Imelda

“It is not hard to be beautiful, because beauty is natural.” I cannot remember if these were the exact words that Imelda Marcos said but it definitely stuck to me. I found it somehow ironic that such inspirational words can come from someone who thinks so highly and someone who thinks of herself as everyone else’s inspiration. The video featured Imelda Marcos herself, as she narrated her life story before and after Ferdinand Marcos.

At first, the things mentioned about Imelda were the things most of us already knew, like her enormous collection of shoes, the infrastructures she built, the projects and programs she headed, and many more. However, when it came to the part where they featured the love story of Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, when they interviewed different people about it, I was surprised to find out that she was strictly regulated and watched in Ferdinand’s house. It was said that her food was carefully measured and rationed for her and her clothes were of only one size and she was expected to fit in that size and that size only. I couldn’t imagine living a life like that where it seemed like you’re treated as a puppet and not a human being. Everything you do, everything you eat, everything you say, even the size of the clothes you wear, is dictated by some higher power. I didn’t hear anything bad from Imelda in her interviews though, she didn’t complain or anything like that. Even though she didn’t complain, that wasn’t the way someone should be treated especially a wife.

Another thing that came as a shock to me was the fact that she was so proud of herself. I knew before that she didn’t have much supporters but I only understood then why. In every interview she had, I think she always said something to praise herself. One line that she said that really annoyed me was the one where she said something like she needed to be  star, she needed to always look good because the public needs a star, the public needs someone to look up to. This seemed really unnecessary for me because why does she have to say that? Why does she even have to think like that? She’s the one who puts herself on a pedestal, she’s the one who showers herself with compliments. This only made me think of her less. It is true that she was very beautiful in her younger years, she was very talented and charismatic too, but for me, personally, these are not enough to make up for the way she talks about herself and the way she talks about the Filipino people. I agree with what she said that beauty is natural, but I don’t think she knows that beauty is not only measured on how you look, but also on how you act.