Don Jaime Zobel’s advice to his grandchildren: ‘Follow your heart. Do what makes you happy’

It is always fun being seated at the table of Jaime Zobel de Ayala during media lunches hosted by Ayala Corporation announcing their next big event.  

 Don Jaime — that’s how everybody calls this beloved Ayala patriarch — is, first of all, a charming and elegant gentleman. He doesn’t shake your hand, he kisses it. His being chairman emeritus of one of the country’s top business conglomerates makes him look intimidating. But up close, Don Jaime is kind, down to earth and funny.

  During last Tuesday’s press lunch announcing the Idea’yala project conceived by his granddaughters Paloma Zobel and Mariana Zobel, Don Jaime looked like a proud lolo listening intently and clapping for the two girls and their group of Ideators who believe in #YALA — Young And Living Awesome. (Read the full story by Chonx Tibajia in YStyle, Sept. 12.)

“Do you get a chance to look at Facebook or Instagram or Twitter to see what young people today are talking about?” I asked Don Jaime.

He laughed and showed me the phone he uses — his trusty and tiny Nokia, which fits perfectly inside the shades-holder attached to his belt.

But of course, he is connected to the young. He knows what they want, what they dream of, what they’re thinking. “I have 24 grandchildren and I make sure to bond with them regularly, especially on weekend family get-togethers. “

What advice does he give his apos?

 “I always tell them to follow their heart. And do what makes them happy,” said Don Jaime. 

“And I always tell them this: You communicate through your techie gadgets, yes, but never forget to communicate with people in real, face-to-face encounters. Because you have to know what’s in their heart and soul. People have feelings, people have thoughts to share. Remember that Filipinos are a warm people, we like reaching out to other people.”

We kidded him about the hip white T-shirt uniform of #YALA that he wore on top of his long-sleeved shirt. Of course, he wanted to wear one himself, just like all the young people and Ayala execs at the Fairmont ballroom that day. After the program, Don Jaime even gamely posed for a group selfie taken by program host RJ Ledesma. He asked Ayala exec Rowena Tomeldan (who was seated beside him) about Ayala’s music festivals and the need to sustain them.

This reminded me of the answer he once wrote to the question: If not yourself, who would you be? He wrote: “A tenor and superb guitar player.”

   That was for a page in my Proust Questionnaire book which I handed to him many years ago during another Ayala press lunch, and which he answered line by line using his black pen. Here are some of his other answers:

Your favorite virtue: Honesty.

Your favorite quality in a man: Integrity.

Your favorite quality in a woman: Femininity.

Your favorite occupation: Finally... photography!

Your chief characteristic: Sense of humor.

Your idea of happiness: A quiet day on an empty beach with my family.

Your idea of misery: A black room with no windows.

Your favorite colors: Green and red.

Where would you like to live: Definitely in various places but pacing them.

Your favorite authors: Sebastian Faulks, Sarge Lacuesta.

Your favorite poet: Federico Garcia Lorca.

Your favorite painters/composers: Fernando Zobel, Gauguin/Debussy.

Your favorite heroes: Are there any?

Your favorite heroine in real life: Our labandera who has brought up five children alone and all on scholarships.

Your favorite hero in fiction: Spider-Man.

Your favorite food: Adobo, lentils and favada (White beans! But beware!)

Your favorite names: Jaime, Beatriz.

Your pet aversion: Adulation (for the sake of getting close to me).

The character in history you dislike most: Rasputin.

The fault you have the most toleration for: Intolerance.

Your favorite motto: “Whatever I did, I did it my way.” Photos by Millet M. Mananquil