‘El Tocuyo awardee?’: Pinoys in disbelief as Celeste Cortesi ends Miss Universe 2022 journey

January 15, 2023 - 10:29 AM
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Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi in a shoot. (Seven Barretto via Miss Universe Philippines)
Celeste Cortesi’s Miss Universe 2022 journey ended after she failed to enter the Top 16—the first time in 12 years that the Philippines did not make it.

Those who made it to the Top 16 are the following:

1. Puerto Rico – Ashley Carino

2. Haiti – Mideline Phelizor

3. Australia – Monique Riley

4. Dominican Republic – Andreina Martinez

5. Laos – Payengxa Lor

6. South Africa – Ndavi Nokeri

7. Portugal – Telma Madeira

8. Canada – Amelia Tu

9. Peru – Alessia Rovegno Cayo

10. Trinidad and Tobago – Tya Jane Ramey

11. India – Divita Rai

12. Venezuela – Amanda Dudamel Newmen

13. Spain – Alicia Faubel

14. Curacao – Gabriela Dos Santos

15. USA- R’bonney Gabriel

16. Colombia – Maria Fernanda Aristzabal

Many personalities were in disbelief that Celeste finished her Miss Universe bid. 

“Ha?” television host and actress Vice Ganda tweeted

“Bawi tayo sa replay mamayang gabi! Hayuffff!” she added in separate tweet. 

“Oh no!!” Miss Universe 1st runner-up Janine Tugonon wrote with broken heart emoji. 

“I can’t believe our streak ended with (in my opinion) one of our strongest candidates to date. It really is a new era for Miss Universe,” Miss Universe Philippines 2021 candidate and content creator Ayn Bernos said

Despite the defeat, many Filipinos also congratulated Celeste for representing the country. 

“Congrats still Celeste! Thank you for representing us!” a social media user said

“Padayon at maghuway Celeste! We are so proud of you!” a Twitter user said

“Still proud Celeste . You did your best. Thank you,” an online user wrote

El Tocuyo

Meanwhile, “El tocuyo” trended on Philippine Twitter as Celeste ends her journey. 

The El Tocuyo Awards started in 2016 with Mariam Habach of Venezuela’s non-placement at the 65th Miss Universe pageant held in Manila.

El Tocuyo is the name of her hometown and from then on, frontrunners in the pageant who did not make the first cut were called El Tocuyo awardees.

The award follows the rationale of recognizing what for an entrant was her best performance but was perceived as mediocre by a judging panel.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article included … in the Top 16 finalists. This has been corrected to reflect the correct breakdown of Miss Universe 2022 Top 16.