Anjanette Martin is one of the four Cebuano’s who participated in the prestigious Mrs. Philippines International beauty pageant in San Pablo, Manila. Her bio page can be found here
Looking back, my father was adamant about not allowing me to join beauty contests. I’m the only girl in the family with two brothers, and I believe he was just being protective. I never felt that I was fit to become a muse or a beauty queen for that matter. I grew up so thin and scrawny; I never thought of myself as pretty. I was just one of the plain girls in class.
However, after I graduated from high school, I was invited to join the search for Miss Malaybalay in my hometown. It was a significant and relevant event at that time and even now. I was the youngest candidate and inexperienced, but the stars aligned for me that night, and I was crowned Miss Malaybalay. That was my first-ever big pageant, and the rest were just university pageants during college.
My second big pageant was the recently concluded Mrs. Cebu Philippines 2023, where I was crowned Elite Mrs. Cebu Philippines 2023.
As for who encouraged me, it was all accidental. I was having lunch in Streetscape and happened to meet Daday Melgar, who was then one of the candidates for Mrs. Cebu Philippines 2022. We became acquainted, and she asked me to drop by a nearby salon where I met the current queens at that time, namely Cheryl Dacua, Nini Melanie, and Bess. They encouraged me to join the following year, and the rest is history.
It dawned on me that this is all God’s plan. I was directed on a journey where I can stand as an inspiration to women. It has always been my battle cry to empower women, as age is a privilege denied to many.
Our stars may never be deemed, but they shine bright like diamonds in the sky. We are ageless and timeless; that should be our mindset. Women should not feel less of a woman once we reach a certain age bracket but celebrate our lives and how far we’ve come. As I always say, our very hands that rock the cradle are the very hands that rule the world.
