Jimmy's Pageant Page at Miss Universe 2002

JPP at Miss Universe 2002

ĄSALUDOS DE LA ISLA DEL ENCANTO!

May 31, 2002: Well. What a night.

Puerto Rico was a phenomenal host, there's no doubt about that. The warmth of the people (and the warmth outside) really made this an unforgettable time. Woo!

Who knew I picked six of the ten? For what it's worth, I'm pretty happy with that. And now ... on to the dirt.

The colisseum was almost sold out - but not entirely - as the show got under way. I was up in the first balcony, and there were folks from Costa Rica, Antigua & Barbuda and, of course, Puerto Rico within sneezing distance of me. The atmosphere was literally electric. Fifteen minutes before showtime, Scott Grossman walked on stage and warmed up the audience, reminding us not to approach the judges, to stay in our seats for the whole two hours, and to support all the delegates, even if "our girl" didn't make top ten.

The pre-taped opening number looked amazing as I saw it for the second time (it was also played at dress rehearsal), and all 75 delegates came out and waved at the crowd. (By the way, for the dress rehearsal, no one had informed Miss Bahamas that she had been filed under THE Bahamas in the opening video, and she had stood in her usual spot with the Bs. Very gracious, she stepped back and took her place despite the fact she didn't get the fact to wave to the audience. For the finals, she knew what to do.)

The announcement of the top ten is, naturally, the first big moment. Albania garnered some polite applause, but you could see people's faces saying "Uh oh", as if they knew that with just this one woman, there would be some surprises. The crowd was squarely behind Russia, South Africa and Venezuela all night, and there were no surprises with them. I had a fit when Canada was announced in the ten, and I waved my damn flag like there was no tomorrow. Of course, I don't have a voice left, either.

There's not much to say about the show, since you all saw it on television, so I can pretty much skip the rest of the commentary except for a few tidbits. When Puerto Rico was not called in the top ten, the largely boricua crowd was obviously disheartened - not to mention the 500+ people who came to cheer for Dominican Republic and the 200-strong contingent from Colombia, but the audience was most supportive all night. I passed my neighbour a little Canadian flag to wave upon her request, and a splitsecond later I had about 50 people yelling for flags! It was, as you can guess, an awesome feeling. I handed out about 100 flags for the folks around me, some of which were signed by Neelam. Whe she won, Russia got a loud standing ovation from the crowd.

The coronation ball was a fiasco, pure and simple. There was less than thirty minutes of free drinks, and over 2000 people crammed into the Plaza Las Americas shopping center (which is huge and gorgeous, by the way). Only a small section of the main floor was open for the event, which makes total sense, but I imagine the organizers had not anticipated so many people. What complicated matters is that tickets for the ball only went on sale the day before at Ticket Center in San Juan, and were sold out quickly...however, more tickets were available at the door. Oops.

The delegates arrived around 12:15 AM and were not permitted to leave a roped off area in front of the Macy's Department Store. Most media were also not permitted to enter, and the public certainly was not. So, for the fans and even the city elite who paid to get into the ball, all they got was a chance to stand for a few hours, with possibly a few glimpses of the delegates. Only the delegates could let people into the roped-off area, and the security guards were extremely rude about it. Mauritius was asked three times by a very arrogant guard if the guy she was letting in really knew her. Obviously, these people have to do their jobs, but come on. Dominican Republic, Canada, Egypt, Netherlands, Mauritius, Peru and Venezuela were among the girls who wandered over to the seven-deep wall of fans that surrounded the delegates' area and posed for photos for about five minutes each, and signed autographs for a lot people. There were a ton of kids with their little chins resting on the barriers looking very forlorn that they couldn't meet their favourite delegates.

Once Neelam arrived, she came and let her friends and family into the area, where we all had the chance to mingle with the delegates. Venezuela's aunt, who I'd met on several occasions, tapped me on the shoulder then gave me a big hug. We chatted for a few minutes until she pulled me over to see Cynthia's mom, who hugged me fiercely, said she was really happy for her daughter, and invited me to visit them in Caracas.

I chatted with South Africa who didn't leave her parents' side all night, except to snap photos with fans. She was visibly sad, however Vanessa told me that though she was a bit disappointed that she didn't win, Russia was "an amazing choice for the winner". When wished her good luck in Miss World, she said to me, "Oh, I won't be going this year." A question mark appeared above my head, and she simply said "It's politics." Hmm! It's really too bad, she was glittering, beautiful and giving the whole time in San Juan.

