotarian Rose Soy, the dynamic lady behind Asahi KankoTours & Travels, was the Reina Emperatriz but it was Igpit who stood out and with seeming unawareness of her beauty.
She was grace all the way—from laughing at herself when she recalled the tough pre-pageant screening of the Binibining Pilipinas tilt, to the little stories, like how she carefully chose her jeepeny rides while still a student in Cebu City.
Igpit chose the table where the media was seated, which gave us an opportunity to watch her eat. She is reed-slender but she seemed careful about portions, and took dainty bites of the inch-square cake and mound of macaroni salad.
Before she could finish her meal, a call was made for the grand gala to start.
There were 30 sagalas, or the other ladies, who traditionally depict historical, legendary, biblical and figmentary personalities. There were reinas de fuego, flores, mundo, vertudes, felicidad, esperanza, caritas, fe, justisya, samaritana, and musica.
The sagalas were said to have come from the crème de la crème of society and as a beautiful gesture, donated cash to Rotary’s project. Many of them had mestiza features, owing to mixed parentage. There is an influx of foreigners settling down in Tagbilaran.
With the entrance of Igpit at the end of the gala, all other beauties faded.
Only this grace in motion filled up the stage. One can’t find a better ending to the long month of May, which is unrelieved by one Santacruzan and another.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 11, 2006 issue)
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