Panama successfully hosted one of the glitzy events of the year and there is no better way to conclude it all with their trans-Caribbean neighbor as the winner. Miss Universe 2003 beamed live to estimated billions of televiewers around the world and garnered excellent ratings in United States alone but what made the entire show entertaining?
With three segments: interviews, swimsuits and gowns, we picked who topped those and who hit rock bottom. The action onstage, perhaps the shiniest in history as countless nearly slipped (wonder if there was a floor wax sponsor), had us drooling for more!
Miss Philippines Carla Gay Balingit and her pineapple-inspired attire garnered mixed assessments still we find it an outstanding creation. Carla danced very charmingly while projecting her "wacky" costume. Though everything looked sweet and defined in her, the bottom was somehow bouncy.
Miss Canada Leanne Cecile wore a rather monstrous maple ensemble. We don't have any clues why those people responsible for this shaggy costume developed a feel for an overall with blatant looks. If it can be tiring in our eyes, well it wasn’t the only case for Leanne.
There’s no wonder why Amelia Vega of Dominican Republic won the coveted crown. She’s statuesque, shapely and very confident in her moves. The moment she stepped on that stage, Amelia radiates energy that no other finalists could match. Of course, the body especially her bumpy breasts had us salivating. No offense but if Amelia has the "it," she had all the rights to flaunt it. Second placer is Sanja Papic of Serbia & Montenegro. While her sluggish presentation in gown was a turn-off, her knockout body matched with vivacious swimsuit showings produced a big splash that night.
We really hate giving the "worst" labels but this year we decided to give it to the chubbiest. Whilst she has one of the beautiful faces in the pageant, Miss Germany Aleksandra Vodjanikova's ultra frame shut her chances off to the finals. Following very closely is equally flabby Miss India Nikita Anand. Despite her loveliness & charisma, Nikita generated shrieks and cries from Indian buffs. Hordes of beauties displayed superfluous flesh in this year's Miss Universe.
The truth is we are torn between the Dolce gown of Miss Japan Miyako Miyazaki and Miss Venezuela’s plain red. Our basis for selecting the best in gown lies on impact whether through innovation, simplicity, or carriage. This year’s innovation won just like last year. A simple white was manipulated to twist into a very sexy frock. This is actually a huge departure from the Japanese tradition where they usually choose conservative designs. Should have pleasantly shocked many people but hey we like it.
Known for wearing exquisite dresses, Claudia Ortiz of Peru missed when she needed it most. Critics applauded her lavishing well-primed national costume. Too bad her choice of a body-wrapper, see-through white gown sparked off her execution in the finals instead. Hers is the unexciting version of Miss Venezuela 1999 Carolina Indrigao’s gown.
-Miss South Africa Cindy Nell taalking about her work with ex-South African President Nelson Mandela. One of the best ways to ace that interview is to insert brief phrases- brief but relevant.
-asked whether she would like to be fire or water, Serbia and Montenegro’s Sanja Papic tried to brilliantly get away from the trap of question but she made a fatal mistake by saying the above phrase. It would have been cute if she answers, "I’d prefer to be water since it could kill fire."