Life begins at 69! Senior citizen vies for Miss Universe PH-Quezon City
If Jocelyn Cubales wins, she will move on to the national level as Quezon City’s official candidate in Miss Universe Philippines 2024
Daily TribuneIf Jocelyn Cubales wins, she will move on to the national level as Quezon City’s official candidate in Miss Universe Philippines 2024
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF joyce pilarsky
Age doesn't matter, indeed, as there is no deadline to chase your dreams.
Meet Jocelyn Cubales, also known as Joyce Penas Pilarsky, a 69-year-old fashion designer who is among the candidates vying for the crown in the Miss Universe Philippines-Quezon City pageant.
Cubales will be competing against 14 other hopefuls in the local pageant set to hold its coronation night on 5 February. If she wins, she will move on to the national level as Quezon City's official candidate in Miss Universe Philippines 2024. In any case, she makes history as the oldest candidate attempting to be part of Miss Universe.
Cubales is not a rookie in pageantry as she represented the country in the 2017 edition of Mrs. Universe pageant held in South Africa. She bagged the special prize, "Mother of the Universe," in recognition of her advocacy and charity work in the Philippines.
In September 2023, the Miss Universe Organization announced the lifting of age limits in its main and associated pageants. The age requirements up to that point were from 18 to 28.
The organizers of what is considered the foremost beauty pageant have also started accepting applicants who are married and mothers. This new rule took effect in the 72nd Miss Universe that was held in 2023.
"The Miss Universe Organization is always the greatest and most innovative platform of its kind, and now it will be more inclusive and welcoming to mothers and married women," Miss Universe Bahrain's national director Josh Yugen has said in an interview.
Inspiring beauty
Cubales' husband Marc has expressed support and admiration for the MUP-QC aspirant. "Remember it is not about age anymore it is a pageant and competition where I think everyone who are entitled and deserving should be part of this prestigious pageant," he said in a Facebook post.
"She's a woman with honor and dignity who can represent our country well. Her good and honest compassionate heart makes her a real beauty queen to all of us."
Before Cubales' stint in Mrs. Universe 2017 in South Africa, she already made waves in various beauty pageants. She placed first in Mrs. Philippines Germany 2000, Mrs. Asia International Global 2014 and Mrs. Ecotourism 2014.
Cubales is also a multi-awarded fashion designer. She won the grand prize at the Los Angeles Design Competition held in 2015 for showcasing Filipino indigenous wear with a touch of her floral style. The design she used in the competition was featured in magazines in the Philippines, Germany, France, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Two years prior to her Los Angeles win, Cubales topped the Coastal Fashion Week Design championship in New Orleans, also in the US.
