PURA GARCIA VILLANUEVA THE FIRST BEAUTY QUEEN OF THE COUNTRY WAS AN ILONGGA (COPY PASTED FROM MANILA CARNIVAL 1908- 1939 BLOG BY: ALEX CASTRO)

10. 1908, Queen of the Orient, PURA GARCIA VILLANUEVA, part 1

REINA DEL ORIENTE 1908. Pura Villanueva y Garcia, of Molo, Iloilo at her coronation. A Filipino-Spanish mestiza, Pura was known for her literary works in Spanish before she was invited to participate in the carnival queen quest.

Pura Villanueva was already acclaimed as a ‘beauty with brains’ even before she became a Carnival candidate. In her hometown, Molo in Iloilo, she had established herself as a Spanish writer of repute for El Tiempo, a leading newspaper. Here, she contributed literary articles and insightful essays, mostly on feminine issues. She was also the founder of the Asociacion Femenista Ilonga, a woman’s group. When the first Carnival needed a queen, Carnival officials immediately enlisted her.

HER ROYAL VESTMENTS. As she appeared in her official portrait sitting, dressed in a "panuelo-less" costume designed and executed by her Spanish mother, Emilia Garcia. She holds Japanese fan to symbolize her queenship of the Orient.

Pura was born on 27 August 1886 to lawyer Emilio Villanueva andEmilia Garcia—a Spanish girl from Palencia. Emilio had met the 15 year old girl while a student of the University of Salamanca, freely associating with expatriated Filipinos like Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Jose Rizal. The couple went back to the Philippines to start and raise a family. They were to have two daughters, the elder Maria and Pura, or Purita.

As a youngster, Pura enrolled at the local school for girls founded byMaestra Vitang and then went became an intern at the Sta. Catalina College in Manila. Purita stood out with not only because she was amestizada, fair and tall, but also because she had a strong personality, never timid or modest , was the manner of ladies then. By the time she was 18, she was the toast of Iloilo’s social set, known for her incisive write-ups as a social reporter for the local daily.

CROWNED FOR THE CARNAVAL. Another picture of Pura resplendent in her coronation attire. From the book, "LEGACY, Pura Villanueva Kalaw: Her Times, Life and Works 1886-1954, by Maria Kalaw Katigbak. Publisher: Filipinas Foundation, Inc. (c) 1983.

Her elevation to the Queenship was fraught with complications, as discussed earlier, but when Pura finally made up her mind to accept the offer of taking over the vacated throne, she did so with a firm commitment . “I am very happy that I have been chosen Queen of the Orient”, she said when asked for a message to the people of Manila. “I shall try to perform my duties in a way that shall please everyone”.
DAMAS Y CABALLEROS. Pura's court of honor included a dozen or so ladies and swains of prominence who accompanied her at her official functions. She was escorted by King of the Orient Manuel Gomez, an executive of La Germinal Cigar Factory who was dressed as a maharajah.

Fetched from Iloilo on a special boat, Pura reigned over the Carnival together with the Queen of the Occident, Marjorie Colton. Her King Consort was Manuel Gomez, an executive from La Germinal. (Mauro Prieto, Tomas del Rosario were previous choices). Queen Pura’s maids of honor were Fe Escurdia, Luz Hugo, Esperanza Poblete, Cirila Legarda, Rosario Gomez, Carmen Gonzales, Antonia Fuster, Luisa Hernandez, Elisa and Purificacion Tempongko, Ramona and Rosa Ponce de Leon. Their courtiers were Feliciano Basa Jr., Emilio Veloso, Juan Zalvidea, Clodualdo Tempongko and Emilio Mapua.
COVER GIRL. Queen Pura, on the cover of a popular local newspaper, Lipang Kalabaw. The papers had a heyday reporting the on-goings of the Carnival.
It was reported that the Queen of the Orient “will be dressed in a red mestiza dress of native material, with veil and crown, and decorations of natural flowers”. Instead, for her coronation, Pura wore a native costume made by her own mother—minus the panuelo. It was made of piña cloth and fine sinamay gauze, then hand embroidered. Instead of an ostrich feather fan, she held a Japanese fan to highlight her sovereignty over the Orient.

ROYAL PAIR. The King and Queen of the Orient, surrounded by a retinue of princes, just part of a royal court that numbered all of 24!

