After 11 years, I learned that I used up the maximum capacity for media on this site. With the costs to increase space prohibitive especially with my limited financial resources, I have decided to leave this site as an archive. My subsequent reviews and musings will now move to a new site: http://josephvitug.blogspot.com. Expect my Homestretch reviews for Miss Grand International and Mister International and other subsequent pageants on this site.
It has been wonderful expressing myself in this forum. Hope you all can follow me on my new site for more of the comprehensive reviews of pageants (and occasionally pop culture) in the new site. Thank you!
Like when I opened this blog with an ABBA video, I’ll close it with the Spanish version of the song “When All is Said and Done” in my initial video, “No hay a quien culpar“.
This year, Manhunt International had decided to create a second round of cuts from the Top 16 to a Top 10 instead of announcing the winners’ circle directly from the Top 16 as it was their wont in previous editions. But my concern that the decisions have already been made the night before in the preliminary competition seem to materialize as they quickly announced the next cut immediately after the Top 16 swimsuit parade. The Top 10 then of course paraded in formal wear where they then announce the winners. But this year, they added an extra accent as prior to the Top 10 walking in their tuxedos, they showcased the reigning winners’ circle of Miss Universe Philippines, with the winner Celeste Cortesi making waves with her avant-garde white peplum gown.
Though I wasn’t aware they would do a second cut, I did peg a Top 10, and I got 8 out of 10 right, as I previously thought FRANCE and GREECE would’ve been in this level but they were shut out.
NICARAGUA – Hanniel Espinoza. I may have pegged him only as a “Bubbling Under” choice but I felt he always had strong enough merits to make the cut–I just thought the likes of BULGARIA and MALAYSIA may have garnered more favor based on historical results and the fact he stayed scruffy would’ve been a disadvantage. But it seems Rosko & Co. relaxed their clean-shaven policy and it worked wonders for this guy. I didn’t notice that he’s also one of the taller delegates in this batch, and that might also be a factor that helped him make it to this level. The story of his five-day arduous journey to make it to our shores also probably made an impression.
SPAIN – Alexander Calvo. I thought he would make a play for the Final Five and possibly duplicate the showing of his predecessor, Yeray Hidalgo. But despite his undeniable handsomeness and buffness, buzz about him was relatively muted. I think what pulled him down was his very flat hairstyle–it may have been in vogue back in the 1920s-1930s, but I know modern male hairstyles tend to feature height at the top, which he didn’t quite manage.
BRAZIL – Hendson Baltazar. Besides the human interest story of him only having one leg, he created a major stir with his makeover when he arrived in Manila–his prior looks feature him with scruff, but he unleashed major charisma when he appeared clean-shaven and I thought he could be a possible winner. Somehow in later stages he faded a bit but he still has undeniable charisma and the Mr. Photogenic special award is well-deserved.
PERU – Daniel Jares. Many local pageant journalists and pundits observed he resembles famous Filipino TV personality Atom Araullo and on top of his translation skills he made an indelible impact and received heavy buzz as a possible usurper for the Final Five. A sponsor’s prize by Blackwater just reinforced his possible path of making that far. He probably just missed the winners’ circle by little. It’s interesting to note he kept his scruff–normally this pageant would permit only one scruffy guy to make the Top 16 but this year they allowed three–NICARAGUA, this guy, and…
Atom Araullo (image courtesy of Jojit Lorenzo Photography)
SOUTH AFRICA – Marcus Max Karsten. After his shock exclusion at Mister Global 2019, he’s out for vindication and it looks like he achieved it here. He garnered two sponsor’s prizes from Blackwater and AQ Prime, and it is possible that he’s the one who was closest to making the winners’ circle but missed by a sliver. I have a feeling this is where keeping his scruff might have prevented him from going further, but this achievement is something worth saluting.
I can peacefully feel good about getting three of the Final Five correct. I was half-surprised at the showing of one of the eventual Final Five, but well, I have to respect that there are good reasons for that high showing.
4TH RUNNER-UP: NETHERLANDS – Cas Hagman. I may not expect him to generate a back-to-back win for his country but he did display the competitive drive characteristic of his predecessor, Paul Luzineau, so despite not getting any special award his making the winner’s circle was not surprising and fully justified.
3RD RUNNER-UP: VIETNAM – Tran Manh Kien. He may not have ended up as the Top Asian in this batch but he still was undeniably so strong that a Final Five finish was indeed a foregone conclusion, justifying his showing with his manly charisma, and buffed bod that made him earn a Best Swimwear Model special award.
