Pinag-uusapan ng pageant fans sa social media ang pagkasira ng green gown ni Miss Universe Puerto Rico Estefania Soto Torres.
Si Estefania ay isa sa fan favorites at umabot sa Top 10 finalists sa katatapos lamang na Miss Universe 2020 pageant.
Agaw-eksena ang green dress ni Estefania noong preliminary competition, May 15 (Philippine time).
Ang hindi alam ng marami, muntik na itong hindi masuot ni Estefania dahil nasira ito ilang oras bago ang prelims.
Hindi rin iniaalis ni Miss Puerto Rico na may sinadyang sirain ito.
MISS PUERTO RICO’S GREEN GOWN
Inilahad ni Miss Puerto Rico ang insidente sa kanyang Instagram Live kamakailan.
Nagsalita siya tungkol sa kanyang green dress dahil marami na raw siyang nababasa sa social media at mga pahayagan.
Kinumpirma ni Estafania na nakita niyang sira ang gown nang isusuot na sana niya ito para sa rehearsals ng prelims.
Sa unang bahagi, sinabi ni Estefania na ayaw niyang mag-isip ng masama tungkol sa mga kapwa kandidata, lalo’t nakasama niya ang mga ito ng higit isang linggo.
“My green dress I found it was broken. So, let me tell you something. I wanna tell you everything so everything is clear,” panimula ng Latina beauty queen.
“I will always think that no one is capable of harming someone else’s dresses. None of the girls, specifically, because I spent ten days over there.
“And I didn’t see anything. I didn’t feel anything at all that would have been a red flag for me, or ‘Better be careful’ or ‘Better take care of your dresses.’ I’m naïve of those things.
“I’ll always think that it was just an accident.”
Pero bago niya tapusin ang pahayag tungkol sa paksa, sinabi ni Miss Puerto Rico hindi niya inaalis ang posibilidad na may taong nakasira nito o basta na lamang ito nasira.
Marami na raw kasi siyang nababasa sa mga newspaper at ginamit ang salitang “vandalize” tungkol sa nasirang gown.
Ani Estefania, “I cannot say a hundred percent that my dress was broken by someone, but I cannot say a hundred percent that my dress broke on the way of getting there.”
Sa pagkukuwento ni Estefania, sinabi niyang maselan ang tela ng kanyang green dress kaya’t hindi ito maisilid sa suitcase. Sa isang uri na lang ng bag niya ito inilagay.
Simula nang dumating siya sa Florida ay hand-carried niya ito.
“The dress Ecliptica [Atelier] could not go into a suitcase because of the fabric, so the instruction is to always carry it with you.”
Hanggang sa makarating daw siya sa venue, sa Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, hindi nawala sa paningin niya ang kanyang damit.
“As soon as I got to the hotel, I just placed it in the closet, hanging at the hotel room. And for the first seven days of the ten days, it was there every single day.
“I didn’t even touch it. I didn’t look at it. It was just there.”
WARNING FROM FELLOW CONTESTANTS
Dumating daw ang araw ng preliminary competition.
Kailangan nilang mag-rehearse suot ang kanilang prelim gowns.
Kinuha raw ni Estafania ang bag kung saan nakalagay ang kanyang gown, “I put it right in front of the table where I was supposed to do my hair and make-up.”
Sa di kalayuan, pinuntahan niya ang fellow candidate na si Kimberly Jimenez ng Dominican Republic, na siyang hinirang na fourth runner-up.
Sa pag-uusap daw nila, ikinuwento ni Miss Dominican Republic ang tungkol sa kapwa nila kandidata “having an issue with her dress, the national costume show.”
Binalaan daw ni Miss Dominican Republic si Estefania ng ganito: "She said, ‘Be careful. Pay attention to your dress.’”
Nakaramdam daw ng kaba si Estefania.
“And I said, ‘You know, I’m actually kind of scared because it’s not like I can put the dress on the suitcase.’ It was literally, like, the bag [containing the green gown], was in front of everyone.”
Binigyan daw siya ni Miss Dominican Republic ng isang cable lock zip para mai-lock ang bag na kinalalagyan ng green gown.
Nang bumalik daw si Estefania sa kanyang puwesto para i-secure ang gown, nakapag-usap sila ni Miss Portugal Cristiana Silva.
“She was next to me in all of our rehearsals and also in the backstage. She was next to me sharing me the table.
