'There's a little Imelda in all of us'
It was so easy and simple the first time I interviewed Imelda Romualdez Marcos. That was in the mid-1970s when a group of lifestyle editors and writers were invited by Malacañang to Leyte for a day of relaxation with the First Lady.
Yes, relax we did — especially those of us who did not really belong to Malacañang’s elite coterie of writers. We lunched, we strolled, we savored the touristic sights on what we simply embraced as a discovery tour. In between bites of fiesta food, we listened as the beautiful and porcelain-complexioned Imelda talked about life as First Lady and Patroness of the Arts.
In my notepad, the only thing I could remember scribbling were her words: ”Please stop playing up those foreign superstars and royalty in your publications. We have a lot of celebrities right here at home.”
That time, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Princess Grace of Monaco were the stuff that sold women’s magazines.
Okay. Got it.Loud and clear.
Today, interviewing Imelda Marcos is quite an experience. A colleague describes it as surreal.
Another says it is entertaining. I took it as just another job when the Cultural Center of the Philippines requested me to do a feature on its founder for the CCP’s 40th anniversary magazine to be published next week.
I should say the experience was educational.
First lesson: You use up three tapes for a three-hour interview which you transcribe for three sleepless nights, and you realize only 30 minutes of it can actually be used for a story. The rest are repetitions of the same views on the true, the good and the beautiful. But you must credit the lady for being steadfast and consistent in her views.
Second lesson: There is always something new to discover every day. Never be jaded when interviewing a person who has been totally maligned. You may find some poetic lines in between clichés. My favorite:”I built this kingdom, and wherever you sit is stone.”
Third lesson: You might cry a little when you hear a person, who was once rich and powerful, humbly admit that all her friends have deserted her.
Fact is, we were hoping to find a loyalist friend or two seated beside Imelda when we visited her at a two-story penthouse of a condominium building at The Fort. Instead, we found a loving mini pinscher named Venus running towards her mistress.
Her living room is bathed in light from the windows made picturesque with towering views of other buildings. Her classic furniture pieces, so very Malacañang, are upholstered in green and gold (“Yes, green is my lucky color,” she says), and carved in wood. She brings us on a tour and we see a lot of good art — from Picasso to Jose Blanco to Amadeo Manalad to Jana Benitez decorating the walls.
She leads us to a piano with framed photos of her husband Ferdinand, their children and grandchildren all lined up in rows. ”This is the only thing I was able to save when we were forcibly brought to Hawaii,” she says, pointing at a photograph of the former president. “And the only thing Ferdinand was able to save was a Philippine flag.”
One glass cabinet displays miniature ceramic shoes. “Gifts,” she says, “from the Metropolitan Museum in New York which held a series of shows in my honor.” One pair of high heels in satin fuchsia is a birthday gift from Bayani Fernando in appreciation of her support for Marikina’s Shoe Museum inspired by her. “There is a little Imelda in all of us,”she declares as she willingly poses for the photographer.
But no bling for today’s pictorial.”You call this Imeldific?” she asks as she proudly shows off her costume jewelry recycled “from garbage.” On her wrist is a Padre Pio bracelet, plus wooden rosary beads strung with thread. She wears a cotton floral terno, using materials bought from 168 Mall in Divisoria, her current shopping fave.
Excerpts from our interview:
1. As First Lady, you were always surrounded by your Blue Ladies. Are they still around?
There are still a few. You know, you will still have friends if you have a little clout. There will be friends, yes, but only because they want this or that. Magpapasama ka lang nga, di ka masamahan.
2. Where are your most loyal friends?
Gone ... I have acquaintances, yes. But friends?
3. Did anyone among them give you help when you needed it?
Sometimes, they cannot even help themselves, so how can they help me? I was just lucky that for my trial in New York, Doris Duke was there. It was at this point, the millions of so-called friends, I couldn’t find. (Former Libyan President Muammar) Khadafi offered to give my bail of $5 million, but fortunately we didn’t have to take it because Doris was there. When I was First Lady, I was nice to her. When I was no longer First Lady, she was still there ...
4. What about your admirers...
Definitely, high-ranking and rich people tried to come and take care of me.
5. Having been widowed, was there ever a time when you thought of considering anyone from among your admirers? Did you find anyone worthy of attention?
More than worthy admirers, what I needed most was my motherland ... At this stage of my life, it’s hard to find someone as perfect as Ferdinand was. The longer he is gone, the more perfect he becomes.
6. Having gone through exile, court cases, and having been abandoned by friends and losing all your possessions, what else can make you cry now?
I cry at the thought that I have been orphaned too many times — I lost my mother when I was eight, I lost my husband, and I was orphaned away from my motherland. Even the Bible says there is a special place in hell for those who oppress widows and orphans.
7. Who are your oppressors?
I have been persecuted, maligned and ridiculed. The ones who persecuted me were not individuals, but governments and superpowers. But I won my case and was cleared after the trial of the century where they questioned the four major buildings I bought in New York — the tallest building on Wall Street, the most beautiful building on Fifth Avenue, another on Madison ... Look at the attack on the Twin Tower buildings, when did that happen? It was on 9/11, the birthday of Ferdinand. I believe there’s a significance to that. There are no coincidences. There is such a thing as karma ... I have no bitterness in my heart nor anger in my soul. I believe in divine justice ... The justice system works. God bless America.
