258. REMEDIOS FERRER, Miss Mindanao, 1934 Cebu Carnival

MUSE OF MINDANAO. Remedios Ferrer and her Consort, in authentic Muslim costumes at her coronation.

The Carnivals of Cebu replicated everything that the big carnival of Manila had, right down to the naming of the runners-up as Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas and Miss Mindanao, respectively. In 1934, the Miss Mindanao title was awarded to Remedios Ferrer.

Remedios Ferrer, Miss Mindanao of the 1934 Cebu Carnival and Fair. Miss Ferrer is well-known in Visayan society circles. She wears the typical Muslim costume in this photo from Graphic Magazine.

244. THE 1914 CEBU CARNIVAL

 THE CEBU CARNIVAL COURT 1913-1914. Queen Enriqueta Aldanese, a mestiza beauty from Sibonga, Cebu had the honor of being the first Cebu Carnival Queen. She also was the muse of Dia Espana.

The very first Cebu Carnival was held over the Christmas holidays of 1913. It was organized by Jose Nolasco who tried to replicate the same successful elements of the national carnival--even going to the extent of hiring the same company--Churchill and Tait--that provided lavish program entertainment--from circus acts, acrobatics and exciting carnival rides. There were also decorated booths and pavilions that showcased Cebu's progress in areas of commerce, agriculture and various industries. The pioneering provincial event was staged just 5 years after the first Manila Carnival, and was held at the Fuente Osmena. The coronation of Queen Enriqueta Aldanese de Lasso de Vega culminated the festivities. The first Carnival Queen of Cebu eventually became a national royalty, reigning as the Queen of the 1918 Manila Carnival.

183. Carnival Beauties, DAISY P. HONTIVEROS, Miss Mindanao, 1934 Cebu Carnival

PICKING DAISY. Kahirup's bet to the Cebu Carnival Queen search--Daisy Hontiveros--would become a leading force in advancing the cause of Philippine theater, in partnerhsip with her husband, award-winning director and National Artist, Lamberto Avellana Sr. She is shown here at age 17.

In the court of the 1934 Cebu Carnival Queen Maria Lagrimas Ong, one lovely runner-up was destined for even greater things after her fourth place finish in the quest for the province’s carnival royalty. Daisy Pardo Hontiveros, who reigned as Miss Mindanao (Julieta Abad was Miss Visayas and Julia MacVean was Miss Luzon), would become the future wife of National Artist and award-winning film director Lamberto Avellana and would distinguish herself as a leading light in Philippine theater.

Lourdes Genoveva Dolores Pardo Hontiveros was born on 26 January 1917 in Capiz, Capiz to Jose M. Hontiveros and Vicenta R. Pardo. She was the eldest in a brood of 10 children, that included Jose, Leon Jose, Alejandro, Renato Jose, Eduardo Jose, Juan Nepomuceno Jose, Ma. Teresita Vicenta, Benjamin Jose and Ramon Nonato.

Nicknamed “Daisy”, she went to the Assumption Convent in Iloilo for her elementary years beginning in 1924. In 1930, she started high school at Capiz High. It was here that she was chosen as Miss Capiz and, in her senior year, she was prevailed upon by the influential Kahirup Club to join the quest for the 1934 Queen of the Cebu Carnival. Young Daisy did not disappoint her sponsors and emerged as Miss Mindanao.

That same year, after graduation, Daisy was accepted at the University of the Philippines in Padre Faura where she took a drama course. She became a very popular and accomplished actress in school, and was named 1st Intercollegiate Girl in only her first year. She also became a talented writer (editor of Philippine Herald in 1937-38) and radio actress.

On 19 June 1938, she married Lamberto V. Avellana at the Remedios Church in Malate, whom she had previously met in 1932 at a party. The two had actively immersed themselves in theater and radio work and this interest led them to organize the Barangay Theater Guild in 1939. They had four children: Marijo (died in infancy), Mari, Ivi and Bating.

Lamberto Sr. would earn fame with his film “Anak Dalita” which won the Grand Prix at the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong in 1956. Their theater guild produced the Nick Joaquin play, “Portrait of the Filipino as an Artist”, which became the longest-running play in the Philippines. Daisy appeared as Candida in the 1965 film version.

When Lamberto passed away in 1991, Daisy carried on with her theatrical pursuits, and in 1994, she was named “The Cinema’s Living Treasure” at the Manila Metro Film Festival. She was also a Centennial Awardee for Theater by CCP. Aliw Awards honored her with a Gawad Siglo ng Aliw for Theater in 1999. Daisy continued directing stage readings of plays at FEU from 2002-2006. On her 90th birthday, she was given a tribute by the CCP and NCCA. The province of her youth, Capiz, honored her, along with Jovita Fuentes, with a “Saludo” in 2009.

