Gladys' 'moments' with Imeldific

Curtain-raiser:

• Somebody should tell senior and multi-awarded actresses C. and G. to behave (as in “keep quiet”) when their fellow actress (veteran and highly-respected, and muy linda) is doing especially a heavy-drama scene in their soap. It happened last week during the taping. The veteran actress was delivering a long emotion-filled dialogue when she was rudely interrupted by C. and G. who burst out laughing, distracting the veteran actress and ruining the whole scene. Imagine how embarrassed C. and G. were when the veteran actress confronted them, “Ako ba ang pinagtatawanan n’yo?” Such bad behavior shouldn’t come from senior actresses, right? The Funfare DPA said that C. and G. were tameme (dumbfounded) and it showed in the soap, or didn’t you notice?

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Up to now, Gladys Reyes couldn’t believe that she came face-to-face with former First Lady Imelda Marcos who is featured on her show, Moments on Net25 TV (aired 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays, with replays that same night at 10:30, Sundays at 11 a.m. and weeks later) which gives Gladys a chance to explore not only the persona of her guests (among others: Susan Roces, Maricel Soriano and Sharon Cuneta) but also the nook and cranny of their homes.

“I was about eight years old when the Marcoses were in power,” Gladys told Funfare, “and I was in awe of Madame Imelda throughout the almost four hours I was with her. I was starstruck. She’s very regal. We had the interview at the old Marcos home in San Juan. She arrived at past 11 a.m. with her pet dog and the first thing she asked was kung kumain na kami. Then, she ordered food.”

Madame’s guesting was made possible by Marcos Loyalist Lito Gorospe who happens to be the good friend of the show’s talent coordinator. Topic of the episode was motherhood, something close to Madame’s heart. “Nanay na nanay ang dating niya,” said Gladys.

After the interview, Madame took Gladys and company on a tour of the house.

“Bawat sulok pala ay may estorya. The walls were covered with pictures, some of them of the Madame and former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos with heads of state, and framed/laminated write-ups about them. The whole place is like a museum. Then, we had snacks at the 25-seater dining table, antique yata ‘yon. She sat with us, including my crew.”

Madame talked about how it was being a mother not only to her children (Rep. Imee, Ilocos Norte Gov. Bongbong and Irene Marcos-Araneta) but also to the country (as in Ina ng Bayan). To avoid preempting Gladys’ show, I opt not to go into the details.

Gladys said that she went home loaded with words of wisdom from Madame and kababawan (trivias) not known to many, such as:

•  ”The Marcoses’ term of endearment was Sweetheart. Madame Marcos is fond pala of flowers. She said that she would spend her last peso on food and the rest on flowers. Kasi daw flowers bring out the loving side of a person. She was spending so much daw on flowers that one time, Pres. Marcos told her, ‘O, sige, bilhin mo lahat ng flowers!’”

•  ”Madame Marcos was taong-tao. Nagsusuot din daw siya ng duster o kaya shorts. Ang hair daw niya, talagang mahaba and sometimes siya na lang ang nag-aayos n’un...She was criticized for her ‘the true, the good and the beautiful’ line and she said, ‘What’s wrong with that? Sino ba ang may gusto sa pangit? Gusto nating lahat ‘yung maganda, di ba?’”

•  ”She talked about how Pres. Marcos courted her. Eh, siempre, being an Ilocano he was kuripot. Sabi ni Madame Marcos, she had a suitor who would give her bouquets of flowers dahil nga she loves flowers, di ba? Si Marcos daw, dalawang bulaklak lang ang binigay sa kanya, one open and the other closed. ‘Yon pala, may symbolism. The open one daw was Marcos, overflowing with love and the closed one was Madame Imelda, nakasara dahil hindi pa siya sinasagot.”

Asked if she was irked being called Imeldific, Madame said with a smile, “Why should I be?”

(Note: For more on Madame Imelda, tune in to Gladys’ Moments on Net25 maybe on Aug. 1.)

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