MANILA, Philippines — An Ilonggo artist pays tribute to Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo in the form of street chalk art as she represents the country on the world stage and competes for the Miss Universe crown on Monday.
Ilonggo artist Kristoffer Brasileño said his artwork on a boulevard at the Iloilo Business Park is a masterpiece “fit for a queen.”
“Rabiya is already a queen. She’s a winner, and we are really very proud of her and everything she stands for,” Brasileño said of his chalk and charcoal portrait of the beauty queen from Iloilo.
Last week, Mateo made headlines when she wowed with her Philippine flag-inspired attire during the national costume portion of the Miss Universe 2021 preliminaries.
Should she bring home the pageant crown, she would be the fifth Filipina beauty queen to do so, after Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015), and Catriona Gray (2018).
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