Beauty queen winds down

Press, 6 November 1984, Page 7

Beauty queen winds down

Gloria Dimayacyac, who was crowned “Miss Asia” last year, is a “butter monster.” The 19-year-old Filipino beauty admits to a strong liking of New Zealand milk and butter. She also finds the New Zealand pace of life more relaxed, something she is very conscious of, as her lifestyle has been anything but sedate since acquiring her title. Miss Dimayacyac arrived in Christchurch yesterday with 20 contestants in the “Miss Asia and Pacific” Quest final. She will hand over her crown to the winner of this year’s contest at the Christchurch Town Hall on Saturday. For the last year, Miss Dimayacyac’s life has been a whirl of charity appearances, overseas trips, modelling assignments, and other activities associated with a beauty queen. It has also helped to earn her a part in a Filipino television show, “Cheeks to Cheeks,” a situation comedy in which she plays a “dumb model” who lives with her adopted parents. Her glamorous lifestyle has not been without its price. Miss Dimayacyac says she had to adjust to losing some much-treasured privacy. “Your time is not your own. They just call you, and you have to be there. But I had to get used to that, otherwise I would have been a mess,” she said. Being a beauty queen leads to being constantly pursued by men, she says. “Having an international beauty title in Manila

means a lot of men run after you just to be seen with you. It made me feel quite insecure — I could hardly tell who my friends were.” Miss Dimayacyac says that after her tiring year, she is looking forward to handing over her crown. But she quickly emphasises that the title was the best thing to have happened to her, a “once-in-a-liftime” opportunity. She expects either to resume her modelling career or to become a garment buyer in Malaysia after relinquishing her title on Saturday.