AKLAN’s Miss Universe Philippines candidate may not have won the crown but some may argue that being named Ginebra San Miguel’s 2021 Calendar Girl is a very good consolation prize for Christelle Abello.
“This is more than just a dream come true for me,” Ms. Abello said during the calendar’s launch on Oct. 19 via Zoom.
“I’m so overwhelmed, thrilled and excited all at the same time. It’s a blessing from above and I can’t believe I’m actually chosen to be the Ginebra San Miguel Calendar Girl,” she added.
Ms. Abello, the 26-year-old model based in California, takes the calendar girl spot from actress Sanya Lopez who graced the liquor brand’s calendars for 2020.
The 2021 Ginebra San Miguel (GSM) calendars feature six layouts of Ms. Bellow being motivated and productive even during a pandemic by working from home, being creative, discovering new skills, and taking care of her body and well-being.
“We were not only charmed by her intelligence, but also by her optimism, her courage, her never-say-die spirit, her heart for others, and love for her kababayan (countrymen). We feel that she best represents the brand and we are very happy to welcome Christelle to our Ginebra San Miguel family,” Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (GSMI) Sales and Marketing manager Allan Mercado said in a release.
She may have spent much of her life in the US but Ms. Abello noted that she is still very much in touch with her Filipino roots as her mother, she said, “heavily enforced Filipino culture and values at home,” which includes learning Filipino.
Ms. Abello’s mother hailed from Cavite while her father was born in Aklan, the province she represented in the Miss Universe Philippine pageant. She landed in the Top 16 of the pageant, with the crown going to Iloilo’s Rabiya Mateo on Oct. 25.
“The world of pageantry fascinated me so much because I witnessed phenomenal women and beautiful and confident women like Pia Wurtzbach who made a mark in this world. And they impelled me to say that I can do this too,” she said of her dream of becoming a beauty queen.
The Ginebra San Miguel tradition of releasing calendars featuring beautiful women started in 1988, inspired by the US TV series Charlie’s Angels. Through the years, the calendar has become a collector’s item.
Some of the previous calendar girls were: Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach (2019), actress Arci Muñoz (2018), actress/model Kim Domingo (2017), and actress Marian Rivera (2009 and 2014). — ZBC