Many delegates were absent from the ball, but it's fair to say there's no specific reason for anyone's absence; all the prizewinners received their trophies at the colisseum right after the show on stage. All in all, the delegates present were visibly having a good time, and posed for a billion photos.

The Donald showed up and his handlers literally pushed people out his path. Some brunette woman, one of his cronies, screamed at a fan taking a picture and ordered him to stop. Nu? Anyway, on the plus side, The Donald stopped to congratulate several delegates and did pose for photos with them and their families; I didn't see how the brunette reacted.

On to the airport. Several contestants were out and about first thing in the morning, all visibly tired. Czech Republic, Belgium and Canada were all on the same flight with me to Newark.

And so ends one fan's Miss Universe odyssey. Folks, my credit cards are maxed out and I have a chest cold, but there's nothing more exciting than seeing one of your favourite spectacles up close. It's all very much worth the time, money, energy and sunburn to attend a pageant. I highly recommend it all the way, and I hope to meet some of you in Panama!

Best wishes to you all - hope you enjoyed the coverage!

May 28, 2002 (well, really just past midnight on May 29): Hellllooooooo pageant fans!

First, a quick bit of protocol: many of you have sent me some lovely e-mails, and thank you so much for them. They are much appreciated! As tomorrow is going to be a super-long day, and since I actually have to get up early (i.e. before noon), I won't have a chance to write back within the next 24 hours - but I'll definitely get back to you when I get home from San Juan.

You all can guess what today featured...gobs and gobs (and gobs) of rehearsals. The complete show was run-through a few times, and each set was done twice before they proceeded to the next one. Brook, Daisy and Phil (look at me, referring to them as if I know them) were all present today and were in good form. Daisy is in her usual upbeat spunky spirits and you can look for her to be doing the top 5 interviews. Denise Quinones showed up around 5:00 PM, and she was whisked through security while talking on her cell phone. A few people approached her for autographs, but they were brusquely sent away by a chaperone.

Two parties took place today: Puerto Rico's delegation hosted a beach party for family, friends and fans (FFF) of Isis, while the new Puerto Rican director, Magali Febles, hosted a shindig for national directors tonight.

Bulgaria, Venezuela, Slovak Republic, Estonia and Mauritius were the mock top 5, and they all went through the motions of answering their on-stage questions. Daisy read one question from a card, while the second question was plucked from the infamous bowl (this year, it's really a silver urn on a stand). These second questions were all written by other delegates, so you'll see the same thing as we did at Miss USA in this respect. When these girls will announced for the mock top five, they all had varying over-the-top reactions. Venezuela, of course, was the most "glamourous", brushing away fake tears and hugging herself, then proceeding to high-five Bulgaria and toss her hair sexily. (Is sexily even a word? Well, it is now.) It was very cute. You can always count on Cynthia for a few laughs!

Mark Anthony arrived last night in San Juan with Dayanara Torres and their son in tow. He did not perform in the rehearsals today, but his equipment was hauled in, installed, then uninstalled and shipped offstage twice for the crew to perfect their timing. They're doing a great job.

Even more promo material on the delegates is making the rounds among the FFF at the colisseum. Friends and directors of Dominican Republic, Bolivia and Canada were busy passing out posters, model cards and photos for part of the afternoon.

I had a long chat with Richard Guy of GuyRex this afternoon and he says that after his many years with Miss Texas USA, California USA, World America and World United States, that he really had no intention of jumping back into the pageant world, but he's tremendously enjoyed himself this year. The Donald actually asked him and Rex in late 2000 to be involved with last year's event, but he declined. He says that should he continue, he may be interested in pursuing something a little more organizational, especially working with the prize package. (It's fair to note that Miss Texas USA in the late 1980s received more cash and prizes than this year's Miss Universe...!)

Okay lovelies, I guess it's time for my top ten prediction. I hate making these lists, but let's just go for it and see what happens. Upon some super quick reflection, I quite like my choices...but then again, everyone likes their choices. Here goes nothing:
Top ten: Venezuela, South Africa, Russia, Estonia, Dominican Republic, Curacao, China, France, Germany and Canada.

My dark horses-slash-alternates are Netherlands, USA, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Korea, Turkey, Croatia, Colombia and Jamaica. Tomorrow, the dress rehearsal takes place at noon, and should end promptly just before two. After that, a mass exodus from the colisseum should be expected, so I'm going to book my taxi now. Showtime is, of course, at 9:00 PM, and everyone will be seated by 8:30 PM.

