Imelda's Beauty

“It is easy to be beautiful because it is natural.”
I have heard my parents say that Imelda Marcos indeed valued and still is valuing beauty. Some said she looked like the Virgin Mary. Some branded her as the most beautiful Miss Philippines.

Imelda used her beauty and politics (from his husband, late President Ferdinand Marcos), to shape our society. As first lady in Marcos’ presidency, her role according to her was to be the mother of the country. As a mother, she was to give love. To give love, she needed to have beauty. So in order to have beauty, she relived the culture of the country. She was the person behind the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). In her time as the first lady, Imelda made the people reminisce their culture. She made them realize how wonderful their culture is. She made the country, in short, beautiful. Like herself.

Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center, and Children’s Medical Center are all established during the reign of Marcos. These structures truly shaped the society of the country. By just the idea of being a mother, of being able to channel her beauty to the people and to the country, Imelda Marcos took part in reminding the Filipino people of who they were (especially then in the time of wars). And that really matters.

‘Beauty’ is constantly heard in the whole duration of the documentary/movie and I was amused at how Imelda made her own statement about that certain word. Beauty is more than just beauty for her. “Beauty is a discipline, an art.” 

Keanne Samar, 2013-16445