240. Carnival Wedding: DE SANTOS-MALOLES NUPTIALS

Alicia Cabarrus de Santos was the original Miss Luzon in the court of Maria Kalaw, 1931 Miss Philippines. She had also reigned as the Queen of Charity in her teenage years. At the Manila Carnival, the popular socialite was leading all the way when Kalaw overtook her with a deluge of votes, in the final minutes of the contest.

Declaring foul play, de Santos resigned her post, which Lina Araullo assumed. She remained unperturbed after her not-so-pleasant Carnival experience; her family, in fact, continued to support the Carnival. In the next year’s festivities. Alicia’s doctor-brother, Arturo de Santos, provided escorting duties to Queen Emma Zamora. On 29 August 1934, Alicia married Dr. Octavio L. Maloles at lavish ceremonies held at the Santo Espiritu Church. They had a son, Octavio II.

69. 1932, MISS LUZON, MISS VISAYAS, MISS MINDANAO

ROSALINA C. LIM, 1932 Miss Luzon

Rosalina Lim placed 2nd to Emma Zamora in the 1932 edition of the search for Carnival Queen. Her father was Ramon Arandia Lim, a Spanish-Chinese mestizo who was connected with San Miguel Brewery as a comptroller, until he fell ill. Her mother was Justa Cispon, of Portuguese-Pangasinense extract. Her photographs show a delicate, contemplative kind of beauty, her Eurasian heritage evident in her height and Oriental eyes. At the coronation of the 1932 court, Rosalina was escorted by Geronimo Santiago Jr.

Further enriching her multi-cultural background, she married Claude Devlin Martinez, a British-Filipino. Claude's father, from Balayan, Batangas, was studying shipbuilding in Scotland when he met and married an Englishwoman from London. The couple lived in London for some 15 years before returning to the Philippines.Rosalina and Claude had an only daughter, Tita Martinez Sicat, a Ph.D. holder and a U.P. professor.

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ALELI A. GUZMAN, 1932 Miss Visayas

One of the most accomplished women ever to emerge from the Manila Carnivals is Aleli Guzman, Miss Visayas 1932, in the court of Emma Zamora. Her father was one of the country's 1st accountants, Fortunato Guzman, while her mother, Angela Aguilar, was a gobernadorcillo's daughter from Manila. The family lived on Marquez de Comillas St., in Paco.

Aleli was a UP student when the 1932 contest beckoned. She was a charter member of the U.P. Sigma Delta Sorority and was an Upsilonian Fraternity Sweetheart and Corps Sponsor of the U.P. Vanguard. With these "beauty and brains" credentials, she easily made it to the winners' circle. When the Carnival ended, she quickly put the title behind her and pursued her education, graduating in 1937 with a double degree in Chemistry and Medicine.

As if that achievement was not enough, she placed among the Top 10 in the medical board exams. Despite her busy schedule, she found time to marry her college sweetheart, Antonio Quirino, a future judge, who was quite active in the same school associations that Aleli joined. The doctora devoted much of her time to church and charity. She is credited with performing the 1st abdominal operation in the Philippines. She founded the St. Martin Charity Hospital in the parish of Santuario del Sto. Cristo in San Juan, Metro Manila.

For her lifetime of selfless service, she was accorded the Mariang Maya Award for Humanities (1983), Community Development and Social Work, the Ulirang Ina Posthumous Award (2001) and the Mother Teresa Award. Nowhere did the expression "beauty with a purpose" ring truer than in the life of Aleli Guzman, Miss Visayas 1932.

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VIOLETA LOPEZ, 1932 Miss Mindanao

The controversial beauty from Iloilo who cried "foul" over the bathing suit incident at the 1930 Carnival came back to compete at the 1932 search for Miss Philippines, proof that she harbored no ill feelings towards the organizers. Violeta Lopez's good sportsmanship paid off, as she placed third and earned the Miss Mindanao title in the finals.

The written dedication on the back of this picture written by a starstruck sender noted Violeta's outstanding beauty. She writes: "She is the most beautiful candidate, but she lacks votes. I all saw them in the Floral Parade and she was naturally beautiful. She is Miss Mindanao".