“She sees me doing that and she said, ‘You know what, if I were you, I wouldn’t leave the dress there. You should really put it in the suitcase.’”
Inulit daw ni Estefania na hindi niya puwedeng ilagay sa suitcase ang gown dahil sa uri ng fabric nito.
Mas lalo raw nadagdagan ang kaba ni Estefania sa pangalawang paalala ni Miss Portugal.
HIDING THE DRESS
Lumapit daw si Estefania sa kanyang kaibigan at roommate na si Miss Sourth Africa Natasha Joubert.
“And I say, ‘We have to do something and protect and hide my dress in case anything happens.’”
Ang una nilang naisip ay iwan ito sa lamesa ni Miss South Africa para walang makaisip na doon ito nakalagay.
Pero pagkatapos ng mahabang diskusyon, napagkasunduan nilang ilagay ito sa tagong lugar.
“We put it behind a door that was open from one of the backstage rooms. And I waited for everyone to leave. Me and Natasha hang it behind the door.”
Sigurado raw si Estefania na walang makakapansin sa kinatataguan ng kanyang gown.
“You couldn’t see it. It’s like, no way, you couldn’t see it.”
Nagtungo raw sila sa rehearsals at nanatili roon hanggang lunch break.
“And on our way back, we have to put on our dresses, so we could practice with the dress.”
Laking gulat daw ni Estefania nang buksan ang bag at kunin ang kanyang gown.
“The dress had this beautiful details at the back, there’s metal pieces. And when I go to wear it, I realized instead of two pieces, there’s three pieces.”
Napagtanto ni Estefania na nasira ang kanyang damit.
“I said, ‘Wait, am I not understanding the dress right now? What’s happening?’
“And suddenly I realize the dress is broken. And it’s the weirdest thing because there’s such a hard-metal piece. My mind is rushing.”
THE green GOWN fixed
Ang tumakbo raw sa isip ni Estefania ay kung paano maaayos ang gown para mairampa ito sa prelims.
“I literally grabbed the dress and I said, ’Oh my God, this can’t be happening.’”
Pero sumagi rin sa isip niyang may isa pa siyang gown, na kanya namang isinuot sa finals night.
“Long story short, I went to the room where Miss Universe people fix dresses.
“My worry is the fact that it’s not about a fabric or needle… we’re talking about a piece of metal that you cannot just put together easily.
“So, I was really worried about, ‘How are we gonna fix this?’”
Nagawan naman daw ito ng paraan ng staff ng Miss Universe sa pamamagitan ng paglalagay ng white tape. Pero dismayado pa rin si Estefania.
Aniya, “I was freaking out about it because it was really obvious. It was just a piece of tape behind the dress.
“I was able to practice with the dress, but it was really wobbly. There was also a mesh fabric that was attached originally to those metal pieces, and it was completely loose.”
Matapos ang rehearsals, muling ibinalik ni Estefania sa staff ang kanyang damit para subukan uling gawan ito ng paraan.
“They were able to fix it really well with transparent tape.
"They really wrapped it around, wrapped it around, wrapped it around really well, to the point where I wore the dress actually to the preliminary night, where it looked perfect.”
Suwerte raw na natatakpan ng kanyang suot na sash ang may sirang bahagi ng gown.
“Lucky me, we were wearing our sashes and at the crossing point of the behind of the sash where the sashes really covered that spot where that tape was.”
MISS BOLIVIA’S REVELATION
Tugma naman ang nangyari kay Estefania sa recent revelation ni Miss Bolivia Lenka Nemer.
Sa interview ni Miss Bolivia sa isang pageant commentator, binanggit nito ang tungkol sa “evil behavior” ng ibang kandidata.
Si Miss Bolivia ang ginawaran ng Social Impact Award sa katatapos lang na Miss Universe.
Nasa Spanish ang interview ni Lenka, pero may nag-translate nito sa English.
Kabilang daw sa nasaksihan ni Miss Bolivia ay ang pagsira sa mga damit ng mga kandidata, pero nakapasok pa rin bilang finalists.
“I did witness the evil behavior. I saw nasty behaviors against lots of the candidates.
“I did not know who did the nasty behavior of destroying the dresses,” gaya raw ng nawawalang feathers ng ibang national costumes.
Alam din daw niyang may ibang kandidata na pinili na lang huwag iparating ito sa Miss Universe Organization, na naghigpit naman daw nang makatunog sila tungkol sa isyu.
