Miss Universe Asia 2024 Chelsea Manalo —Photo by Armin P. Adina | Contributor
Chelsea Manalo revealed that a lot of doors have opened for her after being proclaimed as the first-ever Miss Universe Asia at the recently concluded 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico.
The 25-year-old tourism management graduate from De La Salle-Araneta University has been modeling professionally since she was a teenager, and now she could embark on a career outside the fashion industry.
“Maraming pumapasok na (I have been receiving so many) opportunities like showbiz, hosting, modeling international, theater, singer, so marami (there are a lot),” she told INQUIRER.net in a sit-down interview after her homecoming press conference mounted by Bingo Plus at the Empire Studio at Estancia Mall in Pasig City on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 14.
“La Bulakenya” faced journalists and online content creators five days since coming back from Los Angeles, California, in the United States, where she stayed for a little while after the international competition in Mexico, to relax and catch up with family and friends.
Manalo also shared that she would still want to continue working with the Miss Universe Philippines organization (MUPH) “on the advocacy that is close to my heart, which are the youth.”
The first black woman to represent the Philippines in Miss Universe finds her new international title as an honor.
“It is dream come true [that] I will forever treasure. It goes not just to me, but I am extending this beyond, to each and every Filipino and women,” Manalo said.
She also profusely thanked everyone who supported her in her journey to the Miss Universe pageant, which has been transformational for her personally.
“I think I have already become that woman that has brought that power and influence for so many women. You can dream much more than just Miss Universe,” she shared.
When asked how different is the Chelsea Manalo now from the person who got on the plane to Mexico in late October, she said: “She is strong-willed, more powerful. She already knows how to navigate challenges in her life. Now she is becoming a person who has so much influence and opportunity that she can extend too.”
She is confident that her title as Miss Universe Asia will also take her to ventures outside pageantry.
“It will reinvent me as a better person. I hope it takes me to a greater and more beautiful person, and take me to more opportunities,” she said.
The national pageant is about to roll out its 2025 edition early next year, with several ladies hoping to succeed Manalo already chosen, while many others are about to get crowned. And the reigning queen is positive that she will relinquish her title to somebody “who is very powerful, strong, with a heart, and with the dignity and heart of a Filipino woman.”