Aphrodite Rising. Venus in earthy dimensions
Frank A. Hilario
August 10, 2010
That´s our Miss Philippines candidate for the Miss Universe contest this year. Victorious after her unconditional battle against an earthly giant, before she left for Los Angeles, she went back to her hometown Bato in Camarines Sur some 500 km south of Manila and sought the blessings of her pastor. "My unconditional faith in God is the real tool that is keeping me composed and never (to) waiver that I could win this very tough contest" (quoted by Cet Dematera, 03 August, philstar.com). Already she´s a winner. Already she has won over the Binibining Pilipinas pageant owner in her fight to get back the crown grabbed from her. Remember, God helps those who help themselves, and Venus has done her homework, headwork, and legwork.
Aphrodite is the goddess of love. As of now, with Venus it´s Aphrodite Rising, with temperatures rising, and not only those of men of passion.
Global warming is in her territory; Maria Venus Raj is Albay´s Youth Ambassador on Climate Change, having been appointed to that position in 2008 by the Governor Joey Salceda-inspired provincial Centre for Initiatives and Research on Climate Change headed by Nong Rangasa; CIRCA says she has "actively participated in the local climate (change) advocacy" (wowlegazpi.com). Like, she triumphed over the others at the Bicol University, receiving the award for Best Development Case Study for her paper, "The Role of Local News Papers in Climate Change Adaptation in 2009." Planet Earth is her jurisdiction; representing Legazpi City, she reigned as Miss Bicolandia in 2007; she was crowned Miss Philippines Earth Eco Tourism in 2008.
More. Climate changes characterize the life of this chic chick from Camarines Sur, some 500 km south of Manila in the Philippines. She was there in Los Angeles to help promote the Miss Universe contest to be held in Las Vegas on 23 August. Miss Universe Organization owner Donald Trump had handpicked 6 candidates to help spice up this year's contest: Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell, Miss Colombia Natalia Navarro, Miss Haiti Sarodi Berin, Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, Miss Puerto Rico Mariana Vicente, and Miss Philippines Maria Venus Raj (Robert R Requintina, 08 August, mb.com.ph). Trump must know what he´s doing; in his list is a brave girl from the Pearl of the Orient Seas. This is one of those dreams that won´t have come true if the dreamer didn´t wake up.
22 years old, Venus is the story of being disadvantaged in life but blessed in spirit. Her mother had been an overseas Filipino worker, single; an Indian national got her pregnant without the benefit of marriage. So Venus was born in Doha, Qatar out of wedlock (John Berthelsen, 19 April, asiancorrespondent.com) on 07 July 1988 (Wikipedia). Unfulfilled, her mother brought her baby home to the Philippines, to Bato in Camarines Sur, and they both endured their poverty. Perseverance is an option; rebellion is a poor choice. Her mother was a dressmaker and a sharecropper (tenant farmer). Their house stood in the middle of a rice field in the Bicol Region and had no electricity. That house stands still: wood bamboo, and thatch.
Venus dreamed of finishing her studies and earning enough to build her mother a decent house (Julie Matienzo, 05 August, asianjournal.com). She began competing in beauty pageants when she was 17; she also joined oratorical contests at the local San Vicente High School. With her winnings, she started to buy land on instalment for her mother (Wikipedia).
She went after excellence. Winning a scholarship from the Francis Papica Foundation, she took up Communication Arts, major in Journalism at the Bicol University in Albay and graduated cum laude (with honors). This girl is beauty & brains who dreams and do what must be done.
Genres5 says, "In Venus, we see what self-determination and a conscious effort at self-improvement can do to a person. By that alone, as Gloria Diaz says, Venus is already a winner" (facebook.com). Gloria Diaz is the first Miss Universe from the Philippines; Margie Moran was the second; Venus Raj will be the third.
When Venus won the Bb Pilipinas-Universe title in a beauty contest staged by pageant organizer Binibining Pilipinas some 5 months ago on 06 March 2010, she thought it was blue skies from then on, blue skies in the city. Winning that prestigious beauty contest was her gateway to fame and fortune, away from home. She would become a citified country girl.
Then blue skies turned to grey when the pageant owner took away her crown on 29 March, or 3 weeks after winning, after Binibining Pilipinas charged that there were "inconsistencies" (ANN, gmanews.tv) between her birth documents and her own declarations as well as those of her mother, the discrepancies discovered only after the coronation. Binibining Pilipinas was saying, in effect, since the words and the records did not match, Venus Raj had been lying; the documents she submitted had been falsified. This queened beauty did not deserve the crown after all. To Binibining Pilipinas, the inconsistencies amounted to dishonesty. Was the Binibining Pilipinas thinking like the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals who live by this motto?
Be honest
Even if others are not
Even if others cannot
Even if others will not.
Inconsistencies. Inconsistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. In law or in life, if you´re inconsistent, you´re probably telling the truth. Venus says that when she was stripped of her crown by Stella Araneta´s Binibining Pilipinas, that thing "nearly brought her down" (Dematera). You can bring a good girl down only for inconsistency.
I know the feeling. I had been writing a book on Filipina international singing sensation Charice for 11 months, since September 2009; I had my nth complete draft and had sent out a pdf file seeking some "advanced praises" before I finesse the manuscript and submit it for print on demand at CreateSpace (amazon.com). I knew I held in my hands the best book I have ever written in my entire life, a writer since college days 51 years ago at the University of the Philippines. As I had worked as a copywriter before at Pacifica Publicity Bureau with my friend, I knew my marketing: packaging, positioning, pricing, promotion. I knew I deserved the praise.