Some quick notes on what to expect during the "down-time" of the telecast:
--Canada and USA will be speaking about their fitness regimens, while the usual water sports-fun video plays side-by-side.
--China is among the delegates who talks about competing in their national pageants.

And now, Ms. Lupita Jones needs to use the computer, so off I go. This will likely be the last update until Thursday, but I will do my utmost to squeeze one in after the dress rehearsal. (I'm sure I'll have time.) Until tomorrow, queridos....

May 27, 2002: I had a chance to peruse about three message boards today and I thank all of you for your kind words about the coverage. I've had a blast here in San Juan, and just like the rest of you, I love to read all about the show; to give back a little bit is just awesome for me. To those of you who feel like being difficult, it's completely within your right...but someone on the American Beauty board said it best - I never pretended this was hard journalism... this is just for fun. I've been very fortunate to be involved with a lot of events here in San Juan just in the last few days, but of course, my comments are not all-encompassing. And I've never fibbed, hid the truth, or outright lied. I'm having too much fun to do that, and besides...hello, I'm a fan too. Remember The Lion King, folks - HAKUNA MATATA...no worries!

So, as Milly from Primera Hora says, let's get down to the "gueri-gueri" (gossip):

--All the national directors made their way to the rehearsal by the early afternoon for their meeting tonight, which was (apparently) held at the colisseum. They are supposed to go out for a big ol' dinner afterwards.
--Primera Hora interviewed several journalists in town to cover the pageant, and reports that six girls figure on everyone's lists. The first two, Russia and South Africa have the best chance of winning; these two were in a tie for the winner, based on the journalists' top ten lists. Four more girls, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Canada and China. The remaining four spots were typically split between Germany, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic, Israel, Korea, Nigeria, Spain, Colombia and Curacao. Interesting stuff! Check out Primera Hora's web site for more. Click on Asi in the top tab or Primera Fila on the left menu. It's very interesting that despite the Latin-centric media in Puerto Rico, and because virtually all of the media in the area for the last few days has been from Latin America, they themselves only picked two Latin girls as shoo-ins.
Puerto Rico is still attracting a ton of attention in the press, however her star is fading slightly. I like Isis a lot: she's very articulate, and has beautiful skin and a great figure, but she is missing...something. I would like to see her in top ten...however, I feel she may not make it, frankly. Several people I've talked to from around the world who have been presenting their lists of ten to me agree. However - let's wait and see what happens.
--It was indeed another tedious day of rehearsals for the delegates. Venezuela translated all the instructions from English to Spanish for the delegates who needed some interpretation. The colisseum was mostly empty for a better part of the day, likely since many press were off interviewing Daisy Fuentes and Phil Simms at a hotel downtown.
--Speaking of Daisy, she went straight from the press conference to the colisseum to begin her rehearsals for her hosting duties. She's doing a bang-up job already: she just jumped right in and was the same fresh, kicky person we remember from her work in 1994 and 1995.
--Neither Brook Lee or Denise Quinones were present in rehearsal today after all.
--On the second floor of the colisseum, a "Queen Room" was inaugurated in honour of Anna Santiesteban, who directed the Miss Puerto Rico Pageant from the 1960s until 1998. (Her pageant from 1996-1998 picked the rep for Miss International after the Miss Universe franchise was bought by another organization which has since lost it.) Dozens of photographers and videographers were present for the inauguration.

I'd like to say for the record that I would love to see Netherlands in the top ten. She's glamourous, beautiful, thoughtful, very outgoing and a true lady. She was quite good at the presentation show and has a wonderful personality ... she very well could be a surprise.

I'll send more as soon as I can. There really isn't too much to report today since rehearsals were, frankly, dull. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail.

May 26, 2002: Loooooooong day for the delegates today, folks. I sat at rehearsals for over seven hours and the contestants still had a few hours to go after I headed off at 9:30 PM. Fans, friends and family (FFF) were out in full force today.

Lupita Jones made an appearance for a few hours, and gave Mexico a pep talk of sorts. Lupita looked lovely today - great make-up and hair.

Several mock top 10s were called as the directors and television staff went through the intricicies of the final show. The first was Australia, Russia, Ireland, Ecuador, Brazil, Kenya, Dominican Republic, Northern Marianas, Estonia and Spain. The second was Bulgaria, Venezuela, Aruba, Slovak Republic, Estonia (again), Honduras, Peru, Curacao, Thailand and Mauritius.

