By: Nestor Cuartero
JUST A THOUGHT: “Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty – they merely move it from their faces into their hearts.” – Martin Buxbaum.
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TERESITA, NOT WINWYN: From here on, call her Teresita. Winwyn has come to rest.
Newly proclaimed Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 announced recently that she’s officially dropping Winwyn as her professional name as she reverts to Teresita, her real name.
The move, she said, has been inspired by her recent experience in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where she beat 25 other international beauty queens in the Hispanic pageant.
“I became known as Teresita in the international scene, so I figured I might as well use Teresita as my official name,” she said.
Teresita is the name of the actress-beauty queen’s late paternal grandmother. Winwyn, whose full name is Teresita Ssen, is the elder of two children between Joey Marquez and Alma Moreno.
Her younger brother, Yeoj, and an aunt, accompanied her to Bolivia. “Sila lang dalawa ang taga-palakpak ko sa pageant night.” Yeoj is Joey spelled backwards. In the same breath that Ssen is Ness (Alma’s nickname) spelled the same way.
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PROMOTING SPANISH CULTURE: As the reigning Reina, Teresita is expected to promote Spanish culture, starting in her own country. She didn’t say if a tour of duty awaits her in South America in line with her winning.
The newly minted international beauty queen also lamented how some people tend to downgrade the pageant she had just won. Reina Hispanoamericana is known as the stepping stone for Latin girls in their quest for grander pageants, such as Miss Universe.
Teresita is the first Asian to compete in the pageant.
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CONTINUE ACTING: Teresita, who is a GMA talent, said she will continue her acting career.
She said she will entrust all career choices to Miss World Philippines, where she is under contract.
“I am confident they will be in a best position to determine what roles will be good for me at this point,” she said.