family beauties

ok, be honest. when you look at me, you'd think that i come from a family of ugly ducklings, right? (aminin!). that in fact,is far from the truth.

alright. i admit, during my growing up years, my grandma, or my family/relatives would always remark about my talent and brains (ehem!) but would never comment about my looks (hehehe). it was never a problem to me because my mother and father always never emphasized about beauty per se as a must-have in the family. they appreciated and would comment about how intelligent someone is, or how well-mannered their friends' children are, or how funny/good entertainer someone's child is, which i thought were always traits that mattered to both my parents. so i strived to be all of that (well, i tried to,haha).

i am not ugly, but you must see my cousins and then you'd know why my brand of looks were not the most talked about in my family,haha. so this blog entry really is to show you how many beautiful/ good-looking cousins i have.


all are first degree cousins of mine; our fathers are brothers:

Note: pictures are not mine.. taken from their facebook accounts and in the case of my Ate Ting, it came from Google images (LOL).



First off: My Ate Ting-ting, or more popularly known as Maria Quiban as weather girl in a tv channel in LA. Her real name is Ma. Theresa Aviso thus we call her Ate Tingting.. She left the Philippines when she was just starting high school and grew up in Hawaii.

Her father was my dad's brother Gener (where i got the 'gen" part of my Ragen name,haha. Trust my father's brand of creativity of connecting two of my uncle's names). Gener was a pilot (he died along with my uncle Raoul in a freak drowning accident where my father was the only person spared) and his family left for the US when he died.

Apart from being a weathergirl, she also starred in some tv shows, and movies most notably Cold Case, Criminal Minds and Bruce Almighty.

She and i briefly met in our childhood days, i was a little girl then and she was just in her elementary years, thus, my memories of her are just the photos she sends my grandmother yearly and stories i hear from my father. She is quite close to the rest of the family who live in LA/California at the moment as they are geographically able to meet up.

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next is: Cousin Suzanne or "Honey". Daughter of my uncle Efren (deceased).

Honey used be a spokesperson for Avon cosmetics when she was just 14 years old. She graduated with a Computer Science degree and now a successful manager for an insurance company (i am not sure if this is accurate re. her current job because these are just information i get from other relatives). Skinwise, she is flawless, and sings like a diva. She also is a bookworm and a romantic at heart. From what i heard,she is still single, but i guess, its hard to settle when you look like that ;-)

We were never close when we were growing up,because she grew up in her mom's hometown in Masbate, and moved to Cebu in her high school years but she and i always talk whenever we can, and more recently catching up on Facebook (i love facebook for catching up with relatives,dont you?). I had memories of summers where we used to play with the rest of our cousins and she would be very 'hinhin and shy', and a little bit intimidated by the rest of the other loud-spoken cousins (guilty!LOL).

The last few years,we never got to spend time together because she always had a boyfriend who kept her busy and unavailable whenever we attempted an invite. Recent facebook messages promises some meet-ups in the future.

doesn't she look like Anne Hathaway?

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Next is Victoria or Texy. (Uncle Nestor's daughter).

Texy is quite young,and she would be in a generation where she was still a baby when i was in the Philippines so i wouldnt be able to tell you much of her personality as we never got to hang out. She is 21 years old and already has a son who is a cute adorable gem.

Texy is a BSc Nursing graduate from USJR and was crowned as Ms.USJR two years ago. She is a ramp model in Cebu, and currently is the face of What a Girl Wants. Texy is one half of a fraternal twin duo,and her brother Wello,is also a gem.

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Next is Tony Rose or "Tony'.


Tony is the youngest daughter of my uncle Victor and Auntie Libeth. She has two university degrees and most recent one is a nursing degree to which she is now making full use in New Zealand at the moment. She is a great cook, loves a travelling and photography and loves a night out of dancing and has a big arsenal of beautiful and amazing friends. She is one of my favourites because she has the kindest heart from a person and she is sweet and nurturing by nature.

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Another beauty is: Joan Pearl or "Joan".

(her photos are when she was pregnant with her second child).

Joan is the brains and creative force behind Belle Marie wedding and party planning services. She is eloquent and beautiful (pretty pretty face, flawless face - hardly wears any make-up) and is a very hands-on mom to her two babies. She used to be a radio DJ too. But now,she is more or less busy driving her kids to and from school, meeting clients to arrange the nitty gritty of weddings and playing dutiful wife to her hubby Sean.

She is a wedding fanatic and meticulous to the very last detail when it comes to her weddings and parties to the point of obsession. Its a trait that is obvious when it comes to her kids because she is very much hands-on with her children and in fact, she makes sure,she knows what her children eats, and takes them to her client meetings. I used to remember when she and Sean were still dating, they would drop by my station and we would have lunch together and laugh over recent events of our lives. She and Sean were one of my greatest rocks when i underwent a heartbreak waayyy back years ago. Those were memorable moments.

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Also, not forgetting the very pretty and very accomplished : Kharla May or "Karla"

Out of everyone, Karla is my closest cousin and practically my best friend. We grew up attached to one another's hip. There was a time our boyfriends were bestfriends. Then the next time, our boyfriends were cousins. It was that bad,haha.

She also came from Science High School (breeding ground for excellent scientists,haha), and in university, a consistent Deans lister, she graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree from USC talamban. She is now in charge of the Vaccines division for Cebu region for Glaxo SmithKline ( a well awarded one at that!) and she is an avid nature lover, and a devout caholic. Once,she said, the only thing that stopped her from becoming a nun was because they do not allow make-up inside the convent,haha. She also teaches catechism to kids during her spare time when she is not busy doing things for me (out of love).

She loves eating out, eating in, she is also into travelling which is harder for her to find "the one" because they have to at least be at par with her accomplishments and intelligence. She is candid, funny and easy to be with (no requirements!) and she doesnt even know it. Her only downfall: she loves her sleep too much! She cannot stay later than 10 PM, so any activities with her has to be waaayyy before her bedtime.


And of course, speaking of beauties, i will not hesitate to mention my very own sister Ana Candelaria or Ana/Ankai/Nana.

Ana is a 23 year old freelance creative. She is does everything that her creative mind takes her. She loves fashion (clothes), shoes (my gulay!) and music and a love for french cosmetics. She is also a make-up artist, photographer, emcee/host, writer for a french canadian company website, and sometimes does the occasional singing and stage acting gig. She is also at the moment, in love, thus the new sexy bod (haha!). She is my youngest sister,and forever one of my truest inspirations. She also loves me to death, and that alone would make her number one on this beauty list.

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Needless to say, i am proud of my cousins,and sister,and that apart from their looks, i am proud too of their accomplishments.

I only shared some of the most beautiful people in my family (i have not mentioned everyone) and hope it will somehow give u some glimpse into my family and an idea that although it has missed me by a half-shot (mga dalawang paligo,haha)--beauty indeed runs in my family.