Samantha Bernardo against all odds
Cristina Pettersson-Manalaysay March 30, 2021 at 02:30 PM Entertainment
Samantha Bernardo made history when she was crowned the first runner up in the recently concluded Miss Grand International 2020 held in Thailand on March 27. Abena Akuaba of USA won the coveted title. Arkipelago Lifestyle and Entertainment had an exclusive interview with Mr. Adam Genato, pageant analyst extraordinaire. He shared to us some beautiful insight on Samantha’s historic win.
Samantha’s journey to the crown hasn’t been easy, according to Adam. She is considered a pageant veteran for having joined Binibining Pilipinas pageant twice, in 2018 and 2019. “After missing the Binibining Pilipinas grand prize in 2018 and 2019, winning the 2nd runner up spot, we knew she wanted to give pageantry a final shot,” Adam said.
Previous performances
Adam noted that in her past performances, Samantha was doing exaggerated movement onstage and she was even overdoing her make up.
“If you notice in 2018 and 2019, gigil na gigil siya sa mga poses niya sa stage. Samantha has been an over thinker when it comes to her stage performance since 2018 making her look gigil na gigil to win, which reflects on her catwalk skills.”
In Adam’s observation, Samantha also had a difficulty in Question and Answer portion of the pageant. “Although she’s articulate, she sounds rehearsed with her answers. The reason probably is that her nervousness would get the best of her onstage.”
On preparation
Adam confided to us that when the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Incorporated (BPCI) announced on February 5 that Samantha will be our official delegate to Miss Grand International, she had less than 20 days to prepare.
“Beauty queens usually have months or years to do their research, collaborate with designers and stylists, photoshoots with photographers, press interviews, question and answer training, and pasarela training.” Pasarela is Latin for runway or catwalk skills. “She did all these on a limited amount of time. So I think Samantha is the right girl to be appointed for this pageant mission.”
Transformation
Samantha’s transformation in her performance at Miss Grand International is apparent. Adam has observed some very important “striking points”.
“Dati sa Binibining Pilipinas lagi siyang gigil sa pasarela, sa catwalk niya. Ngayon sa Miss Grand International very relax na siya. She seems more relaxed now and in control on what to do onstage. Kontrolado na niya facial expressions niya sa pagrampa niya. Mukha nang natural. Gone are her excessive movement on the runway.”
Her #GRANDNada walk, the coined term for Samantha’s pasarela, topped the Philippine trend on Twitter with many Filipino supporters praising her performance.
“It was very clean, fluid and flawless. She showed the right balance of fierceness and personality onstage. She’s no longer overdoing it,” Adam noted.
Even the way she answers questions in the Q and A portion change according to Adam, “Nagbago na rin ang pagsasalita niya. This time she executed her speech very well. Napakaheartfelt at sincere ng mga sagot niya. She finally learned to speak from the heart and sound natural as evidenced by her heartfelt and sincere answers.”
Adam thinks Samantha has finally achieved maturity as a pageant contestant. “She finally learned to let go and enjoy the whole competition,” he added.
Adam swore Samantha’s excellent performance at the Prelims and Finals solidified her front runner status.
In the evening gown competition, Samantha was stunning in an emerald green with gold gown designed by Louis Pangilinan. The gown was inspired by the yellow-throat leafbird, which is endemic to the beauty queen’s home province of Palawan.
Samantha once again slayed in the swimsuit event when she displayed years of pageant experience. She was bursting with energy and confidence while walking. Samantha ruled the second round of the swimsuit competition after garnering the biggest number of online votes.
“She was the same girl but different. There was something about her that could not be adequately described nor expressed. She had the charm, elegance, confidence and beauty of a winner this time around,” Adam added.
Dream come true
For Adam, the beauty queen from Palawan should have won the Miss Grand International crown. But nonetheless, he is so happy that Samantha’s dream to represent the country internationally has finally happened, “She almost won our first ever Miss Grand International crown so kudos to Samantha and her entire team for pulling this off despite the short preparation.”
What is important is that Samantha Bernardo did win and made the Filipinos proud. “It might not be the ending that we all hoped and prayed for, but it is still a beautiful ending for our Samantha. It’s a dream come true. Let’s be happy for her achievement,” Adam concluded.
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