Kiele Rose Casillas was crowned Miss Kaua‘i Filipina 2022 Tuesday afternoon by the 2022 Miss Hawai‘i Filipina Xarika Felicia Casticimo and Mayor Derek Kawakami before an audience that overflowed onto the second story of the Lihu‘e Civic Center Mo‘ikeha Building.
Casillas, the daughter of Dante and Wendy Casillas, finished the 2022 Miss Kaua‘i Filipina Scholarship Pageant as the first princess to winner Casticimo, whose prize package included eligibility to represent Kaua‘i at the Hawai‘i Filipino Community Council Miss Hawai‘i Filipina pageant on O‘ahu.
The return of the pageantry following two years’ absence due to the pandemic saw Casticimo earning the state crown, giving Kaua‘i its first back-to-back Miss Hawai‘i Filipina winners after Isabel Gampon earned the 2019 title just ahead of the pandemic shutdown.
Casticimo is the fifth Miss Kaua‘i Filipina to earn the coveted state crown, this year outperforming the field of Neighbor Island representatives before a sold-out audience of more than 350 people at the Ala Moana Hotel during the Hawai‘i Filipino Community Council convention.
Casticimo’s coronation as the 2022 Miss Hawai‘i Filipina left a vacancy on the Garden Island, and under the bylaws of the KFCC and the pageant, the vacancy would be filled by the first princess.
Previously, when Gampon was crowned the 2019 Miss Hawai‘i Filipina, the Kaua‘i pageant’s Tiffany Sagucio, who finished as that pageant’s first princess, assumed the role of Miss Kaua‘i Filipina 2019, a reign that lasted for three years due tto COVID-19, until Casticimo earned the 2022 title.
“I really wanted to do this,” said Mayor Derek Kawakami, who missed the 62nd annual Miss Kaua‘i Filipina Scholarship Pageant that was held in June at the Lihu‘e Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall.
“And I wanted to do this at the Mo‘ikeha Building, where we’re just across the street from (a statue of Philippines hero) Dr. Jose Rizal. His life demonstrates the courage, strength and devotion to the Filipino people, and parallels the qualities of Miss Kaua‘i Filipina.”
Kawakami helped Casticimo in the coronation, with 2019 Miss Hawai‘i Filipina Isabel Gampon helping with the new queen’s sash. Managing Director Michael Dahilig iced the ceremony with the presentation of the queen’s bouquet witnessed by a group of former Miss Kaua‘i Filipina royalty.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
