THE FIRST MISS PHILIPPINES. 20 year old Anita Agoncillo Noble of Lemery, Batangas, chosen at the 1st National Beauty Contest of 1926. Anita comes from a distinguished family of patriots and revolutionists.
The
1st National Beauty Contest search for the first
Miss Philippines was launched with much fanfare and was met with resounding approval by provincial authorities. Quickly, municipalities conducted their own “Miss”, from among whom a provincial bet to the national contest was chosen.
Batangas Governor Modesto Castillo however, already had a perfect candidate in mind, so he scrapped the local tilt and named his beauty of choice. No one criticized this arbitrary move, as his decision was met with unanimous approval.
Anita Noble y Agoncillo of
Lemery was named as
“Miss Batangas” and was sent off immediately to the national contest.
Anita was the middle child and only daughter of
Leoncio Noble and
Maria Agoncillo, who, in turn come from distinguished families of Lemery. Leoncio managed the family estate in the
Lemery-Taal area, while
Maria was directly related to patriots
Felipe Agoncillo, diplomat of the 1st Philippine Republic,
Maria, 2nd wife of
Emilio Aguinaldo, and
Marcela, maker of the 1st Philippine flag.
Anita had two other siblings:
Froilan and
Vicente. When it was time for their higher education, the boys were sent to
San Juan de Letran, while Anita was accepted as an
interna at the nearby
Santa Rosa College. It was indeed a surprise, that given her strict upbringing, her parents allowed her to participate in the contest. But inasmuch as she was always in the company of other girls and their chaperones, she was allowed to participate in the contest activities.
During the contest proper, she stayed in the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Alfredo Roa Sr., together with
Remedios Santos (Miss Rizal) and
Amparo Neri (Miss Misamis).
Mrs. Conchita Zamora Roa was their official chaperone. One of the most memorable event was a tea dance party given by the
Bachelors’ Club to the candidates at the
Hotel de Francia along
Avenida Rizal. The candidates were paraded in the evening in decorated automobiles that wended its way around
Rizal, Escolta, Taft Avenue and ending at the
Manila Grand Carnival auditorium at the
Luneta. Alighting from the cars, the candidates boarded individual wheeled chariots bearing the name of their respective provinces. Before an adoring crowd and a panel of judges, the candidates were thus presented and voted on.
The selection of the regional winners—Misses Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao—proved to be easy. But the choice for the plum
Miss Philippines title ended in a tie between Miss Zamboanga (
Carmen Fargas) and Miss Batangas (
Anita Noble). Not even a second voting could break the tie. As it was already past midnight,
Madame Levy, one of the judges, suggested the postponement of the deliberation for another day. It was then that
President Manuel L. Quezon made his appearance. Apprised of the situation, the President invited the contestants the next day at the
Manila Hotel. He stipulated that they be dressed in simple
baro’t saya and wear no make-up, and that another judge be added to break the deadlock. The judging continued the next day—the girls were judged how they ate lunch!
NOBLE NOBILITY. Miss Philippines-elect Anita Noble, as she appeared in a large 1926 Carnival souvenir photo.
The stringent process finally yielded results with the breaking of the tie.
Anita Noble, 20 year old
Miss Batangas was chosen as the winner of the
First National Beauty Contest. But so tight was the competition, that the Carnival officials decided to create another title for Zamboanga’s
Carmen Fargas. She was named as
“Miss Pearl of the Orient Seas”. Named as
Miss Luzon was won by
Rosario Genato (Manila),
Miss Visayas was
Aurora Reyes (Samar) and
Miss Mindanao was
Bala Amai Miring (Lanao).
Our first
Miss Philippines was proclaimed with much hoopla in the jampacked Carnival Auditorium.
Batangas Assemblyman Antonio de las Alas escorted Anita, the pride of Batangas, to the throne.
Leopoldo Kahn stood by as her
King Consort. With the dancing ending at 5 a.m., everyone agreed that 1926 was
“the liveliest and most successful night in the history of the Carnival”.
Accolades continued to pour in for Anita. Her school presented a musical program in her honor and when she went home to Batangas, her proud province mates gave her a rapturous welcome. She was besieged by admirers but it was not until 9 January 1927 that she met Paris-educated
Architect Juan Nakpil, son of revolutionist
Don Julio Nakpil and
Gregoria de Jesus, the young widow of
Andres Bonifacio.
As a graduate student of
Harvard where he continued his studies after France, Juan had previously heard of Anita via Carnival news clippings sent to him. Upon his return to the Philippines, Juan met Anita on the feast of the
Black Nazarene, in the
Quiapo house of his uncle,
Dr. Ariston Bautista Lin.
Smitten, Juan pursued Anita, often traveling to Lemery every Sunday to woo and visit her. He finally won her on 10 December 1927, and they were wed in the evening highlighted by a reception held at the house of the Batangas Governor. The union bore 5 accomplished children:
Ariston, Francisco, Eulogio, Annie (who became Miss Batangas) and
Edith (who, too, became
Miss Philippines 1955 of the Boys’ Town Carnival).
In 1973,
Arch. Juan Nakpil was conferred the
National Artist Award for his valuable contribution to Philippine architecture.Our first
Miss Philippines, the accomplished and beautiful
Anita Noble, passed away on 14 August 1979, after a bout with cancer.
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