The Pictorial
CHAMBERS By Korina Sanchez
Sunday, January 28 2007 (www.philstar.com)
I never thought that it could be pulled off. The dream was to try to resurrect the prominence of the school, St. Theresa’s College, that had, it seemed, gone under from most everyone’s consciousness since our batch graduated. Apparently every batch that graduates from the school thinks the quality and prominence ended with them. The thoughts and comments are similar among the graduates since 1952 (the Golden Girls) till today. Question is – is anyone going to do anything about it?
Theresians are educated and trained by the ICM Sisters originally from Belgium. The first STC was set up in 1915 in Manila. Among exclusive girls’ schools then, it ranked one of the – if not the – highest in standards. Most families who could afford it sent their daughters here and the Manila school branched into STC Quezon City, STC Cebu and STC Baguio. They say that the prominence and knowledge of the school decreased considerably when the original Manila school closed. The College department of STC QC was also discontinued. Later on, the Baguio school closed as well so that, today, there remain two schools. Like most new graduates, I kept in and was out of touch with the school and with the alumni. Speaking with a student a few months ago, I gathered that some facilities had not been upgraded and some of the best instructors I’ve fallen under no longer teach.
I was already in television working on a daily morning show when, after one all- nighter with the staff, I drove home, slept on the wheel and figured in a really bad accident. Surviving and escaping death it was probably not unnatural to want to trace roots. I felt absolutely nostalgic going through the school grounds where I spent 12 years of my formative years from preparatory to completing high school in this beautiful campus along D. Tuazon in QC... I do, greatly, credit St. Theresa’s for the foundation of my education. It was a school that was intensive on language and writing (hence, the "seamless shift from Tagalog to English" as one writer recently described) aside from extra curriculars in theatre and sports. I entered the small auditorium that still looked exactly the same since those declamation contests. It was indescribable. Since then, though, I’d never been able to go back. I got busy applying education in earning a living.
It was like being in a twilight zone when, fast forward, about a year ago, I found myself in socials – one after another – and every girl, I swear, would either be from Assumption or St. Scholastica or Poveda (formerly Theresiana) or Maryknoll. Only now, as I am writing this, do I figure it’s mostly because it would seem most Theresians are not into the party scene. These are the types who bury themselves in some obscure activity looking to find meaning or relevance in even having her nails done. I don’t think it’s that much of an exaggeration. Think. Our brother classes of choice were mostly from the Ateneo (you know – the guys whose cheers during basketball games are in latin and its attempts to compete with UST’s otherwise household-wordable "Go USTE! Go USTE!!"). During the same year’s alumni dance reunion of the La Salle Greenhills a couple of months ago they announced that "all girls from the same batch from Assumption, St. Scho, Poveda and Maryknoll were invited to attend." I heard my co-organizers grunt in dismay – and that was it.
One fine day I thought, "it’s time to give back" and actually do something about it. I had small projects in mind when I called up the alumni association. Fast forward, a few weeks later, it was just about the same time the batch was preparing for its jubilee. I still think I bit off more than I could chew. Just the same I had to gulp it down. My grand dream was to have a spread on St. Theresa’s College and tell everyone about the school with quality graduates who hardly socialize. And what better way to re-introduce the school than through its graduates? See? I was right. Most of the Theresians you will meet have been introduced into society not necessarily because of their surnames or social pedigree but because of their accomplishments.
The task I inflicted myself with was to get together graduates in a list the school had in its drawers. While most Theresians are unsung heroes in their own accomplishments with not as much of an audience to applaud, many, I discover, do have the world as their stage. I was speaking with Ms. Owen de Castro, one of our teachers in 4th year high, "Why they should be shouting to the world they’re from STC." Sr. Jo Nebres, the present high school principal, agreed.
Writing and calling up the women one by one was a thrill. It was suspenseful. Would it ever happen, getting all the divas of big business, the movie industry, journalism, broadcast, the arts, academe, sports and clergy together? With many of the women it was automatic, "Woooow! Finally! Really? Who else will be in the photo? How wonderful! I’m in!" We had a stylist to assign the clothes’ colors (Maureen Disini and her 1,000 pairs of earrings, 500 belts, 750 brooches to choose from), photo styling by Suki Salvador (with his unending patience dealing with changes in schedules and dealing with 25 divas, that excludes me), makeup by Rey and Mitch from Guerlain, food and flowers by Pepato and Fiori d’M of Margarita Fores (mmmm... gumamela iced tea!) and the magical, maybe miraculous, lens of Portfolio’s Raymund Isaac.
