Ang Kalatas Volume V November 2014 Issue | Page 12

12 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.”