Dagupan’s oldest living ‘queen’ turns 100 today

CALASIAO, Pangasinan — The queen is turning a hundred years old today.

The oldest living Miss Dagupan, Luisa Demetria Legaspi Maramba, crowned in 1930, becomes a centenarian today and her family is marking it with a grand celebration.

Make no mistake but Maramba, born Aug. 25, 1906 in Dagupan City, can still talk clearly and remember vividly important dates and people in her life.

Bai Metring, as she is fondly called, does her daily cycling exercise, plus arms-stretching in bed with the help of an assistant, observes proper diet, drinks six cups of milk every day, and does not take any medicines or vitamins in tablet or capsule form, only fruits.

When The STAR went to her old house where she stays with her loyal assistant, Cristina Cobo, or Itay, now 80; grandchild Maricel, and another assistant, Soling, the former beauty queen talked a lot about her family and friends.

Unlike people her age, Bai Metring does not wear adult diapers; she tells her housemates when she feels the need to go to the comfort room.

Itay, who has remained single, has stayed by Bai Metring’s side since she was in her 20s. She says her alaga eats anything that she prepares and observes proper hygiene.

Today, at lunchtime, Bai Metring’s family and friends are preparing something big for her 100th birthday celebration, which also serves as the first grand reunion of the Legaspis, Marambas, Paraynos, Cornels and Cruzes, at Ruperto’s Inland Resort in Binalonan, about five towns away from here.

The "birthday girl," only daughter of the late Esteban Maramba and Elena Legaspi of Dagupan City, can’t hold her excitement that her daughter, Purita Biglete, and her family are flying in from the United States to attend the celebration.

Love for singing, cooking

While she may have some lapses recalling the past, Bai Metring nonetheless can still correctly remember important people and dates during her younger days. She says she, along with Itay, used to manage a family-owned grocery store in this town until she opted to retire in the 1980s.

According to Bai Metring, she was crowned Miss Dagupan in 1930, got married in 1937, and taught Music at the Dagupan Central School.

"Akin agmo tepeten ey no pigay taon ak ya nambangat (Why don’t you ask me how many years I taught)?" she asks. The answer: 32 years.

She says she was fond of two things during her heyday: singing and cooking.

"Singa galaw galaw labat (It was as if I was just playing)," she says, recalling that her late husband, engineer Jose "Peping" Parayno, loved everything she cooked and was proud to invite friends over to savor her dishes.

Asked how she has remained beautiful throughout these years, Bai Metring quips, "Aliwa ak ya magan gana. Siguro say pan gustoan dad siyak say ugalik lagi (I’m not beautiful. Maybe the people love my attitude)."

She says she is proud that she treats everyone fairly, explaining why Itay has never left her side.

Fe Guadiz-Vasquez, Bai Metring’s cousin, says two other Miss Dagupan title holders in their family — her mom, Maria Corazon Legaspi, and Feliza Legaspi Caragay — also enjoyed a long life; both died at age 96.

Fe, a piano teacher, says it was Bai Metring who encouraged her to harness her talent in music.

Up to now, Bai Metring still looks forward to the homecoming of her husband, blaming the floods for the delay.

She even asked Itay to sew two sets of pajamas for him. Her housemates could only smile every time she mentions this.