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.”
