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Miss International 2023 Andrea Valentina Rubio Armas, more popularly known as Andrea Rubio in the pageant scene, granted a roundtable interview to pageant media. She shared about her life-long dreams and plans she had that started in her childhood days in Venezuela. 

“I had a very happy childhood, my parents and my siblings always supported me in all of my advocacies and during my reign in Miss International,” she said.

Andrea said that there are a lot of similarities between Venezuela and Philippine pageant contestants. The culture may be slightly different but the effort and preparation are almost the same.

“Venezuela and the Philippines always give their best in pageants that is why the results are always positive. It doesn’t follow that the tallest girl always wins, the girl who does her best and is herself is the true winner,” Andrea said.

After passing her crown, Andrea has a dream of pursuing a career in communications. 

“I’m planning to host a television show or produce my own television show my advocacies will all continue even after I pass my crown,” she said.

The 25-year-old model and beauty queen revealed her favorite Filipino dish.

“Your adobo is the best I’ve tried. The lamb adobo is good but the chicken adobo is to die for — it’s very delicious,” she said.

Andrea also discovered some similarities between Venezuela and the Philippines that made her feel instantly at home. 

“The weather is similar to Caracas. My hair starts to grow every single hour. It’s really hot but I’m used to it. 

“I really like it. It’s really crowded and there’s a lot of traffic. Definitely, we have a lot of things in common... motorcycles everywhere. We also have a lot in Venezuela. And the people, they’re not so quiet — you’re loud. In Venezuela, we’re also very loud. When you’re in another country, people tell you, ‘Shhh. I’m sorry, this is just the way I speak.’ You’re very similar,” Andrea said.

As for some similarities in the words commonly used there are many. And that made her love our country more. 

“I love Filipinos. I think they have a Latina inside. We are very similar, we are fun, rowdy, happy,” she reasoned. “I came here and I found out Filipinos say ‘guapo’ and we have so many words in common. Like bandana, guapa, kutsara, lamesa, hermoso,” she said.

As of 2024, Venezuela has the most wins at the Miss International Pageant with total of nine, followed by the Philippines with five.

source: Daily Tribune

by: Jefferson Fernando