Pura created quite a sensation when she arrived at the grandstand. An eyewitness report published on El Renacimiento enthused: “The Queen of the Orient, standing up in her car, and waving her handkerchief in answer to the enthusiastic cries of the crowd delirious with joy, was easily the most simpatico figure of the royal cavalcade. Dignified without descending from her rank..she had in her the beautiful amalgam mixture of the aristocratic and of the affectionate towards her people”.
Alongside the august King of the Orient who was arrayed as an Indian Maharajah in blue velvet, Pura, the Queen of the Orient “carried the recopilacion of all Oriental dresses, luxuriously costumed, beautiful and resplendent in her dignity..”

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2008

9. 1908, QUEENS OF THE ORIENT AND THE OCCIDENT

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO. Sovereigns of the 1st Philippine Carnival of 1908. Capt. George T. Langhorne (King of the Occident), Marjorie Colton (Queen of the Occident), Pura Villanueva (Queen of the Orient), Manuel Gomez (King of the Orient).

MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2008

8. 1908, LEONARDA LIMJAP: A Royal Resignation

LEONARDA LIMJAP, the first 'Reina del Oriente' of the 1908 Manila Carnival, abdicated her throne in favor of a family trip to Japan. Here, she stands on the fair left, together with sister Esperanza (middle, future wife of Pres. Sergio Osmena). Seated is her mother, Maria Limjap.

To ensure that only “quality” candidates signed up for the queenship of the first Manila Carnival, W. Cameron Forbes began approaching prominent pater familias with daughters of suitable age. One such person he met was Don Mariano Limjap, an immensely affluent Chinese-Filipino businessman from Legaspi who helped finance the Revolution. Forbes persuaded the patriot to allow one of his daughters– the accomplished Leonarda Limjap--to participate in the Carnival, but the Don replied that “he did not want to be talked about”.

DON MARIANO LIMJAP. Prominent Filipino-Chinese patriot and the reluctant father of the Queen-elect, Leonarda Limjap.

With or without his permission, Leonarda’s candidacy was announced in the papers, and the votes she amassed were a testament to her popularity and influence, with many answering the call to “rally to her beauty, dignity and patriotism”. Only 17 years old, Nena finished high school at the Assumption College and became a pupil of the arts. She studied painting under Fabian de la Rosa and piano under Dna. Ventura Galvez. Likewise, she excelled in the sports of tennis and fencing. A well-travelled girl, Nena has journeyed to Europe in the company of her governess, covering Paris, London, Rome Madrid and other major European cities. It was also her dream to visit all the islands of the Philippines to know her country better.

With sterling credentials such as these, it was no wonder that Nena led Filipina candidates all the way in the quest for the Oriental Queen title. But in the midst of the newspaper scandal, the voting was suspended and instead, the final selection process was thrust in the hands of the members of the Philippine Assembly.

On 13 January 1908, the Philippine Assembly cast their votes and of the 69 votes tallied, 39 were in favor of Leonarda Limjap, beating other distinguished ladies like Purita Villanueva, CarmenFrancia, Dolores de Morio, Paz Yangko and Inocencia Reyes.Leonarda Limjap had won the 1908 Reina del Oriente crown of the 1st ever Manila Carnival. The newspapers rushed to print her sensational victory and congratulatory accolades pured in. “We congratulate her sincerely”, the leading newspaper El Renacimientoproclaimed, “the Assembly chose a worthy queen to wear the crown of the Queen of the Orient”.

But alas, hardly had the ink on the papers dried out when Nena shocked the Carnival Committee and the Philippine Assembly that had chosen her by renouncing the honor and declining the queenship. Her reason was that she was traveling to Japan for a month in the company of Mr. Regidor and his daughter and further expressed that “she does not want to miss the opportunity to travel in the company of such a nice family”.

THE ROLE OF THE 1st RUNNER UP IS VERY IMPORTANT. The Queen of Iloilo took over the throne and the title refused by Leonarda Limjap who cited a trip to Japan as her reason. Pura Villanueva had consistently ranked 2nd after Leonarda in the counting.
With just a few days to go before the opening of the Carnival, the title was offered to the reigning Queen of Iloilo who had placed a strong second to Leonarda: Purita Villanueva. A telegram was quickly dispatched to Iloilo, but Pura initially declined the proposal, preferring to represent her province. A day later, she relented and accepted her appointment with grace.

At last, the Carnival has found its Oriental Queen: Pura Villanueva y Garcia.Long live the Queen!

(POSTSCRIPT: Leonarda Limjap married Aristeo Rizal Ubaldo, the son of Olimpia Rizal, Jose Rizal's sister. They had 4 daughters. Her sister, Esperanza, would eventually marry Sergio Osmena and become a First Lady of the Philippines. )

Many thanks to Mr. Joey Tirona, grandson of Leonarda Limjap, for the use of the Limjap family photo. Likewise to Mr. Raul Boncan)