116.CEBU CARNIVAL QUEENS, 1914 – 1941, part II

1932, EVANGELINA MACARAEG
Petite Evangelina was the daughter of the district engineer from Pangasinan who was assigned in Cebu. She was a pre-med intern and a cadet sponsor of Cebu Junior College, a branch of the U.P., at the time of her election. “Lily” as she was called, eventually moved to Manila to work as a doctor, where she met and married Diosdado Macapagal. His election as president of the Philippines in 1961 instantly made her into a First Lady.


“Bitoon sa Babaye” of 1932 was Socorro Zamora, an elementary and high school valedictorian of St. Catherine’s School, an exclusive girls’ school run by Belgian nuns. She was the unica hija of Ricardo Zamora and Maria Codilla of Ormoc. She enrolled at UST where she became a popular coed in her chemical engineering class. She then took up pre-law at Southern Colleges (now University of Southern Philippines). Tragically, she died during the bombing of Leyte in 1944.

1933, ROSITA VELOSO
The Velosos are a well-known clan from Malitbog, Leyte. Her consort was Bernardo Torres. She later married prominent physician Dr. Leonardo S. de Villa.

1934, MARIA ONG y LAGRIMAS
This multi-titled Chinese mestiza beauty swept all the beauty contests held in the 6 sitios of metropolitan Cebu. Maria was a popular high school student at Southern College at the time of the contest which also saw the election of her court: Julia MacVean (Miss Luzon), Julita Veloso Abad (Barili, Miss Visayas) and Daisy P. Hontiveros (Miss Mindanao, former Miss Capiz and future wife of national artist and film director, Lamberto Avellana).

1935, ANGELES NOEL
The Noels are from Carcar, and earlier, the family had produced a beauty queen in the person of Amparo Noel, Queen of the Visayas. Known as “Clara Bow of Cebu”, Angeles studied at Cebu High School where she was known for her fashion flair and poise. Her consort was Eddie Molina, a dashing Philippine Military Academy graduate.


1936, CARMEN ROA y REGIS
Daughter of former governor Jose Roa, and Apolonia Regis of Carcar, Carmen was a leading high society figure of Cebu. She was to die in a sea tragedy aboard s.s. Corregidor, which sank in Manila Bay on December 1941, just shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.


1937, MILAGROS VALENZUELA
Twice named Miss Cebu by the Free Press (1937-38), Milagros was the oldest child of Ramiro Valenzuela and Josefina Dela Victoria. At her coronation, she was escorted by Manuel Urgello, whom she later married in 1939. They had five children: Adelwisa, Manuel Jr., Ernesto, Lucy and Roberto. Mila died in 1950.



Her co-winners include Valeriana Alducente (Miss Visayas and voted Miss Cebu 1936 by Free Press) who became a teacher at Abellana High School after the contest, and was married to Lorenzo Encomienda, former mayor of Lauban, Tayabas.


1938, CORAZON ECHAVEZ
Daughter of Vicente Echavez of Aloguinsan, Cebu. At the time of the contest, she was a student at the Little Flower of Jesus Academy. She was escorted to her crowning by her brother, Vicente Jr., a lawyer. She eventually also married a lawyer who later became a judge in one of Cebu’s northern towns.

1939, MARY GULLAS
The only daughter of Paulino Gullas, a representative of the second district of Cebu. Se married her consort, Mike Jayme, who became a lawyer.

1940, CRISTINA ABERASTURI
For the 1940 edition of the Cebu Carnival, two queens were chosen to reign over the festivities. The first was Cristina Aberasturi, a Spanish mestiza and an interna at the St. Catherine’s School in Carcar. Her court included: Milagros Lebumfacil (Toledo, Miss Luzon) who became the wife of Imelda Marcos’s elder brother; Amelia Tan Villanueva (Miss Visayas), already a gifted teacher when she joined the contest, and Soledad Misa (Cebu City, Miss Mindanao)

1940, CARMEN GONZALES
The 2nd Carnival Queen of Cebuin 1940 was another Spanish mestiza, Carmen Gonzales, dubbed as the “Deanna Durbin of Cebu”. She was a student of St. Theresa’s College, and she was attended to by her court of honor that included: Bernardita Tabada (Miss Luzon), Elena Borromeo Herrera (Miss Visayas) and Dolores Dineros (Miss Mindanao).

1941, NENA GONZALES
The impending war did not dampen the Carnival spirit of Cebuanos, for in 1941, two queens were again elected in one of the liveliest carnivals Cebu ever had—which was to be the province’s last. Nena Gonzales of Lahug got the crown of Cebu Carnival Queen.