2ND RUNNER-UP: U S A – Elijah Van Zanten. I always regarded him as a front-runner, and indeed he left no stone unturned here and covered all the bases. He was deemed the winner of the Digital Challenge for Runway though I also felt his Digital Challenge video for Physique was commendable too. I personally felt he deserved perhaps a finish one notch higher, but this placement is still a great placement.
1ST RUNNER-UP: PHILIPPINES – Joshua De Sequera. I’m surprised to hear some pageant pundits in my circle took a liking to this guy, as for most Filipino tastes he is considered to be on the plain side. But we have to credit him that his modeling pedigree (his mom is Filipina modeling legend Marina Benipayo) did serve him well as he does know how to project better than the pre-competition photos might indicate, and of course there is his imposing 6’4″ stature. I may not peg him as 1st runner-up material and in my mind it’s like 2018 all over again when the host country finished in this place, but here there is some good justification for his strong showing, like garnering two sponsors’ prizes from Blackwater and AQ Prime and a Best Commercial Model special award. On a piquant note, it’s interesting he shares one quality with another Filipino Manhunt delegate who finished in the Top Three, 1997 2nd runner-up Vincent Pinto*1: he’s already a father when competing in this contest.
*1 I learned this detail about Vince Pinto retroactively in last year’s Miss Universe Philippines when his daughter Jasmine Umali competed representing Manila–based on the age at the time she competed, she was already born when Vince was competing in MHI.
MANHUNT INTERNATIONAL 2022: AUSTRALIA – Lochie Carey. His first name is pronounced the same way you say the name of the Norse god of mischief (and now more famous as the Marvel superhero Thor’s brother / nemesis) Loki. He has all the elements worthy of ultimately garnering this title, with his buffness, handsomeness, charisma, and social media engagement. It doesn’t matter if he’s the shortest guy amongst the Final Five, he still qualifies as a tall-enough model. He garnered the most special awards, with two sponsors’ prizes from AQ Prime and Blackwater, a win for Digital Challenge – Physique*2, and earning a fast-track slot for being the top overall performer in all three Digital Challenge events. His win seemed inevitable and generally unquestionable and well-received.
*2 Though I personally preferred the Physique videos of USA and SPAIN, but still his Physique video was top-notch.
Though I feel the conduct of the World FInal is serviceable, at best, I can say I’m very satisfied with the final results. Admittedly I know this contest is still in a rebuilding phase due to the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I hope it can soon reach the heady heights it used to achieve several years back.
JUST ME!
JOSEPH
The now-traditional Congratulatory Victory Lift
Press Presentation Casual Wear images courtesy of Mike Zuniga for Sash Factor; Press Presentation Swimwear images courtesy of Joy Arguil for Fab Philippines; Final swimsuit competition images courtesy of Andy Cayna for Sash Factor.All other images courtesy of Manhunt International unless otherwise indicated.
Before I proceed, I’d like to talk a bit about the conduct of the World FInal. The Okada Manila stage was actually plain and seems to be held outdoors with only the touted fountains serving as the stage backdrop. The event was hosted by Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez and Miss Universe Philippines – Tourism 2022 (and Miss World Philippines 2019) Michelle Marquez Dee. Both were obviously reliant on their cue cards for their spiels and their delivery had multiple stilted and awkward moments. To be blunt, meh at best. Then, there is the streaming feed provided by key sponsor AQ Prime which were then sent to YouTube and Facebook–many main competition sequences look like they are streamed via slow dial-up internet with choppy movements, something I thought we have long moved on from the late 1990s to early 2000s. I want to support this sponsor, but the feed as is doesn’t reflect well on their prospects as a viable entity.
It’s time to talk about the non-finalists who at least had the consolation of garnering a special award.
KOREA – Junhyeok Chang. He got the good fortune of winning Mr. Friendship. Otherwise this tall and gangly guy is one of the weakest delegates in this batch. This country has seem to have found its groove in other male pageants like Mister International, Mister Global, and finally this year in Mister Supranational. They should’ve applied the lessons they learned in those pageants to field consistently competitive contenders in this pageant.
SINGAPORE – Darren Kessler. His pre-arrival photos seem to indicate he could’ve been a Top 16 shoo-in with a possible play for the Final Five. However, when he showed up in Manila he just didn’t quite channel that Eurasian charisma that he potentially could’ve had and as such I found him the biggest disappointment in relation to his potential–in fact this is why I thought MALAYSIA could’ve edged him out of the Top 16. Yes, he has a buffed bod that earned him the Mr. Physique special award (though in my opinion that distinction should’ve gone to SPAIN) but he just was low wattage throughout that I wasn’t surprised he missed the cut. At least he has that special award as a consolation.
