MANILA, Philippines, November 14 ------ Fulfilling the duties of Miss Supranational 2023 is a “dream job” for Andrea Aguilera. It has changed her life in so many aspects after winning the title in July in Poland, the same pageant where the Philippines’ Pauline Amelinckx was named first runner-up.
The Ecuadorian beauty queen and model shared in an interview that she has learned a lot of lessons in her life in her Miss Supranational journey. “One thing is that being (Miss Supranational) for one year is like being in a university for four years of your life. You do learn to be disciplined, you learn how to handle different points of views, personalities and you make so many connections.” “You developed a sense of helping the people (and) the community. And that’s so, so, so nice. And I’m learning a lot. Every day is a lesson for me,” she added.
Andrea was recently in Manila for The Miss Philippines coronation night held at Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena last Oct. 24. Alethea Ambrosio of Bulacan bagged The Miss Philippines title. She was crowned by Pauline, who was appointed as the first Miss Philippines. It was Andrea’s first time in the Philippines and she could “feel so much the warmth of the people.” “I can feel so much how kind you are (and) the hospitality. Being in the Philippines is amazing and (I get to) share more with these organizations. (They are) very, very hard workers, very disciplined, and organized and I’m so happy to work with them,” she told The STAR. Prior to coming here, Andrea already heard about Filipino hospitality, as well as the country’s “great food, beautiful beaches and landscapes.” She would love to come back and spend more time here. She and her first runner-up Pauline met at The Miss Philippines event. She described Pauline as “amazing, very smart and very kind.” “I love her,” she further commented. After the Miss Supranational pageant, they didn’t have enough time to spend more moments together as Pauline had to go back to the Philippines from Poland. But they did keep in touch later. “We didn’t have too much time to be like very close but during the competition we were sharing a lot of good moments. Like sharing a lot of like you know breakfast or rehearsals. It was very beautiful,” she shared. It can be recalled that Pauline defended Andrea from bashers after she was named Miss Supranational. The former appealed for kindness towards Andrea and cited the latter for her “dedication and passion.”
On the other hand, Mister International 2023 Thitisan “Kim” Goodburn also graced The Miss Philippines with his presence. Kim is the first Mister International winner from Thailand. The pageant was held in his home country. He briefly introduced himself in Tagalog during an interview, saying, “Mabuhay, Philippines! Ako si Kim Goodburn, Mr. International 2023. Mahal ko kayo. Salamat po.” It was also his first time to come here to the Philippines. He has a childhood Filipino friend, who recommended him some Filipino dishes and delicacies to try while he was in Manila. “One of my childhood friends, she’s Filipino, but she lives in Bangkok and is working there as of the moment. We’ve known each other since two years old. She also sent me a list of foods and snacks to try in the Philippines like sinigang, sisig, balut, kare-kare, pancit, halo-halo and anything ube-flavored apparently,” he shared. He also would love to visit Boracay and Palawan and explore Manila given the time.
Kim is half-British who was born and raised in Thailand. His stint in The Face Men Thailand Season 2 in 2018 propelled his career in the entertainment industry in Thailand. He appeared in Love U Kohk-E-Kueng, Stranded (first Netflix original in Thailand), and three Thai television series. He was also part of the cast of the popular Boy’s Love (series) Bad Buddy and I Feel You Linger in the Air. “It was a great experience (filming the BL series),” he told this paper. “I only appeared in Bad Buddy for one episode. Literally, after that episode, I got tons of messages from Filipino fans saying, ‘I support you and your acting was great.’ I was incredibly overwhelmed with the support that I got and especially during the pageant as well. I’m incredibly grateful.” He is also open to establishing a showbiz career in the Philippines like fellow Thai actor Mario Maurer. “I hope so. Haha! It’s just down to opportunities and whatever presents to me I’ll definitely take with both hands.” Kim concluded the interview thanking his Filipino fans for supporting his journey. “Thank you so much for following me on this journey and giving me the strength to do what I do. And hopefully, I can give a chance to give back all to you and meet all of you one day, so thank you much. And I will do my best on keep doing what I do,” he said.
Source: philstar.com