8. How did you react to Newsweek’s citing you in their list of “History’s 11 Greediest People”?
I had mixed feelings. Genghis Khan was on the list too, and he was the greatest conqueror of mankind. But he conquered with weapons. Mrs. Marcos did not conquer the world with weapons ... But I plead guilty to being greedy for the true, the good and the beautiful ... The press, both local and international, they have persecuted me. But I understand that is freedom of the press. They also have a deadline to meet, and they don’t have time to research on the truth.
9. What could be the worst lie ever written about you?
All they said which I was not.That I was a demon, a criminal, that I killed Ninoy. I liked Ninoy, he was even related to me by affinity. Speaker Romualdez’s wife was Paz Aquino Gueco ... I even prayed for Cory when she was hospitalized.
10. One of your children said that it was you who urged them to offer their condolences to the Aquino family during the wake for President Cory.
Yes, and I even asked the Marcos loyalists in Tondo to pray for her.
11. Is it Bongbong who will be the family’s next political torch bearer?
Bongbong is not only a visionary, he is also a doer. All my three children are brilliant. Imee is an intellectual, and now she is busy helping streetchildren. Irene nurtures and takes care of young musicians ... The Lord has also blessed me with eight grandchildren, all boys. Bongbong and Lisa (Araneta) have Sandro, Simon and Vincent who are now studying in London. Imee has Borgy, Michael and Matthew (with ex-husband Tommy Manotoc), and Irene and Greggy (Araneta) have Alfonso and Luis.
12. Next week, the Cultural Center of the Philippines which you inaugurated on the eve of your husband’s birthday, September 10, 1969, is celebrating its 40th anniversary...
You know, I built the CCP as a sanctuary of the Filipino soul and a monument to the Filipino spirit.But after our exile, it was no longer that way.The soul is gone, the spirit is gone.
13. After your exile in Hawaii, how did it feel coming back to the CCP to watch a show?
Well, they gave me a seat nearest the bathroom at the CCP. But that’s okay... I built this kingdom, and wherever you sit is stone.
14. Perhaps the CCP presentation, “Seven Arts, One Imelda” on September 11, under the new CCP president Raul Sunico, one of your music scholars, will make up for that.
Yes, Raul is such a gifted person, I am sure he has the vision to bring back the soul and the spirit to the CCP...
You know, it’s funny how even John D. Rockefeller was amazed at how I was able to build the CCP.During a visit here right after Ferdinand was elected President, I showed Rockefeller the Manila Bay area where I planned to build the CCP. He said: “But my dear girl, that’s all water!”... I said, “No, Mr. Rockefeller, I can do it ... On the first year, I’ll drive the pile. On the second year, I’ll cover the soil. On the third year, the building will rise. On the fourth year, the curtains will rise.”
15. You were able to rush construction of buildings to meet your target schedules. And it was said that in Malacañang, you worked till early morning and hardly slept. How’s your typical day now?
Well, these days, I still sleep at 3 a.m. and wake up after two or three or five hours.
16. What do you do for relaxation?
Now I am busy making jewelry out of basura (garbage). You see my brooch and earrings? These are made from leftover stones, resin and beads. Part of the Imelda Collection which was put together by Imee and Borgy years ago, and it’s selling so fast, they can’t produce enough.
17. What about these dolls in ternos? They look like Imelda dolls.
Yes, these are made by people in Mindanao, and I’m glad they’re making so much money on these. The workers buy dried coconut husk for one peso, then they make the doll and sell it for P150 each. That’s big business for them.
18. And that’s a comfortable, stylized terno you’re wearing.
Ay, I bought the material at 168 in Divisoria which is my favorite shopping place now, and had my mananahi (seamstress) sew it at home.
19. Have you tried the new shopping places in town?
Yes, pag tumatanda ka na (as you get old), you want to discover new things and new places. Yes, I’ve been to SM, Greenbelt, Serendra, although I just enjoy looking, I can’t afford even their sales. The nice thing when you go to 168 is that you see other people like you who are as deprived as you, and they can afford the same things that you like.
20. How many pairs of shoes do you own now?
I may have more than 3,000 pairs now because after the government got my shoes, people have been giving me, especially for my birthday. I just got another Marikina pair from Bayani Fernando, because I have been supportive of their Shoe Museum. For that matter, even the Metropolitan Museum of New York gave me a series on shoes, one of the biggest shows they’ve had.
21. At 80, you’re still looking good. What’s your beauty secret?
If I had bitterness in my soul, I wouldn’t have lasted this long. I always have something beautiful inside me. Maybe that’s my only beauty secret. Because I do all the wrong things. I don’t sleep enough. My makeup I do myself, and everybody complains that I don’t do it well.
22. Tell us about your happiest moments in Hawaii.
I have none... But yes, I was happiest when I was by the side of Ferdinand longer than any time, because we were married 35 years, and I was First Lady 20 years of that and busy getting used to the political life. Today, he is more with me than before, I always consult him before doing anything.
23. The remains of your husband are still in Ilocos. Where and when do you plan to hold a burial?
When I finish all my cares, I will fulfill his wish of an honorable burial. It may not be the Libingan ng Mga Bayani because even dogs are there now.
24. Famous people are always asked what words they want written as their epitaph. How about yours?
“Here lies love.”
