THE Miss Cagayan de Oro pageant that survived World War II has again outlasted the Covid-19 pandemic.

Organizers said the Miss Cagayan de Oro pageant is back and face-to-face after a two-year absence due to the Covid-19 restrictions

“After two years of absence, we are back,” Mags Cue, chief organizer of Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 said.

LIVE. A beauty contestant performs a Singkil dance during the Search for Talent of the Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 on July 9, 2022. The beauty pageant, a major event leading to the city fiesta celebration in August, has been sidelined for two years because of Covid-19 restrictions. Photo by Froilan Gallardo

Cue and the organizers of the Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 pageant presented 14 beauty contestants during the search for talent program here last Saturday.

The pageant was sidelined for two years following the Covid-19 pandemic and was relegated to only virtual viewings only on TV and social media.

This time, Cue said the pageant would be available for public viewing on pageant night on August 27.

TALENT. A Miss Cagayan de Oro contestant is suspended from a bamboo pole during the Search for Talent of the Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 on July 9, 2022. After two years absence, the annual beauty pageant is back and on face to face. Photo by Froilan Gallardo

The beauty pageant is a traditional part of the celebration of the Feast of St. Augustine this coming August 28, 2022.

Local historian Nanette Roa said the staging of Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 pageants was only stopped during the Japanese occupation of the city in World War II.

Roa said when liberation came, the officials of the municipal government of Cagayan de Oro decided to re-stage the pageant in 1946 to boost morale.

“That year the title of Miss Cagayan de Oro was changed into Miss Star of Liberation,” Roa said.

DANCE. A Miss Cagayan de Oro contestant performs a dance during the Search for Talent of the Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 on July 9, 2022. After two years absence, the annual beauty pageant is back and on face to face. Photo by Froilan Gallardo

She said most of the guests were American soldiers, officers, and the Filipino guerillas who help liberate Cagayan de Oro from the Japanese.

As a tribute to the beauty queen, Roa said they rode on board a decorated US armored personnel carrier and paraded throughout the city — a tradition that is done to this day during the city fiesta.

Roa said the idea of holding a beauty pageant was introduced to Cagayan de Oro during the American occupation in the 1920s.

SINGKIL. A beauty contestant performs a Singkil dance during the Search for Talent of the Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 on July 9, 2022. The beauty pageant, a major event leading to the city fiesta celebration in August, has been sidelined for two years because of Covid-19 restrictions. Photo by Froilan Gallardo

“The US soldiers and civil officials patterned the pageant similar to what they have back in the states,” Roa said.

Roa said the first Miss Cagayan de Oro pageant was held in 1928 and the winner was Miss Amparo Chaves.

She said the criteria of choosing the title holder was through the “three Bs”—Beauty, family background, and breeding.

“The judges were very strict on this and it was a great pride for the families whose daughters are chosen to be Miss Cagayan de Oro,” Roa said.