Ang Kalatas Volume V November 2014 Issue | Page 12
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 2 | November 2014
MISS PHILIPPINES-AUSTRALIA 2014
GLYSSA PEREZ: Proud of her roots
GLYSSA Perez is proud of her roots.
And she boasts of the beauty of a
distant hometown she considers
very much her own.
Glyssa at the Miss Philippines-Australia 2014 swimwear competition. Photo: Bob
Reyes
“I’VE been to the Philippines especially Bohol. It’s such a beautiful place and
I would encourage everyone to visit it
– there’s a lot of resorts there like Panglao Island but it’s much quieter if you
want to relax, it’s a very nice place,”
says Glyssa to AK on her Wednesday
day-off which was spent for a photoshoot and interview at the scenic Lake
Woodcroft.
Glyssa, a Plumpton resident, was
crowned Miss Philippines-Australia
2014 at the pageant’s finals at the Fiesta
Kultura last month.
The down-to-earth working student shares her t houghts about winning
the crown, about the Philippines, about
not getting lost in translation even if she
confuses Visayan words with Tagalog
words.
She’s a full-blooded Pinay – mother hails from Bohol while father hails
from Bulacan – born and raised in Australia and she endeavours to learn about
her culture; that includes trying Pinoy
phrases and mastering Pinoy cooking.
“I understand Filipino more than I
can speak. I sometimes confuse Bisaya and Tagalog, sometimes I speak to
friends in Tagalog but end up saying
something in Bisaya – I really want to
learn the dialects,” says the 19-year old
beauty who represented the Visayan
Association of Australia at the pageant.
“I loooove Filipino food,” she says
with a sudden glow on her face. “My ultimate favourite is pansit, my mum taught
me how to cook it. I also know how to
cook adobo, make afritada, and sinigang.”
Glyssa is not really new to pageants.
At 16, she was crowned Miss Teen Woodcroft. In 2012, she won the Miss Wow
Blacktown and Miss Wow Charity Titles.
“The first time I was approached to
join Miss Philippines-Australia, I was
only 15 then and I said no. I felt I was very
young. Then after winning some pageants, I said to myself maybe I’m ready
and it’s time for me to join. I’m just so
thankful because there were so many people behind me supporting me all the way
and without their support I wouldn’t have
done it.”
She lives up to the pageant motto
‘beauty with a purpose.’ She knows she
has a mission here in Australia or even in
the Philippines.
“I have a mission and a vision in empowering the future generation. I’m very
passionate about working with the youth
and be able to reach out to the younger
ones. I hope to be a good role model for
our young to involve themselves in the
community.
“I really want to do something in the
Philippines especially in my mum’s province. There’s so much improvements that
can be done there – maybe work in helping
children’s education, do activities to promote education in the area.”
Glyssa currently studies Commerce,
major in Finance, while working at a child
care facility. She spends much of her time
in church work too where she does worship singing and helps out with the children’s ministry.
“It’s a challenge to balance work and
studies. But for as long as I know how to
organise my time, everything should be
fine.”
Does she have plans to join a beauty
contest in the Philippines soon?
“One of my dream is to enter a beauty pageant in the Philippines – just to meet
and experience the culture in the Philippines. I’m planning to enter a major Philippine pageant but first I have to finish my
degree,” says the 19-year-old beauty. She
knows her priorities.
“Study first, education first, and then
when you’re ready pursue your dreams –
that’s what my parents always say. Well,
follow your parents, obey your parents,
that’s what I’m doing.”
Glyssa describes herself as God-fearing, a ‘now’ person, who believes that life
is about being good and doing good to others.
“For me what’s important is the
‘now’ although in the future I really see
myself as someone who made a difference not for myself but for people,” she
says.
“It’s a cliché but it’s true – I just want
to make a difference.”
MISS CHARITY QUEEN 2014
HANNAH ARNOLD
MISS Charity Queen 2014
Hannah Arnold is ready to
volunteer her time and effort to
be a ‘good worker and a good
citizen’.
THE 18-year-old beauty from Canberra says joining the pageant is her
way to help the community especially the disadvantaged.
“I joined the Miss Philippines
Australia and Charity Queen pageant primarily because I knew that
I would be given the opportunity to
raise funds and awareness for numerous organisations and charities,” she
tells AK in an email interview.
“When the announcement was
made that I had won the title of Charity Queen, I was ecstatic and felt a
great sense of gratitude and gratefulness towards my community as without their support I would not have
been able to raise the much needed
funds for the disadvantaged.”
Her goals are straightforward,
her timetable is immediate.
“My immediate plan as Charity
Queen is to set myself as a role model
by being a good daughter, good student, good worker and a good citizen.”
Hannah is currently studying a
Bachelor of Applied Science in Forensic studies at the University of
Canberra. Her Filipino heritage
comes from her mother, her father is
Australian.
“I am continuing to give back to
my community by contributing donations and volunteering my time
to help already established organisations that provide assistance and
support to members of the community.”