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(Many thanks to Mrs. Tita M. Sicat, daughter of Rosalina Lim for the biographical sketch of her mother, who, in her own words "eschewed beauty, and went on to earn a Ph.D. , became a professor, and who met you at the U.P. book awards lunch!" Thanks too, to Mrs. Ping de Jesus for inviting me to judge at the BDAP awards where the fortuitous meeting happened. I am also indebted to Atty. Lila Guzman Quirino, daughter of Aleli Guzman, for providing the short biographical sketch of her mother).

68. 1932, Miss Philippines of the Manila Carnival, EMMA GONZALES ZAMORA

1932 MISS PHILIPPINES. Emma Zamora of Quiapo, the Hongkong educated beauty who took the Carnival by storm, led a short but a full life, passing away at the very young ae of 30. Her regn is remembered for the many dignitaries she met, including the Governor General of French Indo-China.

Emma Zamora y Gonzales, the 1932 Miss Philippines, was often described as having the perfect face, oval shaped, with languid eyes, a fair complexion and small pouty lips. Combine that with her pedigree—the Zamoras came from Manila’s aristocratic Quiapo district—and so it came as no surprise that Emma was crowned our sixth Miss Philippines in the annual Manila Carnival.

SIAMESE BEAUTY. Emma dressed as Thai royalty, which was the theme of her coronation. Her bejewelled headdress doubled as her crown.

Emma was the eldest of three children, born to Manuel Zamora and Josefina Gonzales. As an only girl, she was naturally pampered and was sent to the French Convent in Hong Kong at age 18. She returned to Manila for her debut and immediately, the tall, willowy beauty caught the fancy of Manila’s alta sociedad and was immediately enlisted by the powerful Bachelors’ Club as their official candidate to the country’s most prestigious contest of Filipina pulchritude.

SIAMESE SPLENDOR. Emma Zamora had the distinction of wearing two different crowns--a Thai-inspired crown that was part of her costume and also a a banded rhinestone tiara.

She swept competition away with the British-Chinese-Filipina beauty Rosalina Lim coming in second as Miss Luzon, Aleli Guzman as Miss Visayas and the comebacking beauty from the 1930 Carnival, Violeta Lopez, as Miss Mindanao. Emma’s moment of glory was the talk of the town, for the Coronation motif was Siamese. The exotic costumes were truly a feast for the eyes. Emma was attred like a Thai royal with a stupa-inspired, gem-encrusted headdress that doubled as a crown. She carried a feather fan and wore a sleeveless beaded gown with winged decorations on the shoulders reminiscent of kinarees (angels) from Thai mythology. Her entourage wore similar, simple Thai costumes.
QUEEN EMMA AND KING CONSORT. Emma with Dr. Arturo de Santos. He was the brother of Alicia de Santos, Miss Luzon of the year before, who relinquished her title.

Emma was escorted by Dr. Arturo de Santos, a young bachelor of wealth and culture. He too, was in character during Emma’s coronation, regal in a long Oriental tunic. The highlight of her coronation included meeting the Governor General of French Indo-China, President Manuel L. Quezon and other high government dignitaries—unprecedented in Carnival history.

GOWNED AND CROWNED. Emma Zamora, 1932 Miss Philippines, in her Pacita Longos-designed gown, wearing a different rhinestone crown.

Emma changed to a simpler banded crown and Filipiniana attire designed by Pacita Longos for her other royal appointments, which consisted mainly of crowning provincial queens, attending social functions which sometimes require her to travel by boat. Despite her stature, Emma’s feet remained firmly on the ground and after her reign was over, she married Dr. Enrique Ruiz, a longtime family friend and several years her senior, a year after the Carnival.

The couple had five children: Enrique Jr., Josefina (died in infancy), Isabel, Anna Maria and Eduardo. Emma’s fairy tale life was destined to be short, for child-bearing and the war took its toll on her health. She was bedridden for most of 1942 and on 20 March 1943, the toast of the 1932 Manila Carnival, Emma Zamora, passed away at age 30.