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	Asia’s Night! Japan wins! Korea, India and Thailand made the cut. Philippines and China bagged special awards. It was a night of great glamour. Where else can you find beautiful women from across the globe competing for a single crown plus all the fashion, the sexy bodies and great personalities? It's only here at Miss Universe 2007 where the finals night was choreographed by the people who gave us the last Oscars and Grammy's. There are some few perceptions that this year’s Miss Universe defied. First, just because Mexico is the host it doesn’t mean that the semi-finalists will be dominated by Latinas. Latin American countries constituted a mere 27% at the top fifteen! That is only in par with the performance of Asia and the continent even bagged the title. Reminiscing at our rankings, we are far luckier at our Hot Picks than with our Predictions. The eventual winner, Miss Japan Riyo Mori for example was not even in our predictions (Although we must say we predicted that Miss Brazil will end up as first runner-up!).
	The top fifteen announcement is always tense and nerve wracking. Venezuela was first called and we thought that this is a good omen. Remember that we are always talking about the era of Venezuela’s demise. A day before the finals for example, Hugo Chavez closed down the oldest TV station in Venezuela a sign that things are not going well. Next was Thailand and we are quite anticipating it. Denmark was a total surprise and so is Nicaragua. We seem to be so sure that if there are slots for Latinas that should go to Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic or Costa Rica. Angola was next and we think that if there is a place for Africans it should go to either Tanzania or Angola so there’s little surprise in there. India is a total surprise as well. She has a so-so performance at the swimsuits and gown but definitely she pulled well in interviews. Mexico is of course expected while Japan is not. Japan had caught a lot of attention but we feel that during the preliminaries she is overdoing things. One will just have to look at the clips at Miss Universe website to see what we mean. Ukraine came in and she deserves it. She’s not in our predictions but she’s certainly in our Hot Picks even topping it for weeks! Tanzania is a good choice but as we have said in our Hot Picks she is a divisive figure. Korea is an excellent choice. She is both in our Hot Picks and Predictions. Miss Czech Republic wrapped up the top fifteen and she came from nowhere! We suspect that because they won last year’s Miss World, they earned the attention of the jury. Our success rate at Preliminaries was desperately low at 33% but our Hot Picks fared better at 60%. We missed a lot of strong contenders like our predicted winner Italy, stunning and fabulous Puerto Rico, the stunner South Africa and elegant Dominican Republic! The actual top fifteen however can be warmly welcomed. The competition is especially stiff this year that there is no clear winner from the start. All those in the semi-finals, in one way or another, deserves their place.
	The choreography this year is excellent. There is a great focus on Mexico’s Aztec past and the backdrops are beautiful. Vanessa Minillo did a great job. In tandem with Mario Lopez, they made an excellent couple exchanging jokes and comments. There is no doubt that they did a better job than last year’s presenters. To get into the top ten, the top fifteen must first compete in the swimsuit competition. First came out Miss Venezuela Ly Jonaitis and she looks fabulous. She’s here to say that her country remains a beauty superpower despite its political and social problems. Miss Thailand is very statuesque. Her height is an absolute advantage. In this segment, we discovered on who doesn’t totally deserve to be in the top fifteen and that’s Miss Denmark. She’s an average performer and poor in the catwalk. Miss Nicaragua is fabulous. On why we missed her is quite perplexing. She’s got this vibrancy and she rules the catwalk. Miss Angola is okay but she got this stiff arm that bothers us a bit. Miss Slovenia is a tall figure. In swimsuit her long thin body is a catwalk material especially to those who appreciate “size zero” bodies. Miss USA is fabulous. She walked with confidence and she got a lovely smile. Miss Brazil is also stunning. She has a great body and excellent walking skills. Miss India walks like a tomboy. On how she managed to be in the top fifteen boggles our mind. She seems to crash her body forward when she pose on corners. Stunning, beautiful…we are speechless with Miss Mexico. She’s got lots of confidence and she is a winner here! Too aggressive is what describes Miss Japan. She may have lots of confidence and she has a great body but her moves seem to be overdone. Miss Ukraine gave an average performance while Miss Tanzania is okay but still received mixed reactions. Miss Korea is absolutely beautiful and the way she walks seems that she is on the verge of winning. At this time, it seems she will take the crown easily. Miss Czech Republic is an average performer and we think that there’s a lot of stunning women that should replace her right now, right here.