Big note, folks: The format of the show is slightly changing. After the contestants' introductions (pre-taped), the girls will all appear on-stage for the top ten announcement. Following that, there will be a little modeling show just like the one at Miss USA. Afterwards... IT'S EVENING GOWN TIME! That's right, the top 10 will compete in evening gown first, then swimsuit. Interesting ....! Another important piece of info: ONLY THE AVERAGE SCORES WILL BE SHOWN - not each judge's individual scores!

Some tidbits from today's rehearsals:
--The chaperones headed out around 5:00 PM for another marathon meeting about the delegates.
--Most of USA's family were at the rehearsal today. One of Shauntay's family members has a friend in Puerto Rico is hosting a party in her honour later this week, which she, of course, cannot attend. But it's still a pretty nice sentiment. The Miss USA state director from D.C. was also present today.
--Miss Philippines World and Miss Philippines International were both at today's rehearsal. The ladies graciously posed for photos from pageant fans and appeared to enjoy themselves.
--Many of the girls were exhausted halfway through rehearsals today. Several napped on the folding chairs on the west side of the colisseum.
--El Salvador, Ecuador, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica all joked with each other for a good portion of the afternoon. For the swimsuit competition, the A-F contestants are all bunched together downstage left, so these Spanish-speaking contestants were all laughing together all evening.
--Aruba taught some of the girls how to count in Mandarin, much to the delight of China.
--Photographer Don Seidman has set up a booth to sell some amazing photos which he has taken of the delegates over the past two weeks. Each folder has about 200 photos. The most wanted pics? Mexico, who had about fifteen left as of this afternoon. Germany and Venezuela are also highly sought-after.
--Venezuela is a total joker. Sweden had her video camera, and when it was pointed right at Cynthia, she clucked like a chicken, complete with head bob and elbows stretched out as wings. Mmhmm!

The stage is quite dull looking in the stadium but the entire set-up looks absolutely stunning on television. There's a large hook-up above downstage left with water pouring out of a large horizontal column into a pool below. A plexiglass walkway was constructed over the pool, and there's a fake (but nice looking) brick wall next to the pool which has a doorway. For the swimsuit competition, the contestants will exit stage left through this door and onto the stage, walking over the plexiglass ... so it looks like they're walking on water. Very cool.

Over the course of the afternoon and evening, all the delegates had a chance to see and practice at least one of the phases of competition.

From the front, here are the latest predictions:
Israel, Greece, Ghana are now out of most people's top ten lists. I heard from a national director that both India and Dominican Republic were extremely unhappy with their interviews, which has caused a few people to remove especially India from their lists of ten. USA is still in many lists - she does look like an American Gladiator in comparison to almost all of the girls because of her extremely muscular figure, however she has one of the absolute best walks among all the girls. South Africa is the pick of many, many people to take it all, including myself. Regulars in literally everyone's list of ten still include South Africa, China, Russia, Venezuela and USA. The dark horse who is attracting tons of attention is Estonia - she is picking up a lot of steam with her excellent stage presence and radiant beauty. Croatia, Philippines, France, Canada and Switzerland are also attracting a lot of attention and are appearing on many top ten lists. Colombia and Mexico are now question marks for many people, especially since both looked extremely nervious during the preliminary swimsuit competition.

Announcer Brook Lee and hosts Daisy Fuentes and Phil Simms will be at rehearsal tomorrow, along with Denise Quinones. Daisy Fuentes will be doing a lot of what Todd Newton did last year and what Ali Landry did at Miss USA - chatting with the girls backstage.

Good night from San Juan ... more tomorrow!

Quick update for May 25, 2002: here's some dish.

Yesterday afternoon around 3:45, after the prelim show rehearsal finished, all the delegates were instructed to change into their swimsuits. They were sent in three groups of twenty-five to a seperate room at the colisseum - where the preliminary judges were waiting for them! The judges sat and observed each delegate in their swimsuit, presumably looking for healthy, fit bodies and the always difficult-to-assess poise. And that was that. As soon as I find out more on this, I will let you know.

The television producers and directors started the tedious task of rehearsals for the final show today. The delegates will have an extremely long day tomorrow, especially those with the interviews: they wrap up at 11 PM on Sunday.

Univision Puerto Rico (channel 11 in San Juan) will be showing a special on Isis and Denise on Sunday at 9 PM. The prelims will be broadcast on the same channel Monday at 8 PM.

