PROPERTY FROM THE BABY SANTIAGO COLLECTION

Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist

ABOUT THE WORK

As the 'Pearl of the Orient Seas,' the Philippines is endowed with the allure and charisma of Filipina beauty. This is evident in the country's prominence as among the world’s beauty pageant powerhouses; we have consistently bagged the most coveted crowns in various international beauty pageant competitions. In 1968, Australia held its 14th Annual Moomba Festival in Melbourne, emphasizing the diversity of culture, entertainment, and pageantry. It is Australia's largest and grandest free community festival, having been celebrated since 1955 and regularly attracting up to a million local and foreign tourists. The highlight of the festival is its celebrated Moomba Monarchy. The first to be introduced was the Queen of the Moomba competition in 1955. The Queen of the Pacific pageant followed suit in 1967. On March 9, 1968, 17 contestants from 17 participating countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji, vied for the Queen of the Pacific title. The pageant was held at the Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne, Australia's first modern international hotel. The Philippines participated in the beauty pageant for the first time during that year. It sent as its official representative 20-year-old Maria Rita "Baby" Santiago of Quezon City, besting other hopeful contestants when the country held a search for its first-ever representative in the preceding year. Prior to the grand coronation, Santiago had already won the "Miss Crowning Glory" for her short yet perfectly coiffed hair styled by hairdresser Fernando Marasigan. But Santiago's true "crowning glory" materialized when she was proclaimed the 1968 Queen of the Pacific. She received a sash and a string of Mikimoto pearls from the previous year's titleholder, Betty Lim Saw Yim of Malaysia. Interestingly, Santiago was only the second Filipina to win an international beauty pageant title after Gemma Teresa Guerrero Cruz secured the 1964 Miss International crown. The year before she won the Queen of the Pacific, Santiago became one of the Ten Outstanding Models of the Philippines, along with Chona Kasten, Margarita "Maita" Gomez, Jojo Felix-Velarde, Dinty Barredo, Toni Serrano, Pearlie Arcache, Jean Margaret Lim, Cherrie Pie Villongco, and Tina Santos. Oscar Zalameda did this painting of Baby Santiago in Berlin, Germany, in 1970. At that time, Zalameda was living in Paris and came to Berlin to mount an exhibition organized by Santiago and her Swiss husband, Richard Handl, in the lobby of the Berlin Hilton Hotel, where the latter served as the manager from 1969 to 1970. Santiago was then living in a finely furnished apartment in the Berlin Hilton with her husband. The couple oversaw the entirety of the exhibition—from its initial planning, press conference, preview, and up to the show's duration. Santiago was deeply supportive of and well-disposed to Zalameda, who was at the prime of his professional artistic career. According to Santiago, Zalameda stayed in the Berlin Hilton for about three weeks. One morning, while chatting after breakfast, he told Santiago to wear a gown made by their mutual friend and famous Filipino couturier Rudy Dandan. After Santiago donned the well-crafted dress, Zalameda started painting. Subsequently, the artist gifted the portrait to Santiago as a symbol of gratitude for her unwavering moral support during the exhibition. The portrait captures the Queen of the Pacific in an exquisite hairstyle and a dignified stunning emerald gown—truly an epitome of the quintessential Filipina beauty.