Supra Preliminaries

 Dindi sizzles at the swim & gown prelims

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Miss Supranational Philippines 2021 Dindi Pajares slayed both the swimsuit and evening gown categories at the Miss Supranational preliminaries held in Hotel Beskid in Poland's Malopolska region.

Consistently garbed in hues of blue, Dindi aced the evening gown competition in a turquoise bustier with a thigh-revealing skirt flowing into a bustle train. The subtly detailed ensemble by Mark Bumgarner took all of three days to finish, and shipped to Poland in time for the prelims.

The candidates were presented in batches of ten, except for the last which only had eight, and Dindi was lucky to be first in her group - much like Catriona Gray in her Bangkok pageant.

The Bataan maiden equally aced the swimsuit competition in a canary yellow and midnight blue coordinated bikini with matching sarong; sashaying on the red carpet catwalk with effortless ease. The preliminaries highlighted the candidates two-week stay in different parts of the Polish countryside while basking in the warm Polish summer sun 

A few days prior, Dindi was proclaimed first runner-up in the Miss Elegance challenge. She wore a purplish beribboned bustier with leg baring skirt created by 16-year-old Angeiline Texon. The challenge was won by Karla Guilfu Acevedo of Puerto Rico, with Eoanna Constanza of Dominican Republic as second runner-up. During the prelims after-show interview, Constanza told the interviewer that the amber-colored gown she wore was made by a Filipino designer.

Prior to the announcement of the Miss Elegance Top 3, the 58 candidates were first trimmed down to a Top 10 (or 11, as the tenth spot was a tie). The eight other contenders who made it to the Top 11 were Swelia da Silva Antonio (Netherlands), Deise Benecio (Brazil), Louise-Marie Losfeld (Belgium), Jihane Almira Chedid (Indonesia), Pascale Belony (Haiti), Angelina Kostyshyn (Czech Republic), Anitha Kate Umuratwa (Rwanda), and Natalia Balicka of Poland, Dindi's roommate. 

"Elegance is more than your outer beauty - putting on the makeup and having the glitz and glam. But it's the values - how you choose to portray those values, yourself, and your poise in a strong, confident empowering way. Elegance falls more into to your inner self and how you project it out into your body language," enthused outgoing queen Anntonia Porsild, during an interview, after the awarding ceremonies.

The Miss Elegance challenge unfolded in the fairy tale village of Sienna, in the administrative district of Gmina Stronie Slaskie, within the Klodzho County in Lower Silesian Volvodeship in southwest Poland. Though prior to 1945, this village was part of Germany. You won't believe it, but this lovely village is only inhabited by 50 residents!

The preliminary competition's selection committee was comprised of reigning Miss Supranational Anntonia Porsild, Miss Supranational organization creative director Andre Sleigh, Miss Poland Universe 2020 Natalia Pigula, Miss Universe 2020 second runner-up Janick Maceta, together with online jurors Miss Supranational 2016 Shrinidhi Shetty of India and Miss Supranational 2018 Valeria Vasquez of Puerto Rico.

At the close of the preliminaries, Miss Supranational Belgium 2021 Louise-Marie Losfeld was voted Miss Photogenic.

The 2021 Miss Supranational final show will be beamed live via satellite through the CNN Philippines network at 2 am on Sunday, August 22. The coronation night will be replayed later in the evening at 10 pm.

CNN Philippines network is aired over free TV channels - RPN TV-9 in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao, as well as RPN TV 5 in Zamboanga, RPN TV 12 in Baguio, RPN-8 in Bacolod - and on cable TV stations - Sky Cable 14 (Manila), Sky Cable 6 (Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Baguio), Destiny Cable 14, Cable Link channel 14, Cignal TV channel 10, and Dream Cable chanel 13. You may also catch the coronation night's live stream broadcast on its Facebook channel.