A Successful Celebration of Culture, Beauty and Talent

A sellout crowd of over 1300 people witnessed two magnificent and unforgettable cultural pageants performed as one as the 22nd Annual Miss Asia USA and the 6th Annual Mrs. Asia USA Cultural Pageant were presented together onstage at their new home, the beautiful La Mirada Theatre.  Because of the ever-growing popularity of Miss Asia USA and Mrs. Asia USA, a larger and more modern venue was required to accommodate the guests and the improvements to the Pageants.  If thunderous applause and raucous support for the Delegates is any indication, the audience enjoyed a truly remarkable and diverse display of Asian cultures performed by the Delegates in the Parade of National Costumes.  The evening’s festivities were hosted by Emmy-nominee David Millbern and the lovely producer and on-air host for Saigon TV, Michelle Phuong Thao.

Following months of painstaking preparation by each Delegate, dreams turned into a wonderful reality on Saturday night with the crowning of two outstanding and deserving Queens.  After five categories of intense competition in both pageants, our distinguished panel of judges selected the striking Ariana Manibog Varela, representing the Philippines, as Miss Asia USA 2010 and the beautiful and talented North Carolina based Janet Pichon Hixson, also representing the Philippines, as Mrs. Asia USA 2010.  Virgelia Villegas, Chairman & President of Virgelia Productions, Inc., produced, wrote and directed the show.  When discussing the two new Queens after the show, Virgelia reflected on the Judges’ selections.  She said, “Both Ariana and Janet demonstrated the total commitment necessary to perform at the highest level when the spotlight was shining on them.  Their dedication and hard work formed the foundation for the self-confidence, intelligence and elegance that the Judges look for in a queen.  and proud Asian communities as Ambassadors of Goodwill and Culture.  As our Queens, they will continue To earn the most prestigious titles for Asian women in America, you have to be willing to sacrifice and give your total effort above and beyond your God-given abilities.  Both of these outstanding and talented women did so and I am proud that they will serve all of the uniquethe proud tradition of these two pageants demonstrating how to bring unity through diversity.”

Virgelia went on to say, “I am pleased and proud of all of our wonderful Delegates and I offer them my sincerest gratitude for their participation and hard work.  With our wonderful new venue and the show improvements, coordinating and directing two pageants at once on the same stage presented several new and unpredictable challenges.  Thanks to the Delegates, our generous sponsors, our staff and our fantastic hosts, if the audience’s reactions were any indication, our annual celebration of Culture, Beauty and Talent was a tremendous success.”

Virgelia also announced the Queen’s Court for Miss Asia USA 2010 and Mrs. Asia USA 2010 and the winners of the special recognition awards:

Miss Asia USA 2010

Jenny Cho / Korea – 1st Runner-up

Sarah Makandura / Sri Lanka  – 2nd Runner-up

Natalia DiNatale/ Lebanon – 3rd Runner-up

Jennifer Huang Gonzalez / Taiwan  – 4th Runner-up

Mrs. Asia USA 2010

Armine Stepanyan Johnson / India – 1st Runner Up

Theresa Nguyen / Vietnam  – 2nd Runner-up

Kim Vorn/ Cambodia – 3rd Runner-up

Angie Yang / Taiwan – 4th Runner-Up