Gloria Diaz opened up about the mindset she had when she competed in and ultimately won Miss Universe 1969, which was held in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
In an interview with Boy Abunda, the former beauty queen was asked if she had an inkling she would win the crown.
"Definitely not," she said, referring to whether she expected to win. "But I didn't think I was gonna lose. I mean parang, you don't naman go into a contest and say, ay naku matatalo ako. Hindi naman ganun ang attitude noon eh. Okay enjoy, I'm sure I'm gonn be okay. Hindi ba ganun 'yun?
The former Miss Universe shared that being young helped her maintain a "go with the flow" attitude throughout the pageant.
"When you're young... it's like parang go with the flow, that's why you're not as tense. I think it is when you're old and you have a lot of responsibilities. Like now, the girls are a little bit older... parang they are the breadwinners, they have to do this. Eh ako naman, that was my first time away from home so enjoy ako," she recalled.
Gloria relayed that at the time, Miss Universe contestants were between 18 to 22 years old.
The actress shared that competing in Miss Universe was also the first time she went to the U.S.
"That was the first time I went to the States. I was 18, and be on my own parang ganun, although I had a chaperone. First time to wear heels beside Miss Philippines [pageant]," she recounted.
Gloria was the first Filipina to win the Miss Universe crown.
During the question-and-answer portion in the pageant, Gloria was asked: "In a next day or so, a man will land on the moon. If a man from the moon landed in your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?"
She answered: "Oh, just the same things I do. I think if he has been in the moon for so long I think when he comes over he wants to change, I guess."