Nelson Morales

Charo Santos looks back on her pageant days back in 1976. Santos/Instagram

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1746611002694CHARO_PAGEANT 05072025.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Charo Santos looks back on her pageant days back in 1976. Santos/Instagram"/><span class="fr-inner">Charo Santos looks back on her pageant days back in 1976. Santos/Instagram </span></span></span></div><p>Did you know that former ABS-CBN president and CEO Charo Santos is also a pageant titleholder? </p><p>The screen veteran and &quot;Maalaala Mo Kaya&quot; host made the revelation in her recent &quot;story time&quot; video on Instagram, saying her stint as a beauty queen gave her the opportunity to travel around the world.</p><p>It happened back in 1976, when she was 20 years old. She was invited by a friend to join Baron Travel Girl, a pageant that did not require candidates to wear a swimsuit.</p><p>After getting permission from her parents, Santos took part in the pre-pageant activities, all the way up to the coronation night.</p><p>She tried to look her best, getting her hair and makeup done at a nearby salon before the competition. </p><p>But upon seeing her with big hair and a fully made up face, one of the pageant organizers panicked.</p><p>&quot;Naloka! [Sabi niya] &#x27;Hay Charo, ano ba &#x27;yang itsura mo?&#x27; Talagang full-blown beehive hairstyle, while the other contestants looked very natural. Na-tense &#x27;yung contest organizer, talagang binrush down &#x27;yung hair ko,&quot; she recalled.</p><p>Instead of being worried about standing out too much because of how she looked, Santos kept her cool, with her eyes focused on the prize.</p><p>&quot;Chill lang ako, hindi nawalan ng pag-asa,&quot; she said. &quot;I showed up on stage with confidence at sinabi kong, &#x27;Nandito na ako sa laban na &#x27;to, I will give it my best shot.&quot;</p><p>And in the end, she won the Baron Travel Girl crown. </p><p>Looking back, she reminded her social media followers to not be discouraged when faced with setbacks, and instead face them with confidence.</p><p>&quot;Ganun lang po ang buhay, minsan may mga dumarating na hindi natin inaasahan. Huwag tayong ma-discourage,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Be confident, be your natural self all the time,&quot; she ended. </p><p>Watch Santos talk about her beauty queen days via the post below:</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJT7Qd7h_T8/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A8612402.900000006%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2025/3/26/here-s-why-charo-santos-was-almost-fired-from-abs-cbn-because-of-dolphy-1154">Here&#x27;s why Charo Santos was almost fired from ABS-CBN because of Dolphy</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2025/4/16/watch-charo-santos-shares-powerful-lesson-from-jim-paredes-1224">WATCH: Charo Santos shares &#x27;powerful lesson&#x27; from Jim Paredes</a></div>

<p>Did you know that former ABS-CBN president and CEO Charo Santos is also a pageant titleholder? </p>

Did you know that former ABS-CBN president and CEO Charo Santos is also a pageant titleholder?

Charo Santos inspires with pageant story: 'Be confident, be your natural self'

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Charo Santos inspires with pageant story: 'Be confident, be your natural self'

ABS-CBN News

Published May 07, 2025 05:43 PM PHT

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