1941, FLORDELIZA MANCAO y PANUNCIALMAN
Sharing the throne was Flordeliza P. Mancao, proclaimed Miss Labor Day, and especially chosen to reign over the Labor Day celebration. She was the daughter of Pedro Mancao and Sofia Panuncialman of Carcar. No less than the Mayor of Manila and Secretary of Labor, Leon Guinto, crowned her. She was escorted by Engr. Cesar Dakay. Three years after her reign, she married Dr. Rafel Ong of Capiz and was at one time a Home Economics teacher at the Carcar Central School.

115.CEBU CARNIVAL QUEENS, 1914 – 1931, part I

The Manila Carnival fever caught on not only in the provinces of Luzon but also in the cities down South—cascading down to Cebu which led the way in staging the most opulent spectacles outside of Manila. If Manila had Wallace Field as the venue, Fuente Osmeña was the original site of the Cebu carnival events. The carnival season in the Queen City of the South, it was said, rivalled those of Manila in terms of pageantry and presentation, and the royals who reigned over the festivities were no less beautiful and accomplished than the national winners.

1914, ENRIQUETA ALDANESE y LASSO DI VEGA
The 1st ever Carnival in Cebu was held 6 years after the national Carnival. The winner, Enriqueta Aldanese belonged to the prominent Aldanese family from Sibonga, Cebu. She had also been the Dia del Español Queen (Spanish Day Queen) for that year. Later, in 1918, Enriqueta bagged the Manila Carnival Queen title, an even bigger honor that made her into a national figure. She eventually became the wife of Don Jose Paris, an engineer.

1915, ROSARIO SINGSON

1917, BASILISA ABAD
The second Cebu Carnival was held in 1917 and a beauty from Barili, Basilisa Abad, was chosen as Queen. She married a certain Dr. Atenzo and settled in Mindanao with her children.

1918, ROSARIO LLAMAS
Another Spanish mestiza from Parian was the winner of the 1918 Cebu Carnival crown—Rosario Llamas.

1921, AMPARO ROYO

1922, AMPARO MELLADO

1923, ANGELES CLIMACO y OSMEÑA
Angeles Climaco was the last queen to be crowned at Fuente Osmeña, the original site of the Cebu Carnivals. “Angeling” was the daughter of Don Arsenio Climaco, the provincial governor, and her mother was Dna. Juanita Osmeña. At her coronation, she was escorted by Nick Osmeña, eldest son of then National Assembly Speaker Sergio Osmeña, who was an active participant of the Manila Carnivals. Catalina Apacible, also that year’s Manila Carnival Queen winner, lent her crown for her to wear. Nene was then more than a dear friend of Perico Limjap, Sergio Osmeña’s brother-in-law, and would shortly become her husband. Angeles married Dr. Ildefonso Ubud, whom she outlived.


1925, CECILIA MICHAEL
Angelic-faced Cecilia Michael was the queen-elect of the 1925 Cebu Carnival and was escorted by Francisco Racaza. She later married Rafael Ramos.


1927, ENCARNACION LIVIOCO
The 1927 winner , fondly called Encarnita, practically grew up in Manila and was the daughter of the Cebu provincial treasurer. Her consort was Victorino Climaco, the younger brother of Queen Angeles, and a pharmacist by profession.


1930, MARIA CONSUELO CABASA
In 1930, Jose Nolasco, the Director-General of the Cebu Carnival, lauched a city-wide search for the next queen. All the districts of Cebu fielded a delegate, making the contest more competitive. In the end, it was Ma. Consuelo Cabasa, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Juan Cabasa of Pasil district, who emerged victorious in the most spectacular edition of the carnival pageant. Her damas included: Maria del Mar (Parian) and Remedios Manlunas (Sambag). Consuelo, escorted by Paciano Reyes, had the distinction of being crowned by the 1930 Miss Philippines and her namesake, Monina Consuelo Acuña. She later became the bride of Capt. Gallardo of Bohol, but the couple remained childless.


1931, CONCEPCION CUENCO y ALESNA
The charming Concepcion Cuenco (b. 18 Feb. 1912), daughter of Sen. Mariano Jesus Cuenco and Filomena Alesna, reigned as the 1931 queen. Her consort was Dr. Protacio V. Solon. Concepcion also snagged the Miss Free Press Cebu titles two years in a row, in 1931 and 1932. She married Engr. Mariano F. Manguerra of Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Her 4 surviving children (Victoria, Mariano, Ana Maria, Cecilia Catalina) are all professionals. The youngest, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, is an accomplished Fil-Am author.


In that same carnival, another beauty was named “Bito-on sa Babaye”—Rita V. Pañares, daughter of Bartolome Pañares and Manuela Villaflor of Barli. Rita was a valedictorian of her elementary and high school classes at Colegio dela Immaculada Concepcion At the University of the Philippines, she was a champion debater together with the 1929 Miss Philippines, Pacita delos Reyes. She married a UP professor, Atty. Alvarez.