In the 1926 edition of the Manila Carnival, it was
announced that aside from the regular search for the Manila Carnival Queen,
another beauty will be chosen with the first ever title of “Miss Philippines”.
To complement the crowning of the first Miss Philippines won by Anita
Noble of Batangas, a contest was
held by Carnival authorities to look for “the most perfect Filipino”,
that is, “Mr. Philippines”, via a Physical Development Contest.
“The Most Perfect Filipino”.
An unprecedented number of contestants came forward—all 45 of them, and in the end, a 19-year old engineering student of the University of the Philippines was elected as the 1st Mr. Philippines—JOSE MARIA BARREDO of Manila. Jose’s muscled and toned body impressed the judges, for he was largely self-taught, learning from physical culture magazines, reading barbell instruction manuals, and engaging in all kinds of sports.
The son of Don Fausto Alonso Barredo of Manila and Carmen Seoane Fargas of Zamboanga, Jose Maria Barredo (b. ca. 1907) was to wealth and privilege born. His father was a successful business magnate who operated Malate Garage and Auto Repair Shop, the largest institution of its kind in the Philippines, and owned a taxi and car rental company that serviced the Manila insular government. It was said that Mr. Barredo owned half of Malate, with his real estate property consisting of 25 buildings in that district alone. These allowed the Barredo siblings, Manuel, Eduardo, Jose Maria and Carmen, to enroll in the country’s best schools.
A Sports Jock Rocks the School!
The young Jose had always loved sports and the
great outdoors. His first love was Tennis, but in La Salle College, he took up
football in his intermediate grades. When he transferred to the University
High School in 1920, he became a member of the prize-winning basketball
team.
At age 17, he started reading about he lives and works of great athletes like the late Eugene Sandow, Liederman and Strongfort. This inspired him to study physical culture, by following the regimen shared by these strong men and even reading the manuals of the Milo Barbells company.
In 6 months, his bodybuilding yielded great results merely from barbell exercises. He could lift and jerk 120 pounds overhead with one hand and snatch 85 with one hand-- more that the average Filipino can do.
At the University, Barredo developed his all-around athletic prowess even more. In 1921, Barredo became the Junior Singles National Champion in tennis, which he held for 3 straight years. He joined UP’s Unit One swimming squad that emerged as intramural champions. While there, he dabbled in wrestling and boxing. He also joined the football, basketball, and the university’s gymnastic team, these, while pursuing bodybuilding—which had become his more regular interest.
In his case, Barredo avers that he finds it more healthful to exercise early in the morning before breakfast. Except when he has burnt the midnight oil on account of a quiz the following morning, he exercised every day.
Beefcakes at the Carnival
Known to friends as a bashful young man not given to boasting, it was a surprise that Barredo agreed to participate in the Physical Development Contest at the 1926 Manila Carnival. The physique contest required him to show off his well-sculpted body, along with other muscled beefcakes from every part of the archipelago. In the final judging, it was Barredo who stood out and named Mr. Philippines, and the tale of the tape told it all.
Tipping the scales at 140 pounds, Barredo was all
muscles—from his pecs and chest that could expand out to a girth of 41 ½
inches, biceps of almost 15 inches, rock-hard abdominals, 22 inch thighs, a
waist of just 27 ½ inches, all packed in his 5’5 ½ feet frame.
It also helped that Barredo, with his mestizo
features, was an audience favorite. Within the last few days of his
proclamation as “Mr. Philippines”, he received hundreds of
congratulatory letters, many coming from young ladies, known and unknown to the
“famous strong man”. Although not altogether displeased, Barredo said
“he was not that strong for that kind of stuff”. But he added: “Of course, every great undertaking is
inspired by an outside force”.
Beauty and Brawn, Muscle and Music
Barredo earned a Civil Engineering degree from the U.P. and became a contractor. One of his first projects was the Jesuit novitiate in Novaliches. He was also named Assistant Manager of his father’s many enterprises.
At another Carnival edition, he met Isabel delos Reyes,
daughter of Isabelo delos Reyes, nationalist, politician, writer, and labor
activist. She had been a princess (“dama de honor”) in the court of the 1929
Carnival Queen, Pacita delos Reyes, but resigned her title over the objections of St. Therese's College nuns. The two would eventually get married on
7 June 1930. They made their home on
Dakota St., in Malate, with their 2 sons.
Barredo forayed into classical music in his mid 20s, drawn to musical theater and the operas. With his fine yet forceful tenor voice, he was cast as the captain of the guards in Giuseppe Verdi’s opus , “Aida”, that was locally staged in 1933 at the Manila Grand Opera House, and presented by the Manila Chamber Music Society. The opera was a big hit and would be restaged in 1938 with the same cast.
The Manila Musical Guild, of which he was a
founding member, often hosted monthly concerts at the Barredo home. Up
until the coming of the war, Barredo sang in charity events, radio shows
and performed in operas like “Cavalleria Rusticana” (1935) and
“Il Trovatore” (1939).
Barredo resided much of his life in Malate and became an active member of the Rotary Club in the 1970s, where he would lead sing-alongs with the the members and the community. His niece, Carmen Johnson Barredo, popularly known as Baby Barredo, is the co-founder of Repertory Philippines, producer of stage luminaries like Monique Wilson and Lea Salonga.
SOURCES:
Jose P. Bautista,
“Introducing Mr. Philippines”, The
Sunday Tribune, 14 Feb. 1926, p. 7
“Malate Garage, Taxicab
Company, Keeps Pace with Times” The Tribune, 9 Feb. 1933, p. 9
“Aida” 1933 Playbill
and Program, by the Manila Music Chamber Music Society,
Familysearch.org
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