Ara Mina with stepdaughter Kirsten Almarinez. Image by Alex Brosas
Actress Ara Mina is throwing her full support behind her stepdaughter, Kirsten Almarinez, who is competing in the Miss Teen Model Universe in November in Spain.
Kirsten is the daughter of Ara Mina’s husband, former PITC president and CEO, businessman Dave Almarinez.
In an interview, Ara Mina said she believed her stepdaughter has the makings of a beauty queen, with her natural features and height.
“Kasi, tingnan mo naman, katawan pa lang, ang waistline ay 21 (inches). She has height and hindi na niya kailangang magpaturok ng lips kasi natural na siya. Natural ang features niya. Matangos ang ilong niya,” she said.
(Look at her. Her body alone is a winner, with her 21-inch waistline. She has height and she does not need to enhance her lips because it’s naturally full. Her features are all refined, and she has a nice button nose.)
But aside from her physical attributes, Ara Mina said Kristen is also very smart. She is set to start her collegiate studies at the University of British Columbia where she is taking up Political Science next month.
Ara Mina also revealed that her own mother, Venus Imperial, was once hailed the Mutya ng Pasig in 1967, so that being a beauty queen is in her blood. Imperial wanted her to become one as well, but that wasn’t in the cards for the actress-host.
“I didn’t really experience being a beauty queen, but I guess ang tip ko lang na maibibigay (the tip that I can give Kristen) is for her to be confident, to be herself, be transparent and not to be pretentious,” she said. “Siya (Kristen) na lang ang maging beauty queen sa family (Kristen may fittingly become the beauty queen in the family).”
Kristen, it turned out, wanted to become a lawyer. “I’m taking up Political Science because I am interested in the justice system and pursuing a career in law. I want to pursue that other side of me because I am not just an aspiring model or pageant queen, I am very interested in the study of law.”
The aspiring model and beauty queen just recently turned 18 years and held a lavish debut party in Vancouver, Canada attended by Ara Mina.
Kirsten said she was handpicked by the pageant organizer after auditioning and was asked to write an essay about why she wanted to join the beauty contest. She was also asked to participate in an interview.
She said that did not inform the organizers that she is the stepdaughter of Ara Mina because she wanted to “accomplish this on my own.”
Her dream to become a beauty queen was not an after thought, though, as she had been dreaming of being one when she joined a school pageant in 2010. “I believe that my pageant journey has always been a long time coming. I believe that we’re given dreams for a reason and it’s up to us what action will gonna make.”
The Miss Teen Model Philippines is just one of the franchises of Miss Teen International Philippines Organization headed by its founder Charlotte Dianco. Included in its roster are Miss Teen International, Miss Teen Model International, Miss Teen Universe, Miss Teen Earth, Miss Teen Global and Miss Teen Grand Philippines.
Founded 2018, the initial aim of Miss Teen International Philippines (MTIP) is to discover young girls with great potential to represent the Philippines in various beauty pageants abroad, but its main advocacy is to promote and support education. MTIP wants more kids to read books and they try to help in their own little way. EDV