Fortune Ledesma: Consul Extraordinary

MANILA, Philippines - Her pretty face is a familiar sight in society pages and glossy magazines.Surely, the social calendar of Fortune Aleta Ledesma puts her in the glamorous and charmed life that she enjoys. But beneath the glittering gowns throbs the heart of a woman who has a simple goal in life: to be a supportive wife, a nurturing mother and a nationalist who wants to make life more beautiful for those around her .

Her husband, Rene Locsin Ledesma, is a real estate entrepreneur who is currently the Honorary Consul of Bulgaria to the Philippines and an active lay minister who was president of the Parish Council of Santuario de San Antonio Church in Forbes Park.The couple have been active members of the Couples for Christ for the past 20 years.

Her eldest son Rene Jr. or “RJ” is a well-known Philippine STAR columnist, book author, magazine editor and events host. Together with his wife Vanessa Pastor-Ledesma, RJ put up the successful food market Mercato Centrale at The Fort and Soderno in Alabang. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he finished a master’s degree in real estate development, RJ is a workaholic like his parents. RJ and Vanessa have two children: Fortune, 3, and Rene III, two months old.

Beauty and brains:This cum laude graduate and doctor of optometry has a keen eye for style. Fortune Ledesma is a “Manila's Best Dressed” hall of fame awardee. Photos by CYRUS PANGANIBAN

Only daughter Rina is a dedicated educator who teaches English at Assumption High School. Armed with a master’s degree in educational administration from Ateneo University, Rina is the department coordinator of the Reading and Literature Department of Assumption.She and her husband Simon Villalon, a systems manager at Hewlett-Packard, have three children: Ada, 6; Tea, 4; and Gusto, 2.

Youngest son Rico is married to Sheila Aurelio-Ledesma and they expect their first daughter next month. A cum laude graduate with a bachelor's degree in professional music from the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachussetts, Rico has his own music studio.

Being with Fortune up close outside the social whirl brings a lot of surprises.You discover that the first item on her busy calendar is hearing Mass daily. And that she has that gracious, positive aura that comes with good breeding, never one to indulge in idle talk. And that her greatest joy comes from playing with her grandchildren.

Here are more revelations:

PHILIPPINE STAR: In the social circles, you are known as a diplomat and a socialite involved in culture and charity. Not many people know that you were a beauty queen in the ’60s.

 FORTUNE LEDESMA: Yes, many forgettable years ago. (Laughs) I was the first runner-up in the 1968 Miss Philippines for Miss International. In the same year, I was also first runner-up in the Mutya ng Pilipinas for Miss Asia Pacific. I was also a ramp and commercial model.

And you are also an eye doctor. Neither are many people aware of that.

Signature smile: A familiar figure in glossy mags, Fortune wears a suit by St. John.

My late father, Gov. Amado Aleta of Nueva Ejica, wanted all of his female children to pursue a college degree that would allow us to practice our profession from home so that we would have ample time to raise our children. So he suggested that I become a doctor of optometry. In fact, both my sister and myself have degrees as doctors of optometry.

Having been in the military, my father instilled in us a rigorous work ethic while my mother, Corazon Fontanilla Farro of Agoo, La Union, emphasized the importance of our studies. It was through their encouragement that I was able to graduate cum laude and top the government board exams for optometrists.

I used to practice my profession in the clinic of Dr. Manuel Hechanova at Makati Medical Center. After I married Rene Ledesma, I focused on taking care of him and our three children RJ, Rina and Rico.

Tell us about your duties as honorary consul of Monaco.

As Consul General of Monaco to the Philippines, I am called upon to promote the interests of the Principality of Monaco in the country, to provide updates to Monaco on local economic and political developments, to help promote economic and cultural activity between Monaco and the Philippines, to represent Monaco during diplomatic and consular activities, and to attend to the interests of Monegasque nationals in the country.

How often do you meet with the royalty of Monaco? How are they up close?

I have the privilege of interacting with the royal family every Nov. 18, the National Day celebration of Monaco which also coincides with the yearly meeting of all Monagesque consul generals and consuls.

Proudly Filipino: Fortune looks stunning in a terno by Rajo Laurel, her favorite couturier.

Aside from these yearly encounters, I also had the opportunity to interact with Prince Albert II of Monaco several times. The first was during his official visit to the Philippines back in 1999 where he visited historical sites like Corregidor, Subic Bay, International Rice and Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna and Amanpulo in Palawan. During that visit, he grew fond of our local mangoes. So I make sure that when my husband and I make our annual visit to Monaco during National Day, we always bring for him and his sisters boxes of Philippine mangoes and mango chips.

The other time was when he bestowed on me during a public ceremony in Nov. 2008 the Knight of the Order of St. Charles as a reward for service rendered to him or to the Principality. The Order of St. Charles is the Monagesque equivalent of the French “Legion d’ Honneur.”

The latest encounter was when my husband and I were invited to attend the wedding of Prince Albert to Princess Charlene of Monaco at the Palace Princier at Monaco.

During all my encounters with Prince Albert II of Monaco, his sister Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie, they were very warm, courteous, accommodating, and down-to-earth; they all exhibited an obvious passion for the welfare of children and environmental concerns.

