The glowing Reyna ng Aliwan of Aliwan Fiesta's day two has officially unveiled its preparation.
During the Inside Aliwan Fiesta primer, renowned pageant coach Norman Tinio, one of the country's best beauty pageant bloggers, and Christian Dela Cruz, one of the committee members of Reyna ng Aliwan, shared their thoughts on the transition from on-ground to digital and everything that led to the return of the festival of champions and the Reyna Ng Aliwan.
Tinio and Dela Cruz defined the challenges as Reyna ng Aliwan coming back after three long years. The last pageant, Aliwan Fiesta Digital Queen, was held virtually due to the pandemic.
"You can just imagine they have been staying with it—their comfort zones—in their respective provinces or municipalities, so competing in a digital version of Reyna ng Aliwan—it's easy on their part because the glam team is there—the entire village literally is there," said Tinio.
"But now they are flying to Manila or taking a bus to Manila and competing face-to-face again," he added.
According to Dela Cruz, the previous Reyna ng Aliwan was also a challenge for MBC, noting that it was their first time to actually mount a virtual pageant.
"With launching a virtual, it changes a lot, meaning from physical to virtual, even the process, even the mechanics, we have to go through each," said Dela Cruz.
Meanwhile, according to them, going back to face-to-face Reyna ng Aliwan is a big challenge.
"It's a challenge, siguro, on the side of MBC as organizers and even the candidates—lahat tayo siguro nangapa—I mean, given the three-year gap," Dela Cruz said.
Tino and Dela Cruz emphasized the lessons they've learned when it comes to pageantry during the pandemic.
"Noong nagvirtual tayo, nagkaroon tayo ng pandemic, I think we've learned a lot of things, and at the same time, may mga nagbago din, especially in terms of events offline—whether online or offline," Dela Cruz highlighted.
According to him, it is a challenge for the candidates to really get the 'gold, glitter, and glamour' back on center stage.
"Syempre yung mga candidates sila yung inaasahang ng kanilang festival to be the voice, to be the face-nong kani-kaniyang festival," the committee chair stated.
"Puspusan ang preparation when it comes to going back face-to-face," he added.
When asked about which quality would stand out in this year's pageant, Dela Cruz highlighted personality.
"For me, it's really the personality, regardless of what festival you present, as long as lumabas yung personality, yung uniqueness and at the same time, yung genuine persona as a candidate representing also your festival," it said.
On the other hand, Tinio said it is the "X factor".
"It's the X factor, makikita mo lang—the minute she talks, projects, mafifeel mo yun e—it's really unexplainable."
The Committee recalls one of their rules in Reyna ng Aliwan, wherein a participant joining the pageant should be endorsed by the Local Government Unit (LGU) of their respective municipalities.
During the interview, former Reyna ng Aliwan participants who have been successful in their pageant careers were shown, including Chelsea Fernandez of the Sangyaw Festival of Tacloban, Alexandra Fait Garcia of Zambales' Dinamulag Festival, Steffi Aberasturi of Cebu's Sinulog Festival, Maria Athisa Manalo of Yugyugan Festival, and many more.
The two ended the interview by marking the "4 P's" before joining a pageant: passion, purpose, plan, and platform."
