Oscar and Bootsie Violago on their 40th wedding anniversary: Living their vows
MANILA, Philippines - Forty years ago, a promising man exchanged marriage vows with a blushing bride at the Santuario de San Jose. The reception at the InterCon Hotel (“The Hotel” then) was five-star, so much so that the groom’s cousin, the Air Force Vice Commander Jimmy Ileto (then a sapling Lieutenant), ribbed, “Loko ka rin, insan! With the money you’ve spent, you could have bought yourself a house in Greenhills!”
Riposted the upstart, “I have a whole lifetime to earn a house in Greenhills. But I intend to marry only once!”
Fast-forward: 40 years after, Oscar Violago committed the same “mistake.” He married again, the same wife, Olympia “Bootsie” nee Cruz. And this time, it was sweeter. For they not only said their vows, they have lived them in the past 40 years. “Roller-coaster” years as Oscar describes them.
Oscar and Bootsie stayed — and are staying — together for better or for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health. There were times of plenty and times when they almost lost the roof over their heads and the chapel of Sto. Niño de Violago, the chapel they built for their faith.
Oscar confides that when he was praying before the statue of the Child Jesus in the chapel on the month of its supposed foreclosure in 2010, he kidded the Child Jesus, “Pareho tayong mawawalan ng bahay.” But in that same month in 2010 that their fabulous house was to be foreclosed, they received news of a settlement from a 10-year-old lawsuit. They not only were able to keep their house (known in Quezon City for its jaw-dropping lights during the Christmas season) but also the chapel whose loss would have broken their hearts.
The couple intended to hold their 40th wedding celebration next year, as this year, their hotel of choice was not available on the dates they preferred. But again, Oscar found out shortly before their wedding anniversary that he has prostate cancer. Bootsie was also suffering from Parkinson’s. And so they both decided, “Why wait?” In seven days, the Violagos and their children planned the 40th wedding anniversary and it was a sweet success!
And, as it did before, expenses shot through the roof! Finding a place was no problem — there’s the chapel of Sto. Niño de Violago. But since VIP guests would dress in suits or barong, the chapel was draped to hold the air-conditioning installed for the occasion. Bishop Teodoro Bacani’s homily about the Miracle at Cana focused on the best wine served for the last. He invited the congregation to join in prayers for healing and good health of the reinvigorated bride and groom who renew their marriage vows. Rose petals showered the bridal couple on their way out of chapel.
The Violago residence at Corinthian Gardens transformed into an enchanted fairy tale, dripping with roses — the presidential table had a hanging rose garden. The Shangri-La Hotel’s service provided the sissy hairs for all. Oscar’s classmates from St. Joseph’s High School in San Jose, Nueva Ecija and from the Ateneo were all dressed to the nines with their spouses.
Before Toto Zaide could toast the bride and groom, Gary Lising raised a point of order, “Since the bridal pair has everything, is it better to give (to the ninongs and ninangs) than to receive?” In the event, if today’s “love one another” is sometimes mistaken for “love another one,” the guests toasted the abiding love of Oscar and Bootsie over four decades, which sets the world right side up.
The beaming bride and groom were joined by their children — Anthony Jude, Malou (with husband Ryan Tanjutco) and Princess (with husband Patrick Dee) and their grandchildren Enzo, Santi, Manu and RaPaella. (Their first-born Corina had left them earlier and intercedes for the family from above.)
Anthony Jude explained to guests that in celebrating their anniversary, his parents were making a gift of seven-digit denomination each to two institutions — the Cofradia de la Immaculada Concepcion and the Ateneo de Manila University. Oscar and Bootsie are Hermanos Mayores and the first check was received by Conrado Escudero for the Cofradia de la Immaculada Concepcion in the presence of Marieta Santos, Letty Syquia and Helen Ong.
Anthony also confided that the second check for the Ateneo was an expression of gratitude to the former president Fr. Ben Nebres, S.J., who enabled Anthony to return and complete his education at the Ateneo. He added a caveat: because his father Oscar was a “probinsiyano” who entered the Ateneo only in his collegiate level, the check from the Oscar and Bootsie Violago Scholarship Foundation was only a “down payment” to the Ateneo program and that Oca was leaving it to his classmates, especially the dyed-in-the-wool True Blues to match the amount and beyond that, to sustain support for their alma mater.
Fr. Jett Villarin, S.J., president of the Ateneo de Manila University, gladly accepted the “down payment.” On cue, Eagles HS ‘60/College ‘64 president and former BIR Commissioner lawyer Jose Mario Bunag presented to Fr. Villarin the Now & Then yearbook of the class so that he can keep track of class members who are up to date or delinquent.
Responding to the toast, Oca freely quoted (with attribution) from Winston Churchill, “My greatest success was convincing my wife to marry me;” and Henry Ford “Stick to one model” and extolled Bootsie as his lodestar and cheerleader who buoyed up the family when the tunnel was darkest. During their courtship years, his song for Bootsie was It’s Now or Never and 40 years after, he changed his tune to Nobody, Nobody But You.
Oscar invited everyone to toast his bride and Madonna, Bootsie, wishing her “good health and long life — because I want to live long and I cannot live without you!” This moved their balae Donald Dee to admit to Fr. Villarin that when it comes to sweet nothings, “talong-talo kaming mga taga-La Salle sa mga Atenista!”
The Spirit of ‘67 kicked off, tripping the light fantastic. By midnight, Jodie de Asis and Pancho Salvador joined the band and did a duet on Honey Don’t and Jodie Be Good. Pancho wanted a third number, Hahabol-Habol but the band apologized for not knowing the chords because they are “Spirit of ‘67” not “Spirit of ‘57.” The foolhardy joined those with enough stamina to the wee hours, because the spirit was willing even if the knees were buckling.
