FIRST VICTORY LASTS FOREVER!
By R.B. E. Abiva
"Pageantry is a critical and decisive space for women like me to express my opinion, be heard, and be an example to influence others and to enable change."
- Ms. Denella Denise Calderon, Ms. MVGFC 2023
The Manuel V. Gallego Foundation Colleges (MVGFC) celebrated its 60th Foundation Week last February 20-23, 2023. Different events were conducted, like basketball, volleyball, acoustic nights, band jam, and quiz bee. But what is exceptional and nostalgic is that the pageant on its last day marked a signal point that all Gallegans and bystanders during the coronation night at NE Pacific Mall- Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija will surely consider as the most memorable point in their life. A new star shone so bright after the 2 years of deadly lockdown, and an innate Athenian beauty rose from the peak of the hopelessness and insanity of our time.
And so, as an artist, poet, and novelist for 10 years, this reminds me of Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature Gabriel Garcia Marquez's search for love, passion, and humanity through his novel Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). Yes, after that fateful night of February 23, at dawn, I visited my library and searched on my dusty bookshelves for poems written by Lorca and Neruda- for I believed I could write this article creatively and effectively through the scent of my old muse and not my old golden cat. After those couple of 'disquiet' nights and dawns, I was convinced finally that her voice must be heard; listen to her and allow the silence of the time to speak to us.
To start my journey formally, I set an official interview through her F.B. account; of course, I was slightly edgy because she might do some 'dedma' on my request. But she did not. She replied humbly and expressed her excitement immediately because this was her first time being interviewed and featured in an article on a broadsheet with approximately 15,000 readers in and outside Baguio City and Northern Luzon.
Currently, she is 18 years of age and in Grade 12 under ABM strand of the MVGFC High School Department. Like other students, she has dreams and aspirations, like being a successful businesswoman or a flight attendant someday. "I want to travel around the globe, for it is my sole dream to see and witness its beauty," she said with amazement.
Her ironed enthusiasm for joining the competition signifies the Gallegan spirit of volunteerism she showed during the pre-screening process. "Actually, I volunteered because one of the candidates from our department withdrew her candidacy," she added. I asked if she felt hesitations, but she said that becoming a beauty queen was one of her many big dreams. "Having this passion and commitment, I am willing to take the risk." This reminds me of Arianna Huffington saying, "Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me."
My interview goes on like in a normal dialogue in short stories and novels I had written 8 months ago. It flows very fluidly, like water in spring and air that we breathe. Everything is natural as it is.
"Did you feel some nervousness right from the start?"
“Kinakabahan po kasi first time ko pong sumali sa malaking pageant pero iniisip ko na lamang po na I just need to be who I am. Nang tanungin nga po ako kung marunong akong sumayaw ay sinabi ko pong kaya.”
“Anong pong sinayaw niyo?”
“Nag-tik-tok po ako.”
“Anong tugon ng crowd?”
“Natuwa po sila at nagpalakpakan.”
“Kasi nakita nilang hindi ka lamang matalino, may talento ka pa. Tama?”
"Opo."
“Wala bang mga naging hamon sa iyo, sa inyong departamento, maging sa iyong pamilya?”
“I asked myself po in the first-place kung kaya ko ba talaga at tingin ko po ay kaya ko. Naging hamon lamang po ang usapin sa financial aspect kasi hindi naman po kami mayaman ngunit dahil sa supporta na ipinakita nila, pinalitan ko ito ng dedication right from the start. Marami pang limitation pero with the help of my Class Adviser na si Maam Janine, to our Principal na si Maam Musngi, at siyempre sa family ko na ever supportive. Hindi po ako talaga nagkaproblema hanggang sa long gown and costume. Actually, ay simple lamang po ang aking costume pero napatunayan ko na kahit simple ay maaaring maging unique dahil nakadepende ito sa nagdadala. At hindi ko inaasahan na mas maganda pa ang gown ng ibang kandidata. Na-shock po ako nang tawagin ako sa top 5.”
And what struck me, the poet/ artist in the herd searching for an absolute narrative to tell is when she chose the question that would change her life- at least to some extent because I don't know if that really was a destiny choice. The question is about global warming. And how she dwelt on this contemporary issue?
For her, this is a national and international concern that must be addressed. She even encouraged her fellow students to protect and defend the environment at all costs and to preserve today's future. This clear advocacy made her brighten more because not all candidates at that time possessed this consciousness. What struck me most was her last line that, on my assessment, transcends from individual to national sentiment.
Her line "…for me, environment matters…" is like a bell that calls everyone's interest. I asked her if this was her normal way of thinking, and surprisingly, she answered, "Sinagot ko po ito na mula sa puso ko. Hindi ko po kinabisado.”
My last question for her was about her personal and social advocacy.
"Why do you want to use your time in advocating environmental protection?"
“Kung magpofocus tayo sa poverty. Okey po ito pero matitiyak po ba natin na mabubuhay tayo sa isang mundong maayos at sagana kung sira naman ang kalikasan?”
And yes, she showcased how Gallegan philosophy, wit, and beauty work physically and digitally. Aside from having a significant increase of friends, windows of opportunities open for her, like the beam of lights emanating from the newly born sun in the East. And she deserves all these blessings that she is now earning! And the formula for achieving all these is very simple: "Just be yourself."
So, if the American Folk singer Sheryl Crow say's that the "First cut is the deepest", this first victory of Ms. Denella Denise Calderon will last forever. Why? She proved to thousands of spectators that it was wrong to underestimate the simplicity of her wit and beauty. She even raised pageantry as a safe platform for modern-day women to raise their voices and be heard so that change can at least touch our hearts and consciousness, especially now that we are celebrating National Women's Month.
And I am sure no one can forget how she looked on that ominous night of February 23 when all those stringing lights surrounded her like an angel in a cloud of incense: her face and eyes had their own ways and means of getting underneath our skin. She is the Athena we are looking for, and please admit that she took our pulse and breath away that night of victory. When she smiled and waved her hands, let me take pleasure in saying that I saw how Romeos and Juliets pleaded their hands. Is this the beginning of her journey to the pedestal of glory? The answer is a big yes! And thank God, I was there not only to witness her beauty but to tell. And because of these, I don't want to close my shuddering eyes that keep saying, “Never forget how she looked on that night of coronation.”
P.S.
Can I share my poem after all those 'disquiet' nights and dawns of musing?
I
FOUND YOU IN THE COLDNESS OF SOLITARY
Old books,
Cobweb on the ceiling,
A globe size of a fist,
Image of Kafka and Lorca,
And a specter that hunts nostalgia:
An angel in oceanic
And melted gold dress,
Taller than Athena,
Captured the poet's muse-
Beware of ekphrasis
And thanks to Chris de Burgh's sonata!
*published at Baguio Chronicle March 4-10, 2023 issue
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