And, as fate would have it, over a month of rearranging schedules and over five sessions at the studio, each of the women agreed and have been now immortalized as a certified Theresian... I was thrilled beyond measure.
Theresians are educated and trained by the ICM Sisters originally from Belgium. The first STC was set up in 1915 in Manila. Among exclusive girls’ schools then, it ranked one of the – if not the – highest in standards. Most families who could afford it sent their daughters here and the Manila school branched into STC Quezon City, STC Cebu and STC Baguio. They say that the prominence and knowledge of the school decreased considerably when the original Manila school closed. The College department of STC QC was also discontinued. Later on, the Baguio school closed as well so that, today, there remain two schools. Like most new graduates, I kept in and was out of touch with the school and with the alumni. Speaking with a student a few months ago, I gathered that some facilities had not been upgraded and some of the best instructors I’ve fallen under no longer teach.
I was already in television working on a daily morning show when, after one all- nighter with the staff, I drove home, slept on the wheel and figured in a really bad accident. Surviving and escaping death it was probably not unnatural to want to trace roots. I felt absolutely nostalgic going through the school grounds where I spent 12 years of my formative years from preparatory to completing high school in this beautiful campus along D. Tuazon in QC... I do, greatly, credit St. Theresa’s for the foundation of my education. It was a school that was intensive on language and writing (hence, the "seamless shift from Tagalog to English" as one writer recently described) aside from extra curriculars in theatre and sports. I entered the small auditorium that still looked exactly the same since those declamation contests. It was indescribable. Since then, though, I’d never been able to go back. I got busy applying education in earning a living.
It was like being in a twilight zone when, fast forward, about a year ago, I found myself in socials – one after another – and every girl, I swear, would either be from Assumption or St. Scholastica or Poveda (formerly Theresiana) or Maryknoll. Only now, as I am writing this, do I figure it’s mostly because it would seem most Theresians are not into the party scene. These are the types who bury themselves in some obscure activity looking to find meaning or relevance in even having her nails done. I don’t think it’s that much of an exaggeration. Think. Our brother classes of choice were mostly from the Ateneo (you know – the guys whose cheers during basketball games are in latin and its attempts to compete with UST’s otherwise household-wordable "Go USTE! Go USTE!!"). During the same year’s alumni dance reunion of the La Salle Greenhills a couple of months ago they announced that "all girls from the same batch from Assumption, St. Scho, Poveda and Maryknoll were invited to attend." I heard my co-organizers grunt in dismay – and that was it.
One fine day I thought, "it’s time to give back" and actually do something about it. I had small projects in mind when I called up the alumni association. Fast forward, a few weeks later, it was just about the same time the batch was preparing for its jubilee. I still think I bit off more than I could chew. Just the same I had to gulp it down. My grand dream was to have a spread on St. Theresa’s College and tell everyone about the school with quality graduates who hardly socialize. And what better way to re-introduce the school than through its graduates? See? I was right. Most of the Theresians you will meet have been introduced into society not necessarily because of their surnames or social pedigree but because of their accomplishments.
The task I inflicted myself with was to get together graduates in a list the school had in its drawers. While most Theresians are unsung heroes in their own accomplishments with not as much of an audience to applaud, many, I discover, do have the world as their stage. I was speaking with Ms. Owen de Castro, one of our teachers in 4th year high, "Why they should be shouting to the world they’re from STC." Sr. Jo Nebres, the present high school principal, agreed.
Writing and calling up the women one by one was a thrill. It was suspenseful. Would it ever happen, getting all the divas of big business, the movie industry, journalism, broadcast, the arts, academe, sports and clergy together? With many of the women it was automatic, "Woooow! Finally! Really? Who else will be in the photo? How wonderful! I’m in!" We had a stylist to assign the clothes’ colors (Maureen Disini and her 1,000 pairs of earrings, 500 belts, 750 brooches to choose from), photo styling by Suki Salvador (with his unending patience dealing with changes in schedules and dealing with 25 divas, that excludes me), makeup by Rey and Mitch from Guerlain, food and flowers by Pepato and Fiori d’M of Margarita Fores (mmmm... gumamela iced tea!) and the magical, maybe miraculous, lens of Portfolio’s Raymund Isaac.
And, as fate would have it, over a month of rearranging schedules and over five sessions at the studio, each of the women agreed and have been now immortalized as a certified Theresian... I was thrilled beyond measure.
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.
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.