Just early this August, in a cold email, I was told in no uncertain terms not to publish my book because it was inconsistent with marketing plans for Charice, and instantly I felt stunned, drained of energy and had to steady myself; I managed to stay calm, but when I emerged a few minutes later from that unforgettable Internet café in Isabela in Northern Philippines, far away from any friend or family who would empathize, my companion remarked, "You look very tired." I was. I was sad. I was dispirited. That book, as the working title DreamsGirl Charice suggested, was meant as an inspirational story for dreamers: young girls with talents, their mothers and their advocates. As bonus, it even had 18 lessons for aspiring young singers based on the life, trying times, & triumphs of Charice.
The next day, the negative vibes turned positive when my son Jomar emailed something like: "They can´t stop Frank Hilario from creative writing!" And later my wife Amparo said something about freedom of expression. I needed to be reminded of all that.
Climate changes and dreams: Today, Maria Venus Raj knows that climate change is changing us, so we all have to change - but what about dreams? Now she knows it too, that you need most family and friends in times when disaster strikes as you pursue your fantasy. You need to fill up that empty feeling with empathy, if not with love. When the news of her dethronement broke out, many came out in open defense of her. Thanks, she needed that. "She felt the overwhelming support not only of Filipinos but the whole world as well" (Dematera). On the day she was dethroned, immediately she had the very important support of Chair Leila de Lima of the Philippine Human Rights Commission, who said that Venus´ case "deserves serious scrutiny" (abs-cbnnews.com). More:
She´s a fellow Bicolana who hails from a neighboring town of my hometown, Iriga city. Preliminarily, I ask: Was Ms Raj given her day before being stripped of her title? What was the exact basis for the decision to dethrone her?
Queen-like, Venus rose and fought to have her crown back. People took notice. With Aphrodite rising, Giovanni Paolo J Yazon says her disqualification "caused outrage among her fans here and abroad" and some turned to online petitions and campaigns via Facebook as well as emails to the Miss Universe Organization (27 May, manilastandardtoday.com).
Paulorila says (paulorila.i.ph):
Venus is indeed an epitome of a modern Filipina ... a woman of strength, courage, faith, intelligence, and principle. A woman who knows what her rights are, and knows when and how to fight for them. A woman who will stand up for her dreams instead of just sitting back and watch them fail.
Joyce Burton Titular says that following Venus´ shocking dethronement, with her fighting back, the support for her cause grew overwhelmingly, encouragement coming from texters, Facebook friends, bloggers and pageant fans, and these gave her "the emotional boost" she needed to fight on (adventuresofabeautyqueen.com). Indeed, friends in need are friends in deed.
"My fight is now more than just chasing a dream" (from The Buzz interview by Boy Abunda, quoted by Ephraim Aguilar, 09 April, inquirer.net). "It is about clearing my soiled reputation. It is about standing up for people who are poor and born out of wedlock. It is a fight for acceptance." She also told Abunda: "I know I deserve the crown."
Metaphor shift. A few days ago, we were told in a special audience with Regional Director of PAG-ASA Landrico Dalida Jr last week, we of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists, headed by Imelda Abaño, guests of Governor Joey Salceda of Albay, that in the natural state of things, a tropical depression occurs; when it worsens, it becomes a storm; when it further increases ferocity, it is declared a typhoon. When Venus was dethroned, what followed was a tropical depression; when she and her family began to fight for her honor, not to mention her crown as Bb Pilipinas-Universe, what followed was a storm; when fans, friends, and feisty people online and offline began to fight for her, what followed was a typhoon. It was going to be a natural disaster if Binibining Pilipinas did not relent and refused to reinstate her as Bb Pilipinas-Universe and restore all her rights and privileges, including representing the Philippines in the Miss Universe contest this year!
It took 41 days up to the issuance of a passport by the Department of Foreign Affairs on 21 May, but she did it, with a little help from her friends and fans. A triumph of promotion over demotion.
Now then, Rowena Joy Sanchez asks (22 May, mb.com.ph), "Raj got her passport (and got reinstated) - but can she get the (Miss Universe) crown?"
As if to answer that, my good friend Double O declares by SMS (text) that the Bicolano word orag and its derivative oragon fit Venus Raj perfectly:
I see our own earthy Venus as the quintessential oragon - just look at those eyes and, Jumping Jupiter! You see a livin´, walkin´ aphrodisiac! Orag - the fire in her belly, her lust for life, her quest for success. The key to it all is orag, which has always been the secret behind all creative / pro-creative winners.
But what exactly is orag and oragon? "Oragon is Bicol slang for somebody who is feisty, determined, principled, a fighter, unafraid of consequences, and one who stands up for his principles" (urbandictionary.com). "Oragon is a macho lover" (aboutph.com). Orag then is the quality of being brave and being lustful for life.
Double O: Look at Venus Raj. What you see and what you feel is orag. And what she did with her life and how she fought her good fight is orag.
Frank H: Oragon is brave and lustful, and she is both.
Double O: Brave. And lustful. And cool. And awesome. And baaad! (When desired.) Tough.
Venus rising, sensual, which I redefine as sexy and sensible. After the 2-day pre-pageant activities in Los Angeles, Venus rose to the top in 2 categories: "People´s Choice" and "Miss Universe Top 15 Hot Picks" among 83 beauties from as many countries (09 August, Robert R Requintina, mb.com.ph). Oragons are champions.
Venus Raj. This Bicolana redefines oragon. Her being the new oragon - brave and lustful for life and sensual - is Venus´ secret. She´s definitely going to win with it.
Do I have orag, that kind of inner aphrodisiac? I know I have more of it now; I´m more creative at 69 than I was at 59 or 49 or 39. Am I oragon? Maybe, but I´m only the writer bravely lustful for more. Certainly, I have no doubt Venus Raj is the brave and lustful and sensual winner here. She will wear the crown over Planet Earth for quite a while.
Venus rises, Aphrodite rules!
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