Gazini Christiana Jordi Acopiado Ganados (; born December 26, 1995) is a Filipino model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2019. She represented the Philippines at the

Miss Universe 2019 Miss Universe 2019 was the 68th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Stage 1 of the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on 8 December 2019. At the end of the event, Catriona Gray of the Philippines crowned Zozibini Tunzi of S ...

pageant and finished as a Top 20 semifinalist along with the Best National Costume award.

Early life and education

Gazini Christiana Jordi Acopiado Ganados was born in

Dapitan Dapitan, officially the City of Dapitan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dapitan; Subanon: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dapitan/Bagbenwa Dapitan cbk, Ciudad de Dapitan''), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. According to ...

Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga del Norte ( Cebuano: ''Amihanang Zamboanga''; Subanon: ''Utara Sembwangan''; tl, Hilagang Zamboanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Norte, is a province in the Philippines situated within the Zamboanga Peninsula region in ...

, Philippines to a domestic partnership between her Palestinian father and Filipino mother who later separated. Ganados was raised by her maternal grandparents. Ganados and her family moved and have resided in the city of

Talisay, Cebu Talisay, officially the City of Talisay ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Talisay; fil, Lungsod ng Talisay), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 263,048 people. The name o ...

since she was in sixth grade. She holds a degree in

Tourism Management Hospitality Management and Tourism is the study of the hospitality industry. A degree in the subject may be awarded either by a university college dedicated to the studies of hospitality management or a business school with a relevant departme ...

and a certificate in Health Care Services NCII both from the

University of San Jose–Recoletos The University of San Jose–Recoletos, also referred to by its acronym USJ–R or to its colloquially shortened name San Jose, is a private Catholic research and coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Augustini ...

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acc ...

Pageantry

Miss World Philippines 2014

Ganados joined Miss World Philippines 2014 and placed in the Top 13. Valerie Weigmann won the said pageant.

Binibining Pilipinas 2019

On June 9, 2019, she competed in Binibining Pilipinas 2019 representing

and won the title of Miss Universe Philippines 2019. Ganados is the second Cebuana to win the

Binibining Pilipinas Universe The following are the Binibining Pilipinas titleholders throughout the years, including the highlights of their performance in minor and Big Four international beauty pageants. Titles Note that the year designates the time Binibining Pilipina ...

title, after

Pilar Pilapil Pilar, Portuguese and Spanish for pillar, may refer to: People * Pilar (given name), a common abbreviation of ''María del Pilar'', including a list of people so named * Pilar (surname), a list of people surnamed Pilar or del Pilar Places Argen ...

who won in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. During the national costume competition, she wore an ensemble inspired by Queen Juana ( queen consort of

Rajah Humabon Rajah Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, (died April 27, 1521) was the Rajah of Cebu (an Indianized Philippine polity). Humabon was Rajah at the time of the arrival of Portuguese-born, Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines ...

) of the ancient Rajahnate of Cebu, and the whole representation of the festivities and meaning of the Sinulog Festival in the whole island of Cebu. In honor of her Middle Eastern roots, she chose to perform a belly dance presentation during the talent competition. As she is very close to her grandparents, her main advocacy is

elderly care Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often call ...

. Ganados was crowned by outgoing Miss Universe Philippines 2018 and

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on December 17, 2018. At the end of the event, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned Catriona Gray of ...

Catriona Gray Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray (; born 6 January 1994) is a Filipino-Australian model, singer, beauty queen, television personality, youth advocate and arts ambassador best known for having been crowned Miss Universe 2018. She is the fourth Fi ...

. Ganados won the following special awards: *''Best in Long Gown'' *''Face of Binibini'' (Miss Photogenic) During the question and answer portion of the national pageant, she was asked: "If you win the crown tonight, what can you do to get more women in the workplace?" She replied: On October 25, 2020, Ganados crowned

Rabiya Mateo Rabiya Occeña Mateo (; born November 14, 1996) is a Filipino model, host, actress, entrepreneur and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2020. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2020 pageant and finished a ...

as her successor at the Miss Universe Philippines 2020 pageant held at Cordillera Convention Hall, Baguio Country Club in

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, Benguet.

Miss Universe 2019

As Miss Universe Philippines 2019, Ganados represented the Philippines at the

pageant on December 8, 2019, at the Tyler Perry Studios in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States. At the national costume competition, Ganados wore a

Philippine eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has br ...

-inspired ensemble with two life-sized birds on each shoulder. The creation was hand-stitched with laser-cut patterns. At the preliminary competition, Ganados introduced herself and her country wearing a lavender halter-neck gown designed by

Sherri Hill Sherri Hill (born 1949 in Minco, Oklahoma) is an American fashion designer and businesswoman whose specialty is formal evening wear. Early years Sherri Hill was born Sherri Branum, one of five siblings of James and Roberta Branum and was b ...

. She debuted her 'phoenix' walk wearing a black tropical-print bikini with a bright yellow cape at the preliminary swimsuit competition. She wore a golden gilded gown designed by the Cebu-based couturier, Cary Santiago at the preliminary evening gown competition. It was a reminiscent of the pink gown she wore when she won the Miss Universe Philippines 2019 title at the Binibining Pilipinas 2019 pageant. At the coronation night, she advanced to the Top 20 as one of the wildcards. At the opening statement segment, she expressed:

''"The world is aging, and my grandparents raised me. I worked in an organization that was supporting elderly care. I learned... I realized that there's this stigma between ageism, poverty, exclusivity, and invincibility. It is rightful for us to remember that they were the ones who paved the way for us. We should reciprocrate that love, and no one should be ever left behind. Thank you."''

Ganados concluded her Miss Universe journey by finishing as a Top 20 semifinalist along with the ''Best in National Costume'' award.

Zozibini Tunzi Zozibini Tunzi (born 18 September 1993), also known as Zozi Tunzi, is a South African model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2019. Tunzi had previously been crowned Miss South Africa 2019. She is the third ...

of South Africa won the said pageant.

References

External links

Binibining Pilipinas Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganados, Gazini 1995 births Living people Binibining Pilipinas winners Filipino people of Palestinian descent Miss Universe 2019 contestants Miss World Philippines contestants People from Talisay, Cebu People from Zamboanga del Norte Cebuano beauty pageant winners