A Repost From Gerry Plaza Of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Venus Raj supports use of interpreters

By Gerry Plaza – August 30th, 2010

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Showbiz Eye by Gerry Plaza, Special to Yahoo! Southeast Asia

For Maria Venus Raj, even her perceived debacle in the final question and answer portion of the Miss Universe pageant last week was really not a “major, major problem” for her either.

In fact, Venus’s answer to Hollywood actor and pageant judge William Baldwin’s question on what was her biggest mistake in her life and what she did about it was what she really wanted to say.

“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,” she said in the Miss Universe stage last August 23.

Explaining what happened to showbiz talk shows over the weekend, Venus said it was all a result of her jitters before a large crowd and the noise in the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Hindi ka conscious sa mga sinasabi mo. Hindi ko siguro narinig na inulit ko na siya pangalawang beses,” she told ABS-CBN’s The Buzz on Sunday.

”Parang siguro kung gusto mong bigyan ng emphasis ang isang word. Like salamat, salamat. But hindi ko siguro masyadong narinig ang sarili ko while talking. Sobrang dami ng tao ro’n at nagsisigawan sila,” Venus said on GMA-7’s “Startalk” on Saturday.

Because of this, Venus said she had realized she lost the crown. Ximena Navarrette of Mexico won the Miss Universe crown, a title Venus said “she deserves.”

“After the question and answer (I knew I will settle as fourth runner up). Parang naglalakad ako, ‘fourth runner up, fourth runner up.’ Pero positive pa rin na sana nga matawag pa rin. Pero realistic pa rin. Nakita ko yung reaction ng mga tao, ng mga judges,” she said on “The Buzz.”

She would have said the same thing but probably in a clearer and concise statement, such as “I haven’t made a major mistake in my life,” which would really sum up that most talked about pageant Q&A response from a Filipina contestant since Charlene Gonzales’s 1994 “High Tide, Low Tide” remark.

But she said she was still elated that her purported verbal slip up became “really big” that people are using it in everyday conversation, whether leaving a message on social media or making a statement on broadcast networks.

“At least every time pag sasabihin ng mga tao siguro kahit matanda na ako, may pamilya na ako, pag sinabing ‘major, major’ ay yan anak, yan (galing) sa (akin),” Venus said.

However, not only local observers but even celebrity watchers in Hollywood commented that if Venus had given a better answer, she would have won the Miss Universe 2010 crown.

There is an ongoing debate about Filipina beauty contest candidates utilizing interpreters in international pageants—something that has not been done before but seen to really spell the difference in our chances of winning.

Venus says she supports it.

“Okay lang po, sa totoo lang. Pag tinanong ka ng isang tanong, hindi ka ma-sho-shock kung anong words ang gagamitin ko parang ganoon. Alam mo, kasi spontaneous ang pag-iisip mo, parang lahat ng gusto mong sabihin, masasabi mo,” she tells GMA-7’s “Showbiz Central.”

Looking back, Venus agreed that the tides could have changed to her favor if she used an interpreter but said in the end that if that happened she might not have reached the top five.

“May chance po talaga. Kung yun ang tanong tapos Tagalog ang isasagot ko, may mag-iinterpret po sa akin, definitely maganda po yung sagot na maibibigay ko. Mas madali pero ang kaba ko naman doon, tatawagin nga ba ako sa top five kung may interpreter ako.”

Will she recommend to the Binibining Pilipinas organization to use interpreters for candidates, a first in the 46 years of its existence?

“Depende po rin po sa kandidata. Kasi may iba, gusto nila pero sa tingin nila kaya din naman nila at kaya nila matuto hanggang sa duration ng pageant. Well, okay din naman na di sila magdala but kung gusto din ng organization na bigyan ng interpreter, definitely mas maganda po.”

Reposted From Gerry Plaza Of Yahoo! Southeast Asia