You are also involved in cultural and civic organizations. What is the advocacy you enjoy doing most?

 I was the immediate past president of the Inner Wheel Club of Manila (2010-2011) which is a service organization founded in 1949 for the wives of Rotarians. Inner Wheel finds ways to better support Rotary’s charitable undertakings.

Music lover: Fortune Ledesma is chairman of the Johann Strauss Society which helps promote classical music and the arts.

 I was the president and am currently chairman of the Johann Strauss Society of the Philippines, an organization that promotes love for the arts, especially classical music. It also serves as a support arm of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and supports several charitable organizations.

The advocacy that I am most passionate about is for the underprivileged and abandoned children. My family and I actively support Virlanie Foundation, a non-government organization (NGO) helping out street children who are in need of special protection. These are children who were abandoned, abused, exploited, neglected or orphaned. Virlanie was founded by French social worker Dominique Lemay with the assistance of some generous Filipino souls.

It was quite serendipitous that Virlanie was eventually supported by Amade Mondiale, a charity headed by Princess Caroline. Amade focuses on a wide range of issues that relate to the promotion and protection of children's human rights. In particular, Amade’s focuses include poverty and violence against children, either physical or sexual, and finances projects for drug education, preventive health, employment and literacy.

I was able to secure donations from some generous, anonymous donors from Monaco that helped in the construction of two buildings for Virlanie.

My children, grandchildren and my husband also visit Virlanie during Christmas holidays and our birthdays to celebrate these special occasions with them.

As a mother, how was it raising children and at the same time being a businesswoman , civic activist and consul?

A family in foreign service: Consuls Fortune Ledesma and Rene Ledesma together with their children RJ, Rina and Rico welcome Prince Albert II of Monaco during his visit to Manila.

I became more active in my socio-civic activities and took on the role of Consul General when my youngest son was already in college.

When my kids were younger, I was an entrepreneur with a small boutique. This allowed me to spend a lot of time raising our children.

I was and I continue to be a hands-on mom, much to the chagrin of my children. (Laughs) I would religiously attend and support all of their school activities, extra-curricular activities and parent-teacher conferences.

 I was quite the taskmaster because I wanted my children to be well-rounded. I enrolled them in so many summer classes — from reading dynamics to speech power to acting to art classes to chess to baseball to ballet. That’s probably the reason why my children are multi-taskers as well!

 Since RJ was our first child, we pushed him very hard when he was in grade school. I recall that we would train every night for a month in preparation for his elocution contests. RJ would jokingly refer to this as a military camp because we would practice several times in one night and he would only be allowed to drink warm salabat until after the elocution. But RJ won first place in all elocution contests from Grades 4 to 7.

 My daughter Rina is a very responsible, thoughtful and mature individual. Sometimes I think she is more mature than me. (Laughs). She reminds me so much of my late mother — who was a chemistry teacher before she married my father — because they share a love for education. When my daughter was in third year high school, she attended an immersion program in Barrio Obrero, Iloilo with the Assumption nuns which led her towards the path of becoming an educator. She has been teaching English at her alma mater for the past 10 years.

My youngest son Rico is a very creative, passionate and free-spirited individual. He channels all of his creativity through his love of music. In grade school, he learned how to play the guitar on his own and would often participate as the instrumentalist in the school and church choirs. Who knew that this would eventually lead towards finishing a music production degree at Berklee and putting up his own music production studio in Manila?

A family of achievers: Rene and Fortune Ledesma are flanked by their children RJ and Vanessa (right, with granddaughter Fortune II), Simon and Rina Villalon (left, with grandchildren Ada, Tea and Gusto) and Rico and Sheila (back row).

Your son RJ Ledesma is an incredible humorist, as vivacious as you.

With me as a mom, I think he had no choice but to develop a sense of humor. (Laughs) Being my eldest, I really pushed him to do so many things when he was growing up. To cope with it, I think he just developed a very good-natured and good-humored perspective about life. Also, he watched a lot of American comedies and sitcoms growing up and read a lot of comic books. I think that influenced his sense of humor.

As consul, which aspect of the Philippines do you proudly promote? What do you think are our most underrated assets?

While there are popular destinations like Boracay and Baguio, I think there are still more amazing places to discover. Tourism in the Philippines will be greatly helped by more community involvement and better infrastructure.

You and your family travel a lot. Which are your favorite places?

I loved taking family vacations when my kids were younger because it gave me a chance to be with them 24/7. I’m not sure though if my children felt the same way as me. (Laughs.)

We loved taking them to the amusement parks all around the States. We would take them for summer vacations to beaches in Batangas and to Hong Kong and for Holy Week and Christmas vacations to Baguio.

Fortune has received countless awards and trophies, one of which is the Decoration of Honor in Gold for services rendered to the Republic of Austria given by Austriian Ambassador Herbert Jaeger.

 Another memorable vacation was our first visit to Europe. We spent several days in Lourdes, France to make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lourdes.

Most memorable was our religious tour of the Holy Land during Holy Week and the Jewish Passover.

How do you describe your fashion style? Who are your favorite designers?

My fashion style