DAYS  OF  GLORY  ON  'MAGPAKAILANMAN'

MANILA, MAY 10, 2007 (STAR) FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo - To be told on tonight’s edition of Magpakailanman (GMA 7, around 11 o’clock, before Saksi) is the Gloria Diaz story which is a tie-up with Tide (of which Gloria is one of the endorsers).

"Do I use Tide?" asked Gloria, the country’s first Miss Universe (1969). "Oh yes, I do. In fact, when I went to Miami for the Miss Universe contest, I brought with me a few boxes of Tide. How else could I have washed my underwear during the more than three weeks I was there for the contest? That’s why when I am asked what, among others, my advice is to our contestants abroad, I say, ‘Magdala ng Tide.’ No kidding!"

Anyway, Gloria’s life has been an open book but tonight’s Magpakailanman might spring some surprises. Several men have been romantically linked to Gloria but only three are included in the episode — Baron Geisler as Gloria’s ex-wife Bong Daza, Polo Ravales as Gloria’s late first showbiz boyfriend Vic Vargas and her present love Mike Martinez (shown only in pictures).

It has been almost 38 years since Gloria won in that fateful Miss Universe pageant on July 19, 1969, the same day the first man (astronaut Neil Armstrong) landed on the moon, prompting US Pres. Richard Nixon to say, "The US has conquered the moon but the Philippines has conquered the universe."

Here’s a misty-eyed look at those "days of Glory," courtesy of Funfare’s "other beauty expert" Celso de Guzman Caparas:

• Born Gloria Maria Aspillera Diaz, Gloria made history when she was crowned as the first Filipina Miss Universe, beating 60 other delegates, at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami, Florida.

• Two days before she left for Miami, Gloria consulted a Chinese fortune-teller who told her that she would win.

• During the first dinner for the Miss U candidates at the Monte Carlo Hotel, Therese Bechman, past chairman of the hostess (chaperone) committee, told journalist (Gloria Goloy, Miss Diaz’s official chaperone), "This girl will win; I feel it. I felt the same way about Miss Brazil last year and she won. This year, you just wait. I may be right again."

• Gloria was singled out from among the eight Asian delegates to do an impromptu acting scene during a tour at the Universal Studios, an early sign that she would venture into showbiz.

• Gloria was named one of Ten Best in Swimsuit in a preliminary event held on July 16, along with the delegates from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Israel, Peru, USA and Yugoslavia. They all made it to the semi-finals.

• The order of announcement of the semi-finalists was: (Group 1) Joanne Barret (Australia), Harriet Marita Eriksson (Finland), Maria Julia Mantilla Mayer (Peru), Eva Rueber-Staier (Austria, who later won as Miss World 1969), Patricia Ingrid Walker (Norway), Gloria Diaz (Philippines) and Chava Levy (Israel); and (Group 2 ) Wendy Jane Dascomb (USA), Natasa Kosir (Yugoslavia), Vera Lucia Fischer (Brazil), Brigitta Lindloff (Sweden), Margarita Maria Reyez Zawadsky (Colombia), Kikuyo Osuka (Japan), Monica Larson Teuber (Chile ) and Patrice Sollner (Switzerland).

• And the order of announcement of finalists was: Finland, Israel, Australia, Philippines and Japan (who eventually became the first runner-up, third runner-up, second runner-up, winner and fourth runner-up, respectively.)

• The final question was: "If the man from the moon should come down to earth and visit your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?" Gloria’s winning answer was: "Why, I guess I would do for him what I always do. Since he has been on the moon for so long, he would want a change."

• Gloria and Miss Finland tied for the Miss Universe crown. Since there can only be one Miss Universe, judges went into a quick huddle to resolve the deadlock. Gloria received seven votes against Miss Finland’s five votes.

• The 12-man panel of judges included 1962 Miss Universe Norman Beatriz Nolan (of Argentina) and Eileen Ford, co-founder of Ford Modelling agency.

• Dark-Haired Miss Universe: Little Girl from A Big Island was the headline on Miami Herald the morning after Gloria won.

• US Pres. Richard Nixon and Mrs. Pat Nixon arrived in Manila on July 26, 1969 for a state visit, the same day Gloria left for New York en route to Manila via Honolulu for her homecoming. It was Nixon who said, "The US conquered the moon but the Philippines has conquered the universe."

• Gloria reigned for 357 days. She relinquished her crown and title to Marisol Malaret (of Puerto Rico) on July 11, 1970 in Miami, Florida.