Celeste Cortesi

 Is Celeste Cortesi a Filipina?

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Pasay City representative in this year's Miss Universe Philippines race has been faced with questions regarding her citizenship as a Filipina. This issue is, however, not a new one. Any pageant entrant who has a dual citizenship and/or born to a parent of foreign lineage will, at one point or another, be confronted with her citizenship status.

Celeste's accusers doubt her 'Filipina-ness' because of the way she talks and the way she looks. And because she grew up in Italy, she has assimilated the heavy accent of how Italians speak in English. Her naysayers fault her for that. She's also accused of not being fluent in speaking Tagalog.

She even made an effort to fit into the mold that other people think she should be, especially those criticizing her heavy accent. In an "Extraordinary Talks" interview with Cuban vlogger Luis Portelles (who's based in Canada), Celeste remarked that, "What makes me a Filipina are the values that my Filipino mom always taught me throughout my journey here . . . and that's what makes me a real Filipina."

Citizenship is a serious issue in the Miss Universe pageant, in both national and international searches. This is because the immediate consequence of a crowned winner is dethronement.

When Anjeanette Abayari, who was crowned as Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1991, got embroiled in a citizenship issue, she resigned. In 1999, eventual winner Janelle Bautista was dethroned for that very reason. 

In 2015, Binibining Pilipinas Universe winner Ma  Venus Raj made headlines when her citizenship status was questioned. Fortunately, everything was ironed out and she competed in Las Vegas that year - and started the country's longest live semifinal streak in the Miss Universe pageant history.

The Miss Universe Philippines 2022 pageant is Celeste Cortesi's second national pageant, after winning the Miss Philippines Earth title in 2018.