Jaro Queens 2009 from the House of Chan
Marie Angela Chan.
Come February 2, 2009 the district of heritage-rich Jaro will celebrate one of the country's grandest fiestas in honor of Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria, said to be miraculous.
Every year, Jaro picks a queen from among the illustrious families of Iloilo and makes her as the district's Ambassadress of Goodwill for the whole year. Next year, two beautiful ladies from the Chan clan, Marie Angelica Chan and Ramona Isabel Chan will be the Queen of Jaro Agro-Industrial Charity Ball 2009 and Queen of Jaro Children's Fancy Dress Ball 2009, respectively.
Marie Angelica Chan
Marie Angelica , who is also known as "Gel", is the youngest daughter of renowned singer-songwriter and businessman Jose Mari Chan and the beautiful Mary Ann Ansaldo. She is the youngest granddaughter of Florence "Inday" Lim and the late Antonio "Tony" Chan. The grandparents and father of this lovely lady are from the city of Iloilo, which Angelica would visit every time the family goes on vacation. She is fond of the many delicacies in Iloilo, most especially barquillos, galletas and biscocho.
Ramona Isabel Chan.
Angelica is a student at the Ateneo de Manila University and is majoring in BS Biology. She hopes to become a marine biologist so she could help in the conservation efforts on the country's marine resources and biodiversity. She has also been a member of her school's women football team for the past five years. In 2004, she was also part of the U-19 Women's National Team. She has been playing this sport for 11 years now and hopes to continue even after she graduates.
Though Angelica may seem very motivated as regards her marine biology aspirations, she still manages to make time for her friends and family. She enjoys spending time with her niece and nephews at home or taking them out to swim or to the park. Likewise, she loves to go out with her friends and is known to have an eclectic taste in music, particularly because she loves to dance. Interestingly, she is also an avid reader and encourages others to also take time to read.
During the fiesta, she hopes to be involved in several outreach projects that will help the people of Jaro. It is because of this that Angelica finds joy in the fiesta preparations and considers it an honor for her to be part of this most awaited event.
Ramona Isabel Chan
Ramona Isabel is the product of deep Ilonggo roots on both sides of her family. On her mother's side, she is the great-granddaughter of Jesusa de Leon and Roberto Garcia, a former professor at the University of San Agustin who also designed and built radio stations in Iloilo such as DYSA. on her father's side, both her great-grandparents hail from Iloilo --- the late businessman Antonio Chan and his wife Florence Lim, who dotes on Ramona as the eldest of her seven great-grandchildren.
Ramona's maternal grandmother is Maria Pilar de Leon Garcia, formerly of Mandurriao and now married to Angel Bunag. Both run their own advertising agency. Her paternal grandfather is Jose Mari Chan, a native of Iloilo City and husband to Mary Ann Ansaldo of San Juan Metro Manila.
With a heritage so tied to the island of Panay, Ramona is both honored and pleased to take part in the Jaro Fiesta, as Queen of the Children's fancy Dress Ball.
Ramona spent her early years in Negros Occidental and is fluent in both English and Ilonggo. Currently in Senior Prep, she received top honors at the end of last semester. She is an avid reader and member of her community church's children's choir. Among her many activities and interests, Ramona enjoys ballet, playing with her brothers and singing with her parents and extended family.