23. 1912, Reina de Visayas, AMPARO BENITEZ NOEL

1912 REINA DE VISAYAS, Amparo Noel y Benitez of Carcar, Cebu, 2nd princess of the 1912 Carnival Queen, Paz Marquez.

Amparo Noel y Benitez, was the undisputed Reina de Visayas in the court of Paz Marquez, who reigned as the 1912 Matrona de Filipinas in that year’s Carnival. It is interesting to note that Paz Marquez also married a Benitez later in her life. Amparing, as she was called, had a renowned beauty which she inherited from her mother, Maria Benitez. She was a famous Espanola beauty in her time, who had married Vicente Noel of Carcar, an idyllic town less than an hour’s drive from Cebu.

BISAYA BEAUTY. Amparing in her official corontaion portrait, resplendent in authentic Visayan garb.

Nyora Amparing came second in a brood of 13 children.Her beauty has been described as “almost perfect”, with a patrician nose, dreamy (“mapungay”) eyes, delicately-shaped mouth, fine cheekbones and very fair skin.

VISAYAN QUEEN, with her prince consort Juan Orbeta and her 6 court attendants.

At the coronation night, Amparo had Juan Orbeta, a dashing Spanish mestizo. also of Cebu as her escort. Three years later, Amparo married Dr. Jose Ma. Borromeo, (d. 1959), who was 8 years her senior. Dr. Borromeo apparently had the vote of Amparing’s parents. Of this union, 7 children were born: Milagros, Rosario Josefina, Dolores, Ramon, Jose Jr., Manuel and Luis.

WEDDED BLISS. Amparing and husband, Dr. Jose Ma. Borromeo, with two daughters, Milagros and Rosario Josefina.

Ramon, the eldest son, also became a doctor, an orthopedist of repute, and married another national beauty, Myrna Sese Panlilio, the 1st Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 1964, of San Fernando, Pampanga. (Two other brothers also married Kapampangans). In her later years, she would suffer from diabetes and survived several surgeries performed no less than by his son, who has also since passed away.