Who is the first Zamboangueña to win a national beauty title? Imagine my surprise when I found out. I’m more surprised that hardly anyone ever remembers her now. Her amazing achievement must have been relegated to the dustbin of history and her memory blotted from the collective consciousness of the present day generation of Zamboangueños.

Here is the telling account of how a Zamboagueña lass from Barangay Ayala, staged a formidable coup for a national beauty title and won the hearts and admiration of many Filipinos including that of the person who was holding the highest position of the land.

After reading of her inspiring story, I am persuaded she is deserving of an esteemed place in our city’s rich and colorful history. Her piece of contribution to Zamboanga’s proud past ought not to be forgotten. If we can relive her memory, she can be as relevant to Zamboanga’s present and future. Her impressive triumph in a national beauty pageant can serve as an inspiration for our young aspiring candidates to win national beauty titles as well.

Though we had a number of local beauty queens making it as finalists in national competitions, there has been a dearth of national title holders. About the only one to succeed in recent history is April Rose Perez who won Miss Philippines Earth 2002.

If the story of Carmen Fargas is retold and her achievement institutionalized, not only shall we perpetuate her memory, show her worthy respect, and recognize her contribution to local pageant history, we also give back to Zamboanga a source of pride, and entrench someone homegrown and original to serve as role model, inspiration and example for all our beauty queens to be.

I am making a case for institutionalizing “The Carmen Fargas Award” to be bestowed on a local candidate who wins a major, nationally recognized beauty pageant title. I propose April Rose Perez as the first recipient of this award in ceremonies timed with the holding of the Miss Zamboanga Pageant. Hope some well-meaning legislators in the city council would gladly take up the cudgels. 

1926 Miss Pearl of the Orient Seas

CARMEN FARGAS

(Reprint from Manila Carnivals 1908-1939)  

THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT SEAS. Carmen Fargas, 1926 Miss Zamboanga. She gave the 1st Miss Philippines, Anita Noble, a stiff fight in the 1st National Beauty Contest of the Manila Carnival, that judges gave her a special title.

In 1926, the 1st National Beauty Contest was started, as a parallel pageant to the Manila Carnival Queen search. It was the first truly national quest for a queen as provincial representatives, each wearing the sash of their province, came to Manila to vie for the title of "Miss Philippines". It was also different in that, unlike Manila Carnival Queen which relied on public balloting, the selection was done by a panel of judges.

From Zamboanga came Carmen "Carmencita" Fargas, a mestiza beauty born on 16 January 1918 and bred in Aplaya, Ayala in Zamboanga. She was a student of Normal College when the contest beckoned, and was installed as an early favorite as the elected 1926 Miss Zamboanga. She found stiff competition from the 1926 Miss Batangas, Anita Noble, whose lineage included patriots and heroes from both sides of her family. But Carmen held her own, and as the judging reached its final stages, she found herself on top of the judges' list, a major contender for the crown.

In the first ballotting, the regional winners were easily determined, but it was a deadlocked tie for the Miss Philippines crown--between Carmen and Anita. A 2nd balloting did not resolve the issue, and it was only past midnight when Pres. Manuel L. Quezon stepped in and offered suggestions to the tired judges for a quicker resolution to the problem. As related in the previous entry, a final scrutiny of the contestants was done, this time with another judge added.

Thus, it was in this manner that the tie was broken--with Anita Noble pipping Carmen and emerging as Miss Philippines of the 1st National Beauty Contest. But so keen was the competition till the last minute that a special title --"Miss Pearl of the Orient Seas" (Perlas ng Silangan) was awarded to the equally deserving Carmen. At the proclamation of Miss Philippines, the Pearl of the Orient Seas also had her rightful place of honor. In the entire history of the annual Carnival, the 1926 edition was the only one that had 3 beautiful muses reigning together.

After the contest, Carmen went back to her schooling but her life was never to be the same again. Back in Zamboanga, she was caught in a whirl of activities-- attending provincial functions, crowning petit fair queens and participating in Rizal Day festivities. As Miss Zamboanga, she was succeeded by Manolita Villaescosa.

MISS PEARL OF THE ORIENT SEAS WITH MISS VISAYAS 1926, Carmen Fargas (1926 Miss Zamboanga) and Aurora Reyes (1926 Miss Samar)

Carmen managed to finish school and in her later life, she married Dr. Herminio Caguiat. Carmen was a whiz in the kitchen, both as a baker and cook. She was fond of Cadbury chocolates and enjoyed ice cream all her life. The beauty who almost became our 1st Miss Philippines, lived to be 82 years old, and passed away on 4 October 2004.

To Mr. Alex R. Castro, who big-heartedly gave his permission to reprint this article from his blog and conveyed his support to this endeavor, Muchas Gracias! Visit his site - Manila Carnivals.

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One of the few Hispanic traditions that had managed to survive to this day in Zamboanga City is the practice of singing salutatory songs to someone celebrating his birthday before he rises early in the morning. I say this because, though few and far between, I still get to enjoy hearing these enthralling morning renditions in my barrio.