For the Canadians out there, Neelam reports that her interview went extremely well. The judges had so many questions but ran out of time. She sends everyone sincere thanks for all of your support and good wishes.

May 25, 2002 - Today, twenty delegates headed off, bright and early at 7 AM, for their interviews. Aruba looked stunning in green pants and a flower top, Canada wore a red silk suit, Brazil looked stunning, Colombia was wearing a white suit with a LOT of gold necklaces and bracelets. A few hours later, a second group headed off for their interviews while the first group met with the remaining delegates at the colisseum for rehearsals.

Some tidbits of general interest:
--Germany has a mountain of family and friends in from both her country and Venezuela. Her contingent and Colombia's have been mixing together for the last several days. Dominican Republic has the largest number of fans in San Juan to support her, aside from the host nation.
--France is currently writing a book about her year as Miss France which she plans on having published immediately upon the conclusion of her reign. She brought this up when I asked her if she had read the moderately-scandalous autobiography by Sophie Thalmann (Miss France 1998), to which she replied, "But of course. And tell everyone there will be a big chapter devoted to my time at Miss Universe." So look for that one around January 2003...!
--Some of the girls with the most charming personalities are Netherlands, Mauritius, Namibia, Singapore, Philippines, USA and Venezuela. All are extremely outgoing and have made a ton of friends throughout their time at the pageant.
--As you can tell by their Internet pages, there was ample coverage of the preliminary show by all the major papers in San Juan (except for the only English-language daily, The San Juan Star). They all report that they'll have even more preliminary show coverage tomorrow.
--Speaking of the preliminary show, Denise Quinones did a wonderful job hosting alongside the very talented Carlos Ponce.
--At the end of the preliminary show, all the girls returned on stage in their evening gowns and waved to the crowd while almost seventy photographers jostled for positions at the base of the stage. Most were pushed back slightly by the ample police force. I was lucky enough to scoot up to the edge of the stage quickly, and while dancing along to the high-pitched opening number music, Carlos Ponce pointed right at me and nudged Denise, who smiled and blew me a kiss. Que reina! For a little peon fan and producer from Canada, that means a lot.

--And of course, U.S. Virgin Islands won Miss Congeniality last night. Funny: Thursday night, two contestants told me that they expected her to win, because she is without a doubt the funniest and most outgoing in the whole bunch. Miss Photogenic was not announced.

May 24, 2002 - The presentation show was a great success tonight. Lasting over 3 1/2 hours, it was a fantastic night all around which saw a few frontrunners crumble, and some unspoken beauties work their way towards the top. The show started later than planned (probably acceptable since it is not being televised live this year, rather by tape delay on Monday night), but Scott Grossman and his assistant choreographer, Marco de la Cruz, have done a fantastic job. It looks sensational - I think you'll all be pleased come Wednesday!

The press was out in full force... Milly Caguliano (sp) from Primera Hora was out among the front-row gala crowd before the show. Many ticketholders were able to move down towards the front, as the colisseum had only sold about 60% of the seats for the prelims, and most of the $225 seats were empty in the left side of the arena. (The finals, however, are sold out.)

Pageant fans and friends were swarming the colisseum several hours before the show. Panama, Aruba and Colombia had family passing out glossy photo cards featuring their contestants. Colombia also had a swarm of people in beautiful t-shirts, all with huge flags. Mexico, Venezuela and Dominican Republic had the loudest out-of-town contingents. Julio Rodriguez of Belleza Venezolana says I won the Best National Costume prize with my huge Canadian flag down my back, stickers on my cheeks and Lana Buchberger's Miss Universe sash around my neck. Hey, if you have do something, why not go all out? :)

So, queridos amigos, after scoring all the contestants, this is JUST my top 15 in each competition. This, of course, doesn't take interview into consideration. In order from first to fifteenth, they are:
SWIMSUIT - Curacao 9.70, South Africa 9.70, Germany 9.69, Puerto Rico 9.68, Dominican Republic 9.65, Cayman Islands 9.61, Russia 9.61, China 9.60, Jamaica 9.60, Mexico 9.60, Turkey 9.60, Venezuela 9.59, USA 9.58, Canada 9.56, France 9.56.
RIGHT behind them: Estonia, Greece, Honduras, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Switzerland.

