One of the most inspiring and beautiful women I have met is Spanish born Maruxa Pita who came to our shores more than a half-century ago and devoted her life to Philippine education.
She was my directora in the 1960s (am I giving my age away?) in a very new girls’ school called Institucion Teresiana on Highway 54 that traversed Quezon City to Makati with talahib fields on both sides of the one-lane highway. It was considered a very modern school as the Teresiana religious order that she belonged to wore up-to-date clothes, drove their own cars and even wore gold chain bracelets with their wristwatches, which was considered a very chic way of wearing jewelry then. Better yet for us students, the emphasis was not on having scholastic honors but being well-rounded in all facets of life by playing sports during our free time, reading in the library daily, being well-mannered to everyone, saying our simple prayers in Spanish, having no status symbols to show off or not being vain about our looks, volunteering and doing charitable acts whenever possible. Our teachers were the same ones from grade school to high school and we grew up together since most of them were only in their young 20s.
Now renamed after its founder, the Saint Pedro Poveda College is considered the most prestigious, exclusive all-girls school in the country and the waiting list is so long that parents try to put in their daughters’ names when they are born. Some of Maruxa’s young male nursery and prep students are now our top statesmen and businessmen. They include P-Noy (and all his sisters), Mar Roxas, Ralph Recto, and Ricky Razon.
This well-loved, down-to-earth and super energetic 81-year-old religious lady was bestowed the 24th Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta award by the JCI Manila and AY Foundation for having founded the Makabata School in Pasig, which provides private education for street children. She handpicks her students by going to their hovels to ensure that they truly cannot afford even the most basic daily needs and even assists their parents in various livelihood programs.
Everyone was teary-eyed watching the video on Mother Teresa and Maruxa showing their work in action. As Mother Teresa aptly said, “Love has to be put into action. God speaks in the silence of our heart and we listen.” Ambassador Jorge Domecq, speaking eloquently in beautiful boarding school English, announced to all, “ Maruxa is beloved by everyone. She devoted her life to the marginalized, empowering the poorest of the poor. Maruxa has done great things with great love. She is the source of pride of Spain in the Philippines and we are proud of her.”
On behalf of her thousands of former students, we are very grateful, humbled and honored that Maruxa has remained with us in the Philippines and continues to do God’s work. She is an inspiration to all of us.
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Miguel Lopez de Leon is one of the best looking men I have seen and he is as talented as he is handsome. His book, Galadria: Peter Huddlesone and the Rite of Passage, reached Amazon’s best-seller list in its first week of publication and is being touted by some to be the next Harry Potter. He made appearances in the Los Angeles area schools as he wanted students to recognize their worth and understand that seemingly ordinary people all have extraordinary gifts if they are open to the possibilities. Residing in Los Angeles and visiting Manila often, Miguel is grateful to all kooky characters he has met in his life, who have been a true and constant inspiration to his imagination. He is currently working on the second installment of the series, Peter Huddleston and the Mists of the Three Lakes, which will be available in 2012. Successive books will be coming out yearly for Galadria addicts.
Miguel’s parents are former polo player Joe Vincent Madrigal de Leon and his mother is the beauteous Marybeth Lopez. His various interests include real estate, financial investing and philanthropic work with several international organizations as well as having modeled for international brands such as Diesel and was chosen as the main face in the print ad campaign for Bergamo. This man has made us proud with his success in the international literary field.
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The Galadria series is available in National Book Store, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, miguellopezdeleon.com, and wakestonepress.com.
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For comments and ideas, e-mail jacinto.fa@gmail.com.