232. 1935 Queen of the Albay Carnival: TERESA BARRANACEA

Beauties and consorts of the 1935 Albay Carnival and Industrial Fair, led by Queen-elect Teresa Barranecea (Queen Teresa I) and her King Consort Lt. Artemio Soriano.

Princesses and escorts include Priscilla Acuna, Carmen Palomo, Eustaquio Jimenez and R. Mirasol.

231. Queen of the 1933 Iloilo Carnival: MARIANITA CARAZA

Her Majesty, Marianita Caraza and her court of honor at the throne of the 1933 Iloilo Carnival. From left to right: Consort Emilio Escares, princess Susing Rocha, the Queen, King Consort, Boy Opisso (son of Judge Opisso), Princess Lourdes Rivera and consort Vicente Borromeo.

230. Carnival Beauties: ISABEL C. BOWERS, 1927 Miss Romblon

BOWERS BEAUTIFUL. The firtst and only known Miss Romblon, Isabel C. Bowers, who participated in the 2nd National Beauty Contest of the Manila Carnival, won by Luisa Marasigan. 

Little is known about Romblon's first and only representative to the Miss Philippines Beauty Contest of the Manila Carnival--American mestiza, Isabel C. Bowers.

There were several Bowers who came to the Philippines at the time of the American conquest who may have been her relatives: .two Thomasites with the Bowers surname came with the first batch of American teachers to the Islands in the early 1900s--Benjamin F. Bowers (assigned in Antique) and George Bowers (assigned in Batangas). They could very well be Isabel's forebears.

Isabel was related somehow to Brig. Gen. Clarence H. Bowers (1880-1943), the Philippine Constabulary head and a former superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy who married  Constancia Madrilejos of Romblon, daughter of Bonifacio Marron Madrilejos and Vicenta Manalon Maculang, on 31 August 1906.

This Bowers couple had two children, Elizabeth Maud Constance and Lejuna Bowers. (N.B. It is interesting to note that "Isabel" is the Spanish equivalent of Elizabeth; could she be one and the same person? Mother Constancia anglicized her name to "Constance Bowers" after her marriage to Clarence. In any event, this Elizabeth Maud Bowers returned to the U.S. in 1932 and took up Industrial Design at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pennsylvania. She married Engr. John Rice, had two daughters and eventually became a noted name in industrial and graphic design, one of only few American women to achieve such feat in a field dominated by men.)

229. A Tribute to Miss Mindanao 1935, CARMELING DEL ROSARIO

A video tribute to Carmeling Del Rosario-Rodriguez (b. 2 July 1916)  Miss Mindanao of the 1935 Manila Carnival who passed away this year on 17 April 2012, at age 96, in Makati. Used with permission (Thank you Aids Asis for the youtube video tribute).

For  her remarkable Carnival story, please refer to: MISSING MISS MINDANAO

228. Queen of the Iloilo Carnival : AIDA KILAYKO

In one of the earliest petit fairs of Iloilo, the lovely Aida “Aiding” Kilayko reigned as the 1925 queen. Her parents were Eugenio Copa Kilayko and Celsa Lizares, both from landed families of Talisay, Negros Occidental, who owned large sugar haciendas and prosperous farm holdings. Aida was educated at the Assumption College in Iloilo, and excelled in piano. As a young member of the “buena sociedad Ilongga”, Aida was also known for being a cultured and refined young woman.

After her coronation as Iloilo’s carnival queen, she was back in Manila to continue her Pharmacy course at the Centro Escolar de Señoritas. By December 1925, she was in the front page again as one of the winners of Philipine Free Press’ search for the 4 most representative types of “Bellezas Filipinas”. Over two thousand pictures were received as entries of the popular Manila paper; these were whittled down to 72, then 24 finalists. A judging panel comprising of artists Fabian de la Rosa, Guillermo Tolentino, Fernando Amorsolo and Jorge Pineda chose the winners, headed by Manila Carnival contestants Rosario Panganiban, Salud Austria, Margarita Lacson and Aida Kilayko, who placed third. She won a gold panuelo pin for her win.

“Aiding” later married lawyer Julio Hernaez, whom she outlived. They had 4 children: Corazon, Maria Fe, Julian Jr. and Susan.

227. Carnival Beauties: ARMINDA MARTINEZ, 1926 Miss Isabela

ISABELA'S IDOL. The first Miss Isabela, Arminda Martinez in her official portarit as a candidadte to the 1926 Miss Philippines quest.

The second largest province in the Philippines (after Palawan), Isabela was created in 1856  carved out from the rich, expansive region of Cagayan Valley. The province was named after Queen Isabela II of Spain.

 After the end of the Philippine Revolution which saw the capture of Pres. Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela, the province was reorganized under the American regime through Act No. 210, passed August 24, 1901. The province was a noted corn and rice basket in the region and found a cause to drumbeat this reputation through its participation in the annual Manila Carnival.

Out also to prove that Isabela was not just a land of plenty but also of beauty, the provincial government sent its first-ever beauty delegate to compete in the 1st National Beauty Contest of the 1926 Manila Carnival. The pert and pretty Arminda Martinez was appointed for the job, which she did with aplomb at the national event. The title, however, went to Miss Batangas, Anita Noble.

226. THE 2ND NUEVA ECIJA CARNIVAL OF 1927

QUEEN AMPARING I. The queen-elect of the 2nd Nueva Ecija Carnival of 1927, held at Cabanatuan. However, the one who got to go to Manila for the Miss Philippines contest was Julita Matias.

Nueva Ecija, one of the rice and sugar-producing provinces of Central Luzon, was an early supporter of the Manila Carnival. Proud to showcase its achievements especially in the field of agriculture, the provincial government put up exhibition booths in the early years of the Carnival (1908-1909). Some Nueva Ecijanas also figured in the national search for the Manila Carnival Queen; Pacita Bantug de Guzman of San Isidro came close to winning the 1912 crown when she placed 2nd to Paz Marquez. The province was also represented in 1926 (candidate unknown) and in 1927 by Julita Matias.

Gripped with Carnival fever, Nueva Ecija soon started holding its own petit carnivals beginning in 1926. In 1927, the 2nd Nueva Ecija Carnival was staged, capped with the coronation of Queen Amparing I, as the festival royalty.