Some candidates of Miss World Philippines 2021 grabbed attention during the Charity Gala Ball on Thursday as they showcase their creative national costumes.
Delegates Ann Palmares from Iloilo City paid tribute to her province’s best-known signature noodle dish while Tracy Maureen Perez of Cebu City honored Filipinos’ introduction to the Christian faith.
Ann’s costume is inspired by the prominent noodle soup La Paz batchoy that originated in the stalls of the La Paz market which eventually became one of Iloilo’s well-loved dishes.
A travel guide said that it is made with miki (round noodles), pork organs (liver, spleen, kidneys and heart), chicken stock, beef loin, shrimp stock, and garnished with chicharon (pork cracklings).
The Department of Tourism, on the other hand, said it is composed of savory meat stock, pork organs, and chicharon, among others.
The Ilongga beauty shared pictures of her attire on social media where she donned a creation by fashion designer Paul Jerome “Tata” Blas Pinuela.
It features some of the dish’s ingredients like noodles, soy sauce, eggs and meat.
“For many years now, there is a delicacy that captured the taste of the Filipinos: This is The Original La Paz Batchoy,” Ann wrote in her caption.
“The simple broth’s taste depicts the Ilonggos as the friendliest people in the country, warm and welcoming, gentle and soft-spoken, who would go out of their way to make perfect strangers feel at home. The beef and pork loin, pork offal, crushed pork cracklings and chicken stocks are a fusion of Ilonggo taste buds influence by Spaniards, while the condiments were from the prehispanic traders,” she added.
“The round noodles are Ilonggo’s close family ties: Firm and strong. Finally, to complete the ingredients, a touch of love, since this delicious delicacy originated from La Paz district in the City of Love, my city, Iloilo City,” Ann further wrote.
Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo, who also hails from Iloilo, also shared a video posted by Tata which illustrated the costume’s conceptualization.
Tracy, meanwhile, wore a national costume dubbed as “vessel of faith” by fashion designer Axel Que, who shared photos of the costume on her Instagram account.
“Tracy Maureen Perez pays tribute to 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The costume highlights the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan to the shores of Cebu and our ancestors’ introduction to the Christian faith,” Que wrote in the caption.
Apart from the Miss World Philippines title, candidates will also compete for the titles Miss Supranational Philippines, Miss Eco Philippines, Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas, Miss Multinational Philippines, Miss Eco Teen Philippines, and Miss Tourism Philippines.
The coronation night is scheduled on July 25, Sunday.
Viewers can watch it on KTX.ph, Upstream.ph, TFC IPTV, WeTV or at GMA-7 at 10:30 p.m.