Jonas Gaffud, creative and events director of Miss Universe Philippines, said that he's proud of the performance of Miss Philippines Celeste Cortesi at the preliminary competition of the 71st Miss Universe Competition in New Orleans, Louisiana last Jan. 11. (Jan. 12 in Manila).
"So beautiful. People have their opinion on what she should have done and all during the preliminaries at Miss Universe. I just felt proud to see her on stage. How she moved, the subtle and effortless beauty she possesses. She does not have to act like someone else. She is as authentic as she can be," wrote Jonas on Instagram.
Jonas also groomed previous world-class beauty queens 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, the country's first Miss World Megan Young and Miss International 2016 Kylie Versoza.
On Jan. 12, Celeste wowed pageant fans when she paraded as Darna at national costume show in New Orleans.
The national costume of the Filipino-Italian beauty queen was designed by Oliver Tolentino with some metal work by Jerome Navarro.
Prior, pageant fans cheered Celeste during the preliminary competitions where she wore a sky blue evening gown also created by Tolentino and struck a pose in swimsuit.
The finals of the 71st Miss Universe Competition will be held on Jan. 14 (Jan. 15 in Manila).