I owe it to a mawkish coterie of barrio women and a few pious men, almost certainly belonging to some parish league, for keeping the tradition alive. They gather together to rehearse a well-kept selection of morning songs in some neighbor’s house where the younger of kin come to learn and join in the singing and hopefully will keep the tradition going.

Their trained voices will be heard with the strum of the guitar in the wee hours of the morning as they sneak up at the celebrant’s doorsteps to rouse him melodiously from his sleep. The song that goes … how beautiful is the morning, is often sung first, followed by a motley collection of birthday songs and some of the celebrant’s favorites as well. It is customary for the celebrant to offer his well-wishers something to eat and drink after the singing like native delicacies served with tea, coffee or ginger ale.

Unlike a serenade sung in the evening for a beloved, it is considered folk song sung before sunrise on a person’s birthday. It is popularly thought to be of Mexican tradition. The practice however came to be associated with the Roman Catholic Church Cursillo Movement that originated from Spain in the 1940’s. Its repertoire took on many localized versions with its spread in the Philippines.

Chavacano songs have evolved and grown through the years from the No Te Vayas and Zamboanga Hermosa of long time ago, the popular ditties of Titang Jaldon, the unforgettable tunes of the Major Chords, the romantic ballads of Marc Velasco, to the recent explosion of rap and pop music produced by Chavacano bands. But the local musical landscape with its kaleidoscope of sounds can further take on new patterns by drawing on our traditional songs and music of an upbeat Mexican format.

Our posture as Latin City of Asia provides yet another outlet for such songs. I’m referring to “Combanchero” type of music with its lively and danceable rhythmic sounds. Who can deny our musical affinity with such Mexican songs as El Racho Grande, Cielito Lindo, La Cucaracha or La Bamba? Do we not feel they are as much our own? Well, Chicanos and Chavacanos do share a lot in common.

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One of the little, known pleasures of our local dining experience comes from adding chili pepper to our dishes. Its pure pungent flavor enhances the taste of every dish it touches.

Every food loving Zamboangueño would admit to a certain fondness for chili pepper. We keep a handful of it to go with our favorite gata nangka (young jackfruit cooked in coconut milk), sinigang (fish stew), kilawin (marinated raw fish) or plain sawsawan (vinegar sauce) for the asao pescao (broiled fish) and latu (seaweed salad).

Satti, a concoction of steamy hot chili sauce poured on pasty rice - cooked wrapped in coconut leaves, and eaten with bits of grilled beef or chicken on sticks, is the de facto culinary delicacy of Zamboanga, regardless of ethnic or social background.

Chili pepper is commonly used in Filipino cooking. Siling Labuyo, the small but devilishly hot pod, is the pepper variety common in the country. Besides being a popular food condiment, chili pepper leaves are also used as vegetable especially in our native chicken soup tinola. Certain regions of the country like Bicol in the North and most regions of Mindanao in the South are known to be liberal users of chili pepper in their dishes.

Chile pepper has also defined the national cuisine of many of our epicurean Asian neighbors: Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Thailand … and the list goes on. But once upon a time, oriental dishes were ugh – maybe not quite bland but very likely not as hot.

While Asia is the recognized hotbed of spices, chili pepper originated from the Americas. It is unrelated to black pepper (we call pimienta) and just so named pepper by colonizers who found its taste similar to its European counterpart. Yes, we have European explorers in the 1500’s to thank for launching expeditions in search of spices. In those days spices were as coveted goods as gold and silver. It was at the height of the spice trade when chili pepper was introduced by the Spanish from Mexico to the Philippines from whence it rapidly spread into other parts of Asia.

Chili pepper is a hardy plant and thrives untended. If you ever wondered why chili pepper plants just grow around without you cultivating them, well we have the birds to thank. Chili peppers reproduce by pollination and do it best when birds eat their seeds. Birds do not have the receptors to feel the heat of chili peppers and their digestive systems do not harm the chili seeds. They can consume mega-doses and distribute the seeds in the process.

I never grew chili peppers all my life but along with the birds, enjoyed picking the fruits year-round from my backyard. But unlike the birds, mammal-me can’t help propagate the seeds as through bird droppings.

There is a little known village in the outskirts of Zamboanga that goes by the name “Sitio Catumbal”. I wonder if indeed there’s an abundance of chili pepper in the place. Most towns are named by what can be found in profusion from there. Or perhaps it may be because the people in the place are just predisposed to eating a lot of chili peppers. On a sly thought, can it be, it may be, well, maybe - a vague allusion to the seductiveness of the locals?

Having pricked my own curiosity, I have a sudden bird’s instinct to swoop down on this village in search of chili peppers and while there, forage for what else that’s hot. But for now I’m not about to engage in more chili pepper analytics, lunch is waiting with a bunch of freshly picked chilies on the table, I’m simply going to give in to its pure palate pleasures.

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