MISTER INTERNATIONAL 2019: MY INITIAL PICKS

by Direk Romm Burlat

Pageants nowadays, be it for female or male, are dime a dozen. Some organizers are even coming up with pageants with some titles never heard of or titles which you can't even understand.

For female pageants, I only believe in Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, Miss Earth and perhaps Miss Supranational. For male pageants, there are only two for me on my list which I put my trust to: Manhunt International and Mister International but the former seems to have vanished into thin air.

Last night, I was privileged to be invited by the President of PEPPs, Carlo Morris Galang for its presentation of candidates in swim and formal wear. If memory serves me right, there are 35 of them from different countries in the world.

I have noticed that there are better looking candidates this year compared to previous years. I had the privilege of talking to each and everyone of them after the presentation. Based on their initial performance last night plus their wits and attitude when I had a tete-a-tete with each of them, two are tops on my list. If that was already the final night, I should say Mister Czech Republic should be crowned Mister International with Mister Lebanon as the close second. Czech Republic has the best built and the best performance on the ramp. Lebanon who has the most handsome face in the competition may also end up the winner. He has the perfect face feature especially at a close range. Both have good interpersonal relation skills. If both will do well in the interview, either of the two are perfect for the title. Mister Vietnam is the strongest Asian candidate. He was well applauded by the crowd. He has the looks, the height, the appeal which are so important in a competition of this kind. He also has a good heart. Even with his difficulty in the English language, he tries to accommodate you. If he has the wits plus a good interpreter, I wouldn't mind seeing him crowned as this year's Mister International. Well, Mister Hongkong is never far behind. He has one of the best bodies in this year's batch. He doesn't look plain like some candidates of his country and he is sharp with his thoughts. He should be within the Circle of Five. Initially, I had Mister Norway in my mind for the title. He is half Korean, half Norwegian. He has the sweetest face last night making him the boy-next-door of the competition. He is good looking and articulate. You can also tell he has a good heart. He is a front runner for the title. Mister Thailand who seems to be the Darling of the Crowd is another boy-next-door. He seems to have just gotten out of college. His only waterloo is his height. He will be dwarfed when placed side by side the other five I have mentioned. But who knows? Not all winners are tall. He may look short but he can stand tall. Mister Venezuela should win Mister Congeniality. He talks to everyone just like his next door neighbors. He is the only candidate that talks fondly about the Philippines. He is also tall and handsome. But with plenty of them in the looks department,  I won't place him on the top but he can very well find his way in the Top Five. Mister Slovenia looks like the proverbial "hindi makakabasag pinggan". It seems that he is a person who has not committed a sin in his entire lifetime. Joking aside, he has the looks and height. He should end up in the Top 10. Mister Philippines doesn't register well from afar. But when you stay close to him, he is handsome. In fact, he was my choice during the Misters of Filipinas and yes, he won to represent the country. He is also a typical probinsyano who is humble and friendly. It's a neck and neck for Mister Congeniality between him and Mister Venezuela. He can easily land in the first cut but he should project a little bit more of "angas" onstage and do well in the interview for him to end up in the Top Five. Mister Puerto Rico has the bad-boy look among the contestants. It's the appeal that will pull him through. He easily will be a perfect choice as model of a jeans product or any product that needs a little bit of skin exposure. Mister Australia who won an award last night given by Benilde Hotel can easily run away with the title with his looks and built. He seems to me to be a member of Chippendales where women swoon as he appears onstage half naked. But he needs to improve on his interpersonal relation skills. While the rest are busy talking with the press, he chose just to leave. Perhaps he was just so tired and needs some rest. Mister India who just arrived during the group photo session, for me, has some promise. He has a well sculptured body with good looks. I haven't seen him with his runway skills so I just placed him on the 12th spot at the moment. As the competition progresses, he might just end up in the Top Five knowing India to be always leading in the male pageants.

Kudos to the PEPPs team for a well prepared presentation. It was short and sweet.