The first Philippine Pageant: Carnival Queen, Manila Carnival!

The first Manila Carnival in 1908 elected two queens representing the Oriental beauty and the Western beauty (called Occident) – Pura Villanueva from Iloilo City, Iloilo (Queen of the Orient) and Marjorie Radcliffe Colton from Galesburg, Illinois(Queen of the Occident). [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The site of the Manila Carnival was the old Wallace Field that was just off the present Luneta Park; occupied by the present-day National Library of the Philippines.
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Goodnight. ♡

Manila Carnival was an annual carnival festival held in Manila during the early American colonial period up to the time before the Second World War. It was organized by the American colonial administration to celebrate harmonious US and Philippine relations. 
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The Carnival also showcased the commercial, industrial and agricultural progress of the Philippines. The highlight of the event is the crowning of the Carnival Queens.
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The Queen was voted through a system of money ballots or magazine coupons. The Carnival Queens dressed the most beautiful costumes of the parade, ranging from Egyptian inspired to Siamese to that of the Arabian Scheherazade.
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In the Philippine Exposition of 1938, a beautiful Spanish mestiza with clear Kapampangan roots stole the show by winning the Miss Philippines 1938 crown at Manila Carnival. She was Guia Balmori, one of 13 children of Rosario Gonzales and Joaquin Balmori of Bacolor. It is interesting to note that in 1927, a Bacolor belle was also in the same pageant wearing the Miss Pampanga sash, Rosario Manuel.
Guia was studying at the University of Santo Tomas when she became a Carnival Queen candidate over the objections of her father who felt it was frivolous and expensive. Her school felt the same. But that did not deter her supporters, including several newspapers. When all the votes were counted, Guia emerged winner without spending a centavo.
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Her coronation gown was made by the very promising designer at that time, Ramon Valera.
In 1940, Guia married Atty. Jose Avelino Jr., whose father Jose Sr. was Commonwealth Secretary of Public Works and later Senate president.

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When the Philippine Carnival Association opened the search for the 1930 Miss Philippines, the task of selecting delegates to the national contest reverted back to the newspapers, as this proved to be the most lucrative way of raising funds. Consuelo was eagerly courted by newspapers willing to sponsor her candidacy —La Vanguardia, Taliba and La Defensa. One other change was the naming of the second, third and fourth placers as Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas and Miss Mindanao, irregardless of their province of origin.
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In the end of the pageant in 1930, it was Monina Zaldarriaga Acuna
—described by the papers as “so cute and childish”—who romped away with the 1930 Miss Philippines title, ahead of Estrella Alvarez (Miss Luzon), Luz Villaluna (Miss Visayas) and Rosario Ruiz Zorilla (Miss Mindanao) . Never mind if she was only 17, a year shy of the required age qualification, a technicality that the judges and the other contestants didn’t seem to mind.
Monina was the 2nd beauty from Iloilo to win the Carnival Queen crown. Twenty two years earlier, Pura Villanueva of Molo reigned as the first queen.

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In 1936, a Southern beauty made her mark in the annual Carnival by capturing the crown of Miss Philippines,leaving three beauties from Luzon to fight for the regional titles. Mercedes Montilla of Negros Occidental was born on 14 July 1915, the daughter of Gil Montilla, a prominent sugar planter and the first Speaker of the Philippine Assembly. She was named after her mother—Mercedes Sr.—who was also a Montilla from Pulupandan, and a second cousin of Gil. The Montillas had Spanish roots, and this was evident in Mercedes’s fair and delicate beauty. But behind her refined femininity, a woman of strong character, influence and power would soon develop.

The coronation night of the 1925 Manila Carnival had an Egyptian theme with the Queen wearing a crown topped by a snake and her Consort garbed in a Pharaoh costume.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

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The winning Carnival Queen, attended by her King Consort and princesses, was crowned in an elaborate evening affair, with pomp and pageantry befitting a new nobility.

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The first Filipina Carnival Queen, Pura Villanueva of Iloilo, who reigned in 1908. She was the daughter of Emilio Villanueva and Emilia Garcia of Palencia, Spain.

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The acclaimed beauty, Pura Villanueva, and her court of honor, in her official portrait as Queen of the Orient 1908.

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In 1926, beauty delegates for the Carnival Queen crown were identified by their provincial titles for the first time.

 

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Manila Carnival Queen Winner 1908 to 1916.

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Manila Carnival Queen Winner 1917 to 1924!

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Manila Carnival Queen Winner 1925 to 1931!

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Manila Carnival Queen Winner 1932 to 1939!

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Our passion for beauty pageants owes its beginnings to the fabled Carnival Queens of pre-war Manila. The carnival coronations evoked an aura of pomp and pageantry that ultimately gave way decades later to the sleek, highly commercialized atmosphere of beauty pageants today.
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1922 Manila Carnival Queen Virginia II and Her Maids. Taken by Sun Studio.

Miss UP crowned as Queen of 
1923 Philippine Carnival. 
Miss Paz de los Reyes Ongsianco. 
Taken by Sun Studio
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Philippine Carnival 1924. Taken by Sun Studio.

1927 Manila Carnival, Miss Philippines 1927 is Luisa Fernandez Marasigan!
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FLORAL PARADE. Luisa Marasigan and King Consort Guillermo Jose, at the traditional floral motorcade.

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•Luisa Fernandez Marasigan, Miss Philippines 1927 from Gumaca, Tayabas
》The 2nd Miss Philippines of the Manila Carnival was an Escolarina, Luisa Fernandez Marasigan. Although she represented Manila in the national contest, many still refer to her as "Miss Philippines from Gumaca, Tayabas", where she hailed from.