Venus Raj, guest-of-honor at the Miss Bicolandia 2010 pageant

Maria Venus Raj is back in her hometown, Bato, Camarines Sur, where a special "Venus Raj Day" is being held today to celebrate Venus'
homecoming and her 4th Runner Up victory in the Miss Universe 2010 pageant.

She arrived yesterday at the Naga City airport but before going to Bato, she first graced the Miss Bicolandia 2010 pageant held in the Big Dome of the South, the Naga City Coliseum.

Venus was the pageant's guest of honor and the City Government of Naga
awarded her a Special Mayoral Citation for bringing pride to the
Filipinos and to the Bicolanos.

It's quite interesting that back in 2007, Venus competed in Miss
Bicolandia but she finished only as 2nd Runner Up to Tabetha Jo Frick, who later competed in Binibining Pilipinas 2008 and among the Top 10 semi-finalist.

And that time, people used to describe Venus as simply the "negra" because of her color and curly hair.

I found photos of Venus in the said pageant and look, she was not yet a Miss Universe material that time, but definitely, she already has the great body and nice pair of legs.

And now, for sure, no one would ever dare call Venus as "negra" after showing to the world how beautiful a Filipina is.

Photos courtesy of Irvin Sto. Tomas and mvmeoh