Bb. Pilipinas second runner-up Atasha Reign Parani. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
MANILA, Philippines—Before she was proclaimed second runner-up in the 2023 Binibining Pilipinas pageant, Atasha Reign Parani already had a budding career as host and actress with ABS-CBN after her stint in “Pinoy Big Brother.” After taking a short break from the industry to focus on the competition, she said she would love to go back to the biz.
“I really want to go back to show biz. It was really my first love, like, acting and hosting. I was hosting for Pie channel before the pageant,” Parani told the Inquirer when the pageant’s winners engaged in a round of interviews with members of the media at the Owner’s Circle at the Araneta City in Quezon City a couple of days after their coronation.
As the youngest contestant at just 19 years old, Parani is also juggling her studies as a senior high school student with the pageant’s activities. There were times when after a long day with Bb. Pilipinas, she would go back home to General Trias in Cavite to do some more schoolwork. During their trip to Dasol, Pangasinan, she endured an eye infection to finish her class assignment while the rest of the ladies had already hit the sack to prepare for an early morning call time the next day.
“I’m a working student. I have been, five years now. So it has really been hard for me during those times because I would have to do school. And then I was also not feeling good. I think our makeup was on, maybe, over 24 hours. Because before going to Dasol we had to do our makeup and hair and everything. It was really hard for me because I also felt dizzy, and we were always under the sun. It was crazy,” she shared.
After she hurdles senior high school, Parani is planning to take mass communication in college. “It is very close to my line of work,” she says. But she may also opt to pursue a degree in the arts, something performative that will also hone her craft for her audience. “I’m an all-around performer which I have been working on so many years now,” she shared, saying she trained with the P-Pop boy group BGYO.
And the P-Pop training paid off. Her expert maneuvering of her sarong during the preliminary swimsuit competition and her masterful handling of her cape during the grand coronation night impressed the crowd. Her performance during the national costume show with her cosplay-ish portrayal of “Don Juan at ang Ibong Adarna” wowed the crowd as well.
But for many observers, it was her performance in the final round of questioning that sealed her fate. When asked if she thinks social media engagements are only shallow and non-lasting connections, she responded: “My advocacy is for the children who have been domestically abused. If I were to imagine [inspiring] them and see that younger self of mine in the mirror every single day, I would do it another time, like, it’s my ultimate last chance. I just really want to show everyone that with social media and every platform, you can still move people and the world.”
She acknowledged the praises she has been getting for her interview performance. “I did make a mark somehow. I tried to topnotch everything from the runway, to how I emote my face, and [question and answer]. I love it when people compliment me now, ‘I love your Q&A.’ So it’s one of my favorites, yeah, it’s my favorite compliment,” Parani said.
Having impressed a lot of people in every segment of the competition, Parani said she is in no hurry to return to the pageant stage to prove her worth even more. “I know in myself now, people really perceive me as young, that my body could still improve, and will take years to mold myself as a beauty queen. Yes, I’m young, but I’ve come so far,” she said.
And she is also currently reigning as Binibining General Trias. Set to relinquish her local title to her successor who will be crowned later this year, Parani already has her calendar filled with queenly duties.
Parani competed in a field of 40 aspirants at the 2023 Bb. Pilipinas Grand Coronation Night held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at the Araneta City on May 28. Among her fellow winners are Bb. Pilipinas International Angelica Lopez, Bb. Pilipinas Globe Anna Valencia Lakrini and first runner-up Katrina Anne Johnson. /ra