CANADA – Samuel Albert. I’ve noticed he has received buzz amongst the local pageant press as a favorite. I do understand his boyish appeal, though I felt as a model he’s not as polished as other guys out there. Still he turned out to be a worthwhile contender that it’s conceivable he probably missed the final cut by very little. He at least has the consolation of winning the Mr. Personality special award.
Though there is one special award-winning non-finialist remaining, it’s time for me to announce the Lucas Malvacini Awardees for this pageant.
LUCAS MALVACINI AWARD 2ND RUNNER-UP: EL SALVADOR – Gerardo Ojeda. I may not regard him as conventionally handsome but he has that beefily buffed bod and strong projection skills that I thought he is a more serious contender for the Top 16. Sash Factor released footage from the preliminary competition and I find no fault with his performance at all–I have this gnawing feeling the judges at hand had up-scored the guys from the later batches that despite a strong performance from this guy and the other two guys that I’ll mention below, that their scores just missed making the Top 16.
LUCAS MALVACINI AWARD 1ST RUNNER-UP: GREECE – Zacharias Ktistakis. I thought this guy was a shoo-in for the Top 16, and like EL SALVADOR, he was included in the preliminary competition footage released by Sash Factor and I thought his performance was Top 16-worthy. Some had noted the disappointment in his face during the final as the final results were announced–I wouldn’t blame him as he indeed gave his all and it’s a bit of a shocker and an injustice he didn’t make it.
LUCAS MALVACINI AWARD WINNER: FRANCE – Cedric Cabane. Arguably, it could be said that EL SALVADOR and GREECE performed better in the preliminary competition over this guy, as this guy’s relatively shorter stature in relation to the guys in his group may have created a less-than-standout impression. But he has an undeniable boyish handsomeness and he garnered a special award for the Digital Challenge – Casting video that I felt may be how I feel he’ll pip out the other two guys for this dubious honor. That special award, I feel, is well-earned as it’s a masterpiece of creative editing–his wardrobe change transitions were well-made and top-notch.
I got 11 of the Top 16 correct. Though I still maintain the top three Lucas Malvacini awardees deserve to belong here over a few of them, the ones I missed in my “Fearful” Forecast were in my “Bubbling Under” list anyway, so technically there are no headscratching or shocking choices among the actual Top 16, as all have merits in making this cut.
INDONESIA – Deo Nikolas. He has a manly appeal that made him a worthy competitive choice, though he earned his Top 16 spot by winning the Mr. Popularity award (an award based on internet polling over social media). So it’s possible that if he didn’t win this fast-track slot, it would’ve paved room for one of the Lucas Malvacini awardees to make it.
JAPAN – Kiichiro Sakamoto. I’m not that into his looks, but I do understand how his Asian features may have its appeal and win over the judges. He also projects well, though, again, I still maintain I’d rather see the Lucas Malvacini winners here in his place.
NEPAL – Bikalp Shrestha. See both JAPAN and INDONESIA. I don’t begrudge his placement as he has obvious merit, but still I would’ve preferred EL SALVADOR, FRANCE, or GREECE here in his stead.
VENEZUELA – Jose Luis Trujillo. Though I know his complexion is brown and dusky, I was surprised how dark it actually was when I saw pictures when he arrived here. Though his hair is straight, I have a feeling he also has African heritage and may be considered a black contestant in this batch. The great things going for him are his handsome face and his 6’5″ height–he’s the tallest contestant in this year’s batch. The things I’m not that into are his slender frame and not-as-rippled physique, along with an androgynous vibe that he projected in the Digital Challenge -Runway video. But then again, it’s perhaps because of that video and his stature that he got the special award of Best Fashion Model. High fashion these days tend to favor slender frames like his, I’ve realized.
SRI LANKA – Supun Maduranga. He got a special award as Mr. Face of the Year as the judges seem to dig his handsome boyish features. I wouldn’t begrudge them even if for me such an honor should’ve probably gone to BRAZIL, but this guy proved worthy of belonging in this group–I did correctly predict him making the cut.
NIGERIA – Lam Chris Chidubem. This lone black African bet garnered heavy buzz amongst the local pageant press and netizens. And he proved to be a consistent performer all throughout that I’m glad that there was room for him in the Top 16 this year. If we can confirm VENEZUELA’s black heritage, it would refreshing to witness two black semifinalists in this pageant as in most years there is no black representation,
COMING UP: THE TOP 10
Press Presentation Casual Wear images courtesy of Mike Zuniga for Sash Factor; Press Presentation Swimwear images courtesy of Joy Arguil for Fab Philippines.Grand final swimsuit pictures courtesy of Andy Cayna for Sash Factor. All other images courtesy of Manhunt International unless otherwise indicated.
Joseph Vitug's Views 