	The choice for top ten is okay. Brazil was first to be called and we noted one man cheering for her waving a Brazilian flag. India is next and it was a surprise given to the poor performance she gave at the swimsuit competition. Japan was called and a posse of supporters began waving the Japanese flags and paper fans. Angola, Venezuela, USA, Korea (a group of women in hanbok stood up to cheer), Tanzania (some flag waving supporters are in the hall tonight), Nicaragua and Mexico (an enormous cheer there!) completed the top ten. An up close video was then presented so that the telly audience will get to know the top ten a little bit better. Miss Brazil talked about fashion and she said that she wants her individuality and don’t want to be influenced by the fashion trends. Miss India loves to write while Miss Japan is a ballet dancer. Miss Angola is proud to have worked for the victims of HIV/AIDS in her country while Miss USA stressed education for the underprivileged. Miss Korea is a player of traditional Korean musical instruments and she once played at the Carnegie Hall. Miss Tanzania is an engineering student while Miss Nicaragua always sees the positive things in her life. Quite strange that Miss Nicaragua did not specify any educational or social attainments which led us to believe that she might not have any? Miss Mexico failed to do that as well and went on to say that she is proud to play as the host of one of the most prestigious pageants in the world. A gown competition came next and Miss Brazil came out shining in a silver gown. There is something about her that glows and her gown augments that qualities. Miss India came out and our first reaction was “Oh please…” She wore this black gown that has plainness more than anything else. We must note though that she has this face value and she is definitely beautiful. The wrong choice of gown and bad walking skills is talking a toll though making it a total disaster. Miss Japan gave us mixed reactions. Her gown is either a plain bathrobe or a fashionable piece direct from Parisian catwalks. But she has a lot of confidence and she feels very comfortable. Miss Angola is in glaring red and it suits her well and fine. She also sported sexy gazes that we truly like. Miss Venezuela is elegant and precisely well trained. It seems that her every move was measured to perfection. And came one of the most disastrous moments in the pageant ever. As Miss USA approached the center stage right almost in the middle she slipped, her entire bottom on the floor. She was disturbed at first but went on unperturbed. A lot of beauties have slipped in many cases at Miss Universe. Miss Philippines 1999 slipped in the preliminary gown competition and perhaps the most famous of its kind. When the pageant was held in Quito in 2004, there were a lot of near misses during the live telecast. And then came Miss Korea, elegant and very beautiful as always. Her gown may not be that beautiful for us but the way she carried it is an absolute all-the-way winner. Miss Tanzania picked the wrong color for her gown. The white fabric is absolutely not for her. She however walked well. Miss Nicaragua is not well at the gown competition. She looks stiff and did not walk properly. In contrast, Miss Mexico is sensuous and very sexy. We began to love her at this moment. Before moving on the announcement of top five special awards was given. Miss Philippines won as Miss Photogenic (the third in a row!) as selected by internet voters at the NBC website. Miss China won as Miss Congeniality and this was chosen by the delegates themselves.
	The top five is great: Venezuela, Korea, Brazil, USA and Japan. Four of them are in our predictions lists while only three of three of them are in our Hot Picks! We severely miss Misses Angola and Mexico at this time and we feel that they deserve to be in top five instead of say, Miss Japan. But then it wasn’t meant for them. The crowd was obviously disappointed that the local missed the cut and turned hostile to Miss USA Rachel Smith. It is an absolute deja vu of the 1993 Miss Universe. To select the winner, each of the five finalists will have to pick a judge’s name in a crystal bowl. The chosen judge will then provide a question. Miss Venezuela Ly Jonaitis picked judge Dave Navarro who asked on whether she prefers a guy who is spontaneous in the wild or the one who plays safe. Ly evaded the trap in the question by answering that every relationship is a give and take process and that there should be a flame of passion. Miss Korea Lee Ha-nui picked Jason Kyson Lee and was asked on what superpower abilities would she like to have. Lee, beautiful and graceful as ever answered that she would prefer a wallet that never dries up so she can help missionary works. Skater Michelle Kwan was chosen by Miss Brazil Natalia Guimaraes and the question was whether it is better to live with your heart or with your mind. Natalia, composed and poised answered that there should be a balance of both but emphasized that it is better to follow what you think is true to your heart. Suffering from a humiliating slip, USA’s Rachel Smith was again booed and jeered by a hostile Mexican crowd. It is amazing that she maintained her poise, a classic example of grace under pressure. When asked about what particular event in her life she would like to bring back in memory she pointed out her work in southern Africa and stressed that she is passionate about education. Miss Japan Riyo Mori now beaming with lots of self-confidence gave a greeting in short Spanish to the crowd’s delight. Nina Garcia asked Riyo on what lesson she learned as a child that still affects her. Riyo answered that when grew up in a dancing school, she learned on how be always happy, to be patient and to be positive and that she want to teach that too to the next generation. After the interviews, we want Miss Korea to win although we are aware that her answer is not the best. Miss Brazil could be the run away winner for her excellent answer but then it was Japan who took it all and this, after a 48 year wait. A child who always danced and dreamed of becoming Miss Japan eventually became Miss Universe. Her oozing confidence all throughout sometimes interpreted for being too audacious, gained the nod of the judges. Riyo Mori is the latest Asian to win the coveted title and we can look back almost half a century ago when Akiko Kojima bagged the title – the first for an Asian. The pageant, although fell short of performing stars (with the exception of Mexican group RNB at top ten swimsuit competition), managed to pull an excellent show. We can start with the two excellent presenters and then on an amazing opening number. We can thank the producers for making the pageant relatively short (long ones could be a bore, you know) and while hostilities abound, Mexico is an excellent host. It was indeed a noche to remember.
Photos: ho/Miss Universe L.P. LLP, Eduardo Verdugo (AP)

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