Reigning Miss International Andrea Rubio is in town as part of the judging panel for the 60th Binibining Pilipinas, which will be graced by over 100 past Binibini winners through the years.
The bubbly 25-year-old didn’t show any sign of weariness when she met The STAR yesterday for a one-on-one chat even after her series of activities since flying into Manila from the US.
“It was the 60th year, also, of Miss Venezuela when I competed,” she said. “And it’s 60 years of Binibining Pilipinas, so it’s an honor to be here.”
Andrea arrived on Wednesday night with the welcoming party at Novotel led by Bb. Pilipinas International 2023 Angelica Lopez, Miss International 2023 third runner-up Nicole Borromeo, and Miss International 2013 Bea Santiago.
On Thursday morning, she went to the Sta. Ana Hospital to visit children supported by Operation Smile. Then in the afternoon of the same day, she played and bonded with the kids supported by World Vision at Fiesta Carnival. She also had the opportunity to meet the 40 candidates for some pep talk ahead of the competition finals on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Some interesting facts about the 2023 Miss International: She was born in Venezuela but moved to Colombia when she was 18. She also graduated there with a degree in audiovisual communications and multimedia with an emphasis in corporate social responsibility. The bilingual stunner returned to her birth country in 2022 to join her first pageant — Miss Venezuela.
She is the first in the family to enter pageantry. Her sister is an architect while her brother is in engineering. “So, I’m the weirdo in the family,” she joked to The STAR.
But her family has been supportive of her decision to venture into this world. “(My family members) really admire (it) because I treat this as a real job, how it is, and you have to prove them wrong because people have sometimes, like, this myth in their heads that it’s empty work, and it’s not. It’s not as easy as people seem.”
Despite having a busy schedule, Andrea said she makes an effort to maintain a work-life balance. When asked if she still has time for dating and her love life, she said, “Yes, I have my boyfriend in Venezuela. We have a long-distance relationship, but it’s been really good. He supports me a lot, as well as my family.”
“So, yeah, I have time for everything,” she said. “Of course, you’re a human being. You have to get some time in the social (part), in the friendly way, and in the professional way.”
Here are more excerpts from our exclusive interview held at Ibis Styles Hotel in Araneta City, Cubao.
How’s your first visit to the Philippines so far?
“It’s amazing. It’s such a joy. I’m really happy to be here, and you are so welcoming to me, so it makes me feel so happy and proud and calm. I feel like I’m in my home. My director is Filipino, Stephen Diaz from Negros, so I can tell you all are very happy people, humble and respectful. That’s what he has been like to me all this time that we’ve been working together.
“We also have the same weather. It’s actually very similar to Venezuela… (Culturally), we both love basketball, sports and beauty pageants. You have a long history on beauty pageants. Yesterday, we were at Araneta stadium, and you have, like, a showcase of all the beauty pageants that you have been winning the crowns, that you’ve won. You have a strong history there, too, and Venezuela, too, so we share that, too.”
How has your life changed since winning Miss International?
“So it’s been a really amazing few months since I’ve been crowned. I was crowned in October last year. And I’ve been seeing a lot of new places, meeting a lot of people that have been teaching me a lot about their cultures. And so I’ve been learning a lot about myself, too. It’s been a year that I’ve been growing a lot, not only in my professional career, but also with myself.”
Can you just share a bit of your journey? How hard was it winning Miss International?
“It was hard because the first thing that you have to do is to be in Miss Venezuela. So in Miss Venezuela, it’s not an easy field, it’s not an easy fight, and it’s something you really do have to work really hard on.
“Me, I am not that tall girl. In Venezuela, all the Misses were like, you have to be extra tall. You have to be like that stereotype. And to break that, it was hard. And also they say, no, in Miss International, you have to be really tall. And it’s not the case. You can see that it’s really not about a stereotype. It’s really about what you have. It’s really about working hard for all of those dreams…to have SGD (sustainable development goal), have a project, and to work every single month.
“It was a year working with Miss Venezuela to work on all my communication skills, to work at every single outfit that I wanted to bring to Miss International. It’s hard work that people don’t see when you’re there. But it’s so many months that you have to work because this is a real career and you have to treat it like that. It wasn’t easy, but when you have a team that supports you, that works hard and they want you to do well, things like this happen.”
Charmie Joy Pagulong
Minus crown, the gown, the title, who is Andrea?
“Well, Andrea is a girl who has a lot of dreams and who wants to work hard to achieve all of the dreams that she has in her heart. It has not been easy for her to win all the things but that’s what inspires her to work harder. That every single day, she tries to do the best that she can for herself, for her family, and for her friends.”
What are your dreams? I mean, you’ve achieved one dream — winning the crown.
“Of course. This is one of the biggest dreams I ever had. I would love to be on TV. I would love to be a host. I would love to have my own agency and school, to teach other girls how to use their social media in the right way, to do the runway, to feel comfortable in their own skin, with themselves, and to put that into every single area they want to do in their world. Because everything — speaking skills, the runway, the good poster — it’s not just for beauty queens, but for everyone. I think every single woman has to, like, work on her self-esteem, and that’s what I want to give them.”
But have you always wanted to become a beauty queen?
“No, actually, no. I always loved modeling, and I’m a person who always tries to challenge herself. And when I saw the opportunity and when I saw what Miss Venezuela did, when they already won the crown, they can do politics, they can do TV, they can be modeling, they can be all over the world, actors, like, you have so many things that you can pick.
“And I said, I want that power. I want that power, too, to do anything that I want, that I feel like is a dream. So that was when I really approached Miss Venezuela. It’s my first pageant. I was in a modeling contest in Colombia. It was a reality show in Colombia. That’s when my career, my modeling career, started. I won it. So it was in (another) country, and it was a popular TV show that people have to vote for you so you can win. And I won, and it was a really good start for my career. And then I wanted to become Miss Venezuela.”
What or who inspired you?
“You know, I always look up to (Miss Universe 2013) Gabriela Isler. I really admire her. I’ve admired the woman that she is, and she works with me in the Miss Venezuela organization. She’s an amazing, elegant woman, and she inspires me a lot. So maybe she was one of the (people), like, when I say, okay, I want to be Miss Venezuela, it’s like, I want to be like Gabriela Isler — and (Miss Universe 2009) Stefania Fernandez. So, yeah, probably those two.”
You will also be meeting some of the, you know, iconic beauty queens in the Philippines while you’re here.
“Yeah, yeah! Catriona (Gray) is huge in Venezuela. Venezuela loves Catriona. I love Catriona. And she’s so powerful. She has a Latina inside of her. I will die when I meet her because she’s so gorgeous. And she looks so sweet. But when she’s on the runway, when you see her on the show with her red dress that looks like fire, she’s so empowered, so confident about herself. It’s everything you want to be when you’re, like, on a runway or in a pageant. So we love her.”
On Sunday, you’ll be judging in Binibining Pilipinas. What are you looking for?
“Well, I’m looking for that. A girl that can be comfortable in her own skin and can show it to the whole world. Also a very smart girl, because nowadays… you actually have to speak up for yourself. Also, as I said, like a businesswoman, but in the best way. Actually, a girl who wants to make a big career out of this, it’s not like, oh, you won, and that’s it. No, you have to do a lot of things. It’s just the beginning of a long story. So a girl that you can see that she really wants to work hard to do it. That’s what I want to see in the Philippines on Binibining Pilipinas night.”
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