Karla during her Bb. Pilipinas 2008 stint. She failed to win the three crowns at stake but she moved on beyond that! (Photo: Bb. Pilipinas)

Miss Earth started with some faux pas dispensing politically incorrect awards such as Miss Super White Skin only to redeem itself years later by crowning a black African. It then reached its zenith when the world’s attention focused on the pageant for having a Miss Afghanistan. This year however, nobody seems to care that there is a Miss South Sudan or a Miss Pakistan.

Miss Philippines Karla Paula Henry as Miss Earth 2008 is a test of the pageant’s so called maturity. Is it confident enough to award the crown to the hometown delegate without the fear of being charged of partiality? Is the pageant secure enough to convey to the world that it is a non-discriminatory and judicious pageant that is sincerely committed to help save the Mother Earth?

It could be said now that Miss Earth has truly matured. First and foremost, no other pageant can boast participation from countries you can barely see in international arena such as Bhutan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also no pageant can truly claim a more relevant and timely cause than Miss Earth’s pitch for environmental conservation. This year’s pageant also showed how the pageant has a taste for diverse beauties with semi-finalists from Nigeria, Poland and Thailand.

Awarding the crown to Karla is not an easy one. Miss Tanzania Miriam Odemba came from nowhere to impress everyone with her beauty and poise. But Miss Earth is one of the few remaining beauty contests that embraced objectivity where the final question, not pre-final notions or political prejudices, determines on who will wear the Swarovski crown. It was Karla’s final answer by linking environmental awareness with education that made her bag the title.

Winning the Miss Philippines pageant redeemed Karla from her failures at Bb. Pilipinas

Karla Paula Henry came to clinch the Miss Earth crown through a relentless effort that says no to defeat. She started her quest by joining the Philippine national pageant that selects the country’s delegate to the other three major international pageants. She fell short in that pageant where the final result – not necessarily because Karla was excluded from top titles – raised howls of protests. Karla was undeterred and joined the Miss Earth Philippines pageant and won. The rest is then history.

For those who were able to watch the entirety of Miss Earth 2008 it is easy to conclude that Karla deserved the crown. She aced the preliminary gown segment and was adjudged the most photogenic delegate. But some things went awkward in the finale. She was the shortest among the roster of winners. It also appears in the tableau that Miss Mexico Abigail Elizondo is the winner as she is placed on the same spot where last year’s winner Jessica Trisko of Canada stood. (This is perhaps the disadvantage of having a winner with three runner-ups) The only thing that makes it obvious that Karla is the winner is that she’s got the largest crown of them all.

Nevertheless, her victory gave Miss Earth some air of confidence. That it can crown a Miss Philippines despite the fact that the pageant has Filipino roots, organized and held in the Philippines. It also gave the Filipinos – pageant crazy and eternally hoping for a major international crown – something to relish on. It somehow gave them an assurance that the past glory of the Philippines in the world of beauty pageant is not yet dead. But there are some questions hanging in the air. How could Karla end up winning a major international crown and yet failed to reach the top in a national pageant? Was it because standards differ? Or one pageant is inferior to the other (which could go both ways)?

Karla's Miss Earth victory was met by both jubilation and dismay. Her detractors called her victory "disastrous" and some complained that she is not in par with the winners of Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss International

For all the things that need to be analyzed and pondered on, for all the questions that can be raised, for all the implications that one can deduce, Karla’s victory could simply yield a simple lesson. A lesson that has been an adage for years – trite yet timeless: try and try until you succeed.

BACK TO INDEX