Miss Earth NMI highlights beauty of Marianas

18 Oct 2019 By Dads Maluyo - For Variety

IN the recent long gown and national costume competition of the Miss Earth pageant in Manila, 2019 Miss Earth NMI Leisha Deleon Guerrero showcased the beauty of the Marianas through her evening gown and national costume.

2019 Miss Earth NMI Leisha Deleon Guerrero poses in her totot-inspired national costume during the Miss Earth national costume and long gown competition in the Philippines. Photos courtesy of Leisha Deleon Guerrero

The 19-year-old beauty queen said, in line with this year’s theme, her national costume depicted the Marianas fruit dove or totot, the NMI’s official bird.

“I decided to embody a colorful bird of paradise. It is one of the captivating highlights of the diverse tropical environment that the Northern Marianas possesses,” she added.

For Leon Guerrero, the bird also symbolizes how the NMI is recovering from the destruction caused by the two typhoons that hit the three main islands in September and October 2018.

She said the colors of the feathers on her gown represent “the honor and the strength of the people of the Northern Marianas.”

Leon Guerrero said, as the NMI’s first representative to the Miss Earth international pageant, she wants the people to know what islands she represents without looking at her sash.

“The Northern Marianas is renowned for our breathtaking sunsets. So for my evening gown, I wanted something similarly striking in color — a gown that will seem to ‘flow’ across the stage.”

Deleon Guerrero is competing with 85 women from different countries and territories around the world.

The pageant’s grand coronation night will be held on Oct. 26 at Okada Manila. The original venue for coronation night was Naga City, which is south of Manila, but organizers decided to hold it in the Philippine capital instead.

http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/116281-miss-earth-nmi-highlights-beauty-of-marianas