“Another milestone this Filipino American History Month.”
This was the reaction of the United States Embassy in the Philippines to the newly-crowned Miss USA 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel.
R’Bonney, a Filipino-American from Houston, Texas, was named Miss USA 2022 during the grand coronation of the competition on October 4.
She also made history as the first Filipino-American contestant to be crowned Miss Texas USA last July.
Following this achievement, the US Embassy in Manila took to social media to congratulate her.
It also shared an article from Interaksyon about this news.
“Celebrating another milestone this Filipino American History Month. Congratulations to newly-crowned @MissUSA 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel!” the US Embassy said.
“She will represent the United States at the next @MissUniverse competition. (Philippine flag emoji)(US flag emoji)#MyFilAmStory,” it added.
Celebrating another milestone this Filipino American History Month. Congratulations to newly-crowned @MissUSA 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel! She will represent the United States at the next @MissUniverse competition. 🇵🇭🇺🇸 #MyFilAmStory | via @interaksyon https://t.co/AU8ettpzh6
— U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (@USEmbassyPH) October 6, 2022
R’Bonney bested 49 other candidates in the 70th edition of the pageant, thereby succeeding Miss USA 2021 Elle Smith.
The 28-year-old fashion designer will therefore represent the country in the 71st edition of Miss Universe next year.
She is up against Philippines’ bet Celeste Cortesi who won Miss Universe Philippines last May.
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Filipino American History Month (FAHM), meanwhile, is celebrated every October.
It commemorates the first Filipinos who arrived at the shores of what was previously known as the continental US on October 18, 1587.
The place is now Morro Bay in California.
The Filipino American National Historical Society introduced the FAHM in 1992.
It was in 2009 when the US Congress recognized the month of October as FAHM.