Katarina Rodriguez is Miss Intercontinental First Runner-Up

The Philippine bet Katarina Rodriguez finished 1st runner-up at the Miss Intercontinental 2017 pageant 

At the 48th edition of Miss Intercontinental held at Sunrise Garden Resort in Hurghada, Egypt, the country’s very own Katarina Rodriguez won first runner-up, placing second to Mexico’s Veronica Salas Vallejo, now Miss Intercontinental 2017.

During the competition’s Q&A portion, the 24-year-old beauty was asked what the most important thing she learned in joining the pageant.

Katarina replied, “The most important thing that I have learned in joining Miss Intercontinental is actually an Arabic word, which is named after one of the resorts in Sunrise, it’s called meraki. It means to do all things with passion, soul and creativity. When I heard this word and its definition, it resonated with me ’til now and I think it will for the rest of my life. Therefore, that is the most important thing I learned while participating at this pageant. Meraki—to do all things with soul, passion and creativity.”

In a post-pageant interview, an emotional Katarina could not hold back her tears, sharing, “Okay lang ito, okay? I miss all of you, I miss my country. It was a tough ride, it was a lot of work, a lot of hours.”

She also emphasized how proud she was of all the Top 5 finalists: “Yung winner, si Miss Netherlands at ako, lahat ng Top 5, magaling lahat kami, promise. Sa beginning of the pageant to the very end of the pageant, lahat kami deserving. Thank you again so much for all of the support. I love all of you guys and I can’t wait to be back home.”

 

Here is the EXACT moment where I turned FULLY into a woman. Congratulations to Miss Mexico @veritosalasvallejo the new Miss Intercontinental 2017! You are a vision, truly. I came to Egypt for one thing and one thing only: the Miss Intercontinental crown. This crown to me represented my becoming a real woman. Myself, and DOZENS of people behind me dedicated so much time and effort to ensure I would win. I cannot say I would have done anything differently because I was very aware from the moment I stepped into the NAIA airport of every action and word I produced. I can tell you that after rewatching the coronation last night I can confidently say I was FLAWLESS. Never had I been more ready for anything in my life. I had hundreds of thousands of people right behind me and each of you were the gas to my fire. It was not about me anymore it was about YOU. Here is the thing though, a queen does not necessarily have to be flawless. The Intercontinental crown did fall off Miss Mexico’s head when she was crowned and YES, I did have to pick it up and hand it to her. How could I not say it was such a painful thing for me to do? But when giving the crown to her I swear to you there was this energy that went through her and straight to me and this is where I knew I am no longer a child but a woman. Seeing her beautiful face while handing it back to her, well, I felt PROUD for her, and no pain at all. It was the lightest feeling I have felt in weeks. That crown was never mine and somehow always her’s. I don’t want to read any comments talking superstitions or anything hurtful especially from my Filipinos. Vero is a queen and she is MY queen, MY Miss Intercontinental 2017. She is a sweetheart and very much deserving. She taught me grace by her energy and warmth in a matter of seconds and only a true queen could empower another woman in such a manner. Let us keep that grace Philippines, for this is only the beginning. Viva Mexico, Viva Pilipinas. ❤️👑🙏🏼

A post shared by KATARINA (@katarinarodri) on Jan 24, 2018 at 11:54pm PST

Apart from winning second runner-up, she also won Miss Intercontinental Asia and Oceana and placed third in the pageant’s online voting.

This is surely just the beginning for her. Congratulations, Katarina!