They all have made their talents triumphant in the foreign land. By all accounts, we have been treated with the best talents emanating from Maharlikan bloodline. Talents, which by the world’s standards, the Philippine flag has been lifted up higher and even higher. We have Manny Pacquiao, Charice Pempengco and Maria Venus Raj.
Maria Venus Raj, 22, who placed fourth in the 2010 Miss Universe, did rock the world. She was the top choice in the preliminary survey by the world’s best pageant organization of this year’s Miss Universe pageant with a rating of 3.58. She was followed by Miss Bolivia Claudia Arce Lemaitre with 3.00 and Miss Venezuela Marelisa Gibson with 2.93.
Raj almost captured the crown until after he fell short of that final question from one of the judges, William Baldwin, “What is one big mistake that you’ve made in your life and what did you do to make it right?”
“Thank you so much, Sir for that wonderful question. You know what, Sir in my 22 years of existence I can say that there is nothing major major, I mean, problem that I have done in my life. Because I am very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving to me. So, thank you so much that I am here, thank you thank you so much,” Raj answered.
Even then, Raj’s accomplishment from the world stage only represents how great she is in her daily activites of living. She thrives in simplicity. Her life now revolves on making herself useful for community projects with charitable organizations in the Philippines.
Yes, heaven, though, uses a different measure for what’s great. Pacquiao, probably the greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time, interestingly enough is one of the few who is willing to turn his back on what the world sees as great and, instead, seek a different kind of “greatness” – God’s kind. He glorifies the “Great Man” above for each victory he takes in the ring of madness. At best sense, call it “humility”. And that’s what made him stands out among the rest of the victors. He won big time on March 13 over Joshua Clottey of Ghana on his first WBO welterweight title defense and then went on in less than two months after to capture the congressional post of the lone district of Sarangani, Philippines. And still not wanting to hang up his gloves, he won in an impressive fashion the vacant WBC Super Welterweight title via a unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito of Mexico.
Regardless of how much Pacquiao is looked upon by the mainstream observers from his spheres of influence in boxing and politics, the Filipinos have enjoyed enough wealth of pride out of his greatness.
On the other hand, as Pacquiao brings in jubilance by the power of his fists to the global nation of Filipinos and beyond racial boundaries, another is making her way out to a different level: Charice inspires and crosses class lines here in the US. From Winfrey Ophra’s list to the best of David Foster’s, down to Los Angeles Citadel up to the LA Grove and unto the Rockefeller Center of New York in the might of Glee and more than that, indeed, Charice is all powerful. At age 18, she has a long way to go. Top rated “Pyramid”, Charice’s latest song has made Billboard history as the first Asian to have a Top10 album on the prestigious US Billboard200 Chart, as of this writing.
These three great, Pacquiao the entertaining boxer, Raj the disarming beauty queen and Charice the charming voice, took their early life journey with less than so kind of a circumstance…apparently void of fatherly care and grew out of economic depravity. Yes, they all have marked their place, their lives and their faith foremost to the “higher power” than just humanity interests.
Yes, they all have raised the flag of the Republic of the Philippines even higher than what an armchair critic Pinoy mind expects them to be.
