Before leaving for the Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow on Monday, Miss Philippines Ariella Arida was interviewed live by Karen Davila on ANC’s Headstart. ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel) broadcasts in English.
The country’s delegate to the most prestigious beauty contest was asked about criticisms on her communication skills, that she can’t express herself in English well.
Although a graduate of the University of the Philippines, Ariella seems not to be as fluid as other beauty queens, but her English is, well, passable.
There was even a suggestion that she may need an interpreter for the question-and-answer portion, which she deemed unnecessary as she can express her thoughts and feelings on her own.
She added that Latinas can’t even finish a complete sentence in English yet they’ve won.
We saw the interview and we understood the flow of the conversation. Ariella did not mean anything to demean Latinas. All she was saying was if and when she can’t deliver her answer in perfect English it doesn’t mean she’s no longer apt for the crown, as other contestants who need interpreters do.
That interview drew flak from DJ in limbo, Mo Twister, now based in New York. He only took that part of the interview and appeared to start fire with the whole Latino race to condemn Ara, saying that Filipinos are too sensitive when the comments are negative, like that of Dan Brown and Alec Baldwin, but here, one of our own, taking a swipe at an entire race.
He even added he’s “quite certain a few of the Latina contestants can cook up few intelligible lines in English that would leave Ariella here dizzy in her heels.”
Bashers and supporters had a great time exchanging tirades for a couple of days because of that. A fellow Miss Universe candidate, Jakelyne Oliveira, representing Brazil, was supposed to have commented via Twitter about Ariella’s racist remarks. But the Latina beauty later clarified that she has no Twitter account and somebody was just using her name in answer to the allegations.
Written in Portuguese but automatically translated by Bing when you click “See Translation” Miss Brazil said in her personal Facebook account : “Good afternoon from Moscow! Guys, unfortunately some people are using profiles of social networks (Facebook and Twitter) in my name and publishing false information. My official profiles are that Facebook page Jaakelyne on Instagram. Don’t have a profile on Twitter or any other social network… Please share this information with their networks so that more people know and be sure to follow the fake profiles.”
The Twitter page was subsequently deleted, but some tweets managed to circulate and were replied by Filipino netizens apologizing for the misinterpretation of Ariella’s remark.
In last year’s pageant, Janine Tugonon’s question was if it’s a requirement, being an ambassador, to be fluent in English, as Miss Universe. She answered that it really did not matter, as long as the person speaks from the heart then it will be understood by all people. Her performance in the answer-and-question portion was in fact had more impact than that of Miss USA, who was proclaimed the winner, and Miss Philippines was first runner-up.
For excerpts of the interview, please click or copy paste the link http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/10/22/13/mo-twister-blasts-miss-universe-bet-ariella-arida
Photos from http://missosology.org and the organization bearing water mark. You can also visit Missosology on Facebook. First photo shows Ariella with Jakelyne. Second photo shows Ariella with Miss Bulgaria
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