The Pictorial (Conclusion)

I wanted 25 divas and imagined the picture in my head – the best and brightest in writing, in the arts, in design, in sports, in moviemaking, in business – together in one photo spread. And all of them had to be graduates of one alma mater. Well, it had to be St. Theresa’s College, specifically. The project was for the school’s "resurrection" since the days of prominence and glory so waned after the war and the Manila branch closed. The Quezon City and Cebu schools have remained but – not too many were aware. The cast of the photo spread had to be so impressive it could rouse the dead. To dream the impossible dream.

About a year later, there I was, with a list provided by the school and, with some research, I was scheduling, back and forth, for every woman on the list to make it to Raymund Isaac’s Makati studio. The challenge now was to just get them there, bring two or three outfits and we would take care of the rest – food, flowers, makeup, accessories, entertainment.

It was particularly pleasant with Ingrid Sala-Santamaria, international concert pianist, who I found out was from STC Cebu – problem was, she was in Cebu. "Oh, but you know I hardly come out publicly this way now... but because I trust you I will do this," and my heart skipped a beat. "Tita, you will? How wonderful! Tita, we will go to Cebu just for you to be part of this. The stylist wants you to wear anything red, black, white or grey." With all the women I called I had to say the instructions quick. So they don’t notice I was actually telling them what to do. Can’t afford to get anyone of them upset. "Oh then it will have to be my fabulous Pitoy Moreno red gown, oh it’s sooo beautiful, yes, it has to be that." Ingrid eventually flew to Manila instead. Seeing her photos she was as regal and youthful as I remember her last, it’s amazing. And in that red gown? Fabulous, indeed, she was.

Speaking of flying, how do we get Loida Nicolas-Lewis, international business magnate, to fly back to be part of this? What if she’s stuck in New York and a trip back just isn’t in her schedule? We’re Theresians. Never say die. An e-mail was all it took. It turned out she was really coming back in November to follow up on her projects here (thank God for those projects) and, "yes," the e-mail from her secretary read, "Ms. Lewis will go for the pictorial." OH MY GOD. Loida said yes? Yes, I think we read it right, Loida said yes... Hey guys, Loida said yes! And when Loida says yes, I think she means yes, right? We were beyond words. Little did Ms. Lewis know that her name became one of our most powerful marketing tools to get the others to say yes, too.

The other hurdle would be Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc, empress dowager of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It was enough she was the top honcho of a major broadsheet. But when she was named one of TIME Magazine’s Asian Heroes of 2006, the task of securing her agreement to the frills and fuss of a photo shoot seemed all the more formidable. It was a chase. But she did say, "Yes, okay." And that was it. I knew the dream was only a few steps away. Ms. Magsanoc couldn’t come to the studio. She preferred a shoot in her office and didn’t want a fuss. She wasn’t kidding. Arriving with the littlest ponytail she said she was "due for a haircut." Raymund Isaac put on his charms – he had to. "Can we see how it looks with your hair down?" "I don’t want makeup. No costume changes. I just want to look like myself," was how batch president Rina Narvasa-Batungbacal recalls the PDI editor-in-chief saying. In between phonecalls Magsanoc took – somehow– they got to put a bit of rouge and powder. In the spread, Magsanoc shares center stage, and rightfully so, looking like a Theresian who made it bigtime in journalism-that-really-matters.

For some reason STC produced many of today’s most active writers and journalists in the country – Gilda Cordero-Fernando and her beautiful essays and short stories, Lorna Kalaw-Tirol of PDI’s Readers’ Advocate (she is such a sweetheart), Chay Florentino-Hofilena of the PCIJ, STAR columnist Jessica Zafra – who will never live down her idea of world domination through the Filipina domestic helper (hiding under an American President’s chair in his bedroom listening in) – and, one of our doyennes, Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil. And to Raymund Isaac at the pictorial she said, "I do not smile. I only smile when I think of Brad Pitt" – as only a Chitang Nakpil can get away with.

Even after shooting most of the women in separate occasions, I just had to follow one other lead. We have Margie Moran-Floirendo, a Miss Universe (she refused to be shot wearing her crown. I thought it would be cute to be in denims and a tiara). Could it be that STC also produced a Miss International? I heard that Gemma Cruz-Araneta was a Theresian. I had to find out. It took a while going from one contact number to the next. Finally – "Hi, Gemma! I’m confirming your Mom (Chitang Guerrero) for the shoot." And without having to even ask she goes, "Yes, my Mom wasn’t just a Theresian she was a teacher there!" And like a kid asking to stop the carousel so she could get on, "Hey, I want to be part of thaaaat! I’m a Theresian din haaa! Grade school nga lang but those were formative years!"

I used to watch Lisa Macuja learn ballet from Tita Radaic when we were little. Through thick black rounded bars we all stuck our noses and wondered what something so wonderful could be even more wonderful later on when she grew up. She became a seatmate one of those years in high school and she was teaching me conversational French during class breaks as I recall. Lisa didn’t party the way we did and didn’t stay after class for campus socials like many of us. It was in the stars she would be one of the world’s best – the only Prima Ballerina in the country today. Suki and the stylist Maureen Disini and I discussed, "Well, of course she has to be in a tutu. And it has to be a formal tutu in black, white, grey or red. Would she agree to be in a costume against women in their suits? Goodluck to us." Well, Lisa did come to the pictorial with several formal tutus to choose from. Her shot is one of my personal favorites.

For the photographer, the outcome of the shoot should bring back good memories of the experience to help them appreciate their photos better. It must be why Raymund fondly refers to the shots of Trina Kalaw-Yujuico (first woman president of the Philippine Stock Exchange), STAR Lifestyle editor Millet Martinez-Mananquil and multi-awarded broadcaster Mel Tiangco with "Oh, those women!" Over food and flowers by Gaita Fores, the photographer wined and dined with the three ladies who were actual groupmates in school and were celebrating their ruby year along with the silver jubilarians. Not too many know that Trina, Mel and Millet were all once models in high school. Yes, models – of the likes of Pitoy Moreno.

I chased Marilou Diaz-Abaya all over the Philippines but couldn’t get her to sit. I looked for our SEA Games champ in taekwondo but she’s based abroad. I missed out on many, many others but, I guess well, STC produced quite a lot who deserve their own center stage, maybe, not necessarily in a pictorial for a newspaper. From my own research into the stories of many Theresians – survivors of breast cancer or a bad marriage; a champion athlete paralyzed and rehabilitated into a different life passage; a silent hero who shelved her dreams for her own sons’ dreams and now has caught up on her own life plans; a social worker who has immersed living with the poor in the slums, leaving a comfortable life in Geneva.

A photo will show you the best foot forward, a perfect smile, a tall and straight posture. But these women, I know, have looked at life – with its blows and complications – in the eye and said, "I can take you on, I will." It hasn’t been perfect for any of us and none of us are perfect. But there is something about the Theresian experience that bind us towards something common and familiar. Whatever that is, it’s precious. Marveling at the spread when the once impossible dream finally made it to the papers, my batchmates and I say to each other, "We turned out okay, didn’t we?" Well, maybe a bit more than just okay.

I also remember Leah Navarro – oh, she was so pretty with her long hair tied in a tight ponytail. The last thing we heard before she disappeared from school is that she was starring in a musicale called RamaHari of "Noong Unang Panahon" fame. Fast-forward – she’s in the streets calling out against government anomalies. Hardly imaginable then.