EVENING GOWN - Russia 9.80 (despite a teenage-ish gown, she looked absolutely flawless), Venezuela 9.80, Korea 9.78, South Africa 9.78, China 9.77, Puerto Rico 9.76, Curacao 9.75, Canada 9.73, Peru 9.73, Turkey 9.73, Germany 9.71, India 9.71, Colombia/Dominican Republic/Honduras/Israel/Jamaica/Panama/USA 9.70.
RIGHT behind them: Ecuador, Estonia, France, Greece, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Switzerland.

My top twelve, based on the prelims:

1. South Africa - 9.740
2. Curacao - 9.725
3. Puerto Rico - 9.720
4. Russia - 9.705
5. Germany - 9.700
6. Venezuela - 9.695
7. China - 9.685
8. Dominican Republic - 9.675
9. Turkey - 9.665
10. Jamaica - 9.650
11. Canada - 9.645
12. USA - 9.640

Only Albania, Hungary, Ireland and Israel wore one-piece swimsuits. Egypt, Guatemala and Yugoslavia opted for tankinis while the remaining sixty-nine delegates wore two-piece swimsuits.

The biggest applause-getters from the audience were (in alphabetical order): Aruba, Canada, Dominican Republic, Korea, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, USA, Venezuela. This was based on not just how many people they had in the audience (or how loud a small group may be), but rather how the public as a whole reacted to the delegate's presentation. That's pretty fair, don't you think?

General comments:

Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands and Nicaragua all tripped on the same problem area on stage during evening gowns, but all recovered nicely.

There were a lot of metallic gowns this year - most worn by frontrunners, including Venezuela and Jamaica. Very few girls in black, but surprisingly few in white.

Deceptions: Several contestants have very thick thighs and visible cellulite. Greece is beautiful but lacks some spark in her on-stage presentation. Spain and Honduras are both gorgeous but both hardly ever smile (especially Honduras). Czech Republic is so beautiful but her hair was a mess for the evening gown, and she lost some points for lack of poise when she just did her little pose and walked away visibly slouching.

That's it for now. More soon from San Juan. Have a great night!

May 23, 2002: The National Gift Auction began at 7:30 at the Museo de Artes de San Juan, and was attended by hundreds of fans, press and members of the city elite. Mayor Jorge Santini, Denise Quinones and Miss Universe President Paula Shugart addressed the atendees, before each delegate was introduced. All the contestants paraded on the second floor balcony, looking down at the public below. Among the biggest standouts (see Global Beauties, Belleza Venezolana and Tu Belleza Nacional for more) were Dominican Republic, Kenya, Nigeria, France, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Turkey, Slovak Republic, USA and Venezuela.

After their introductions, the delegates mingled among the guests for about ninety minutes. Aruba, Canada, Curacao, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, USA, Ecuador and Dominican Republic were among the most popular delegates and were swamped by autograph seekers and press alike all night.

I had the chance to talk at length with several delegates, including Netherlands (absolutely stunning with an amazing sense of humour), Aruba (exceptional), Curacao (among the top 3 most beautiful faces), Portugal (shy and sweet), Singapore (very secure but easy-going), Mauritius (lovely figure and personality), France (breathtaking!), Nigeria (tall, slim and articulate), Namibia (my favourite interview all night - very outgoing, intelligent and thoughtful) and Guyana (a rocking sense of humour). Zizi Lee was interviewing delegates and directors all night long for Aruban TV, and even I got in on the action.

Many delegates stuck with their friends, fans and directors who came to support them, many simply because of a language barrier. Miss France and Miss Mauritius were floored when I came up to them and spoke to them in French.

Among the other stars of the show in attendence were Julio Rodriguez of Belleza Venezolana and the entire team of Tu Belleza Nacional, all looking very snazzy. Many stylists and members of the national pageant committees were also in attendence, including Peter Elias, who's behind the success of the last several Miss Trinidad & Tobago winners.

Back at the hotel after the gala event, the delegates had about 10 minutes of family time. Miss Netherlands' parents were there; Miss Slovak Republic had a small mob of friends and well-wishers with her (including Silvia Lakatasova, top 6 in MU 94 and now the national director - who looks even better today than eight years ago!), and Miss Albania had many family with her.

Even more well-known missologists were around, including the very friendly and outgoing Kelvin Alejandro with colleagues and friends from the various media outlets he works with, and RJ Isa from Curacao. Miss Venezuela's mom has made friends with every single English- and Spanish-speaking person in the hotel, it seems, and her charm and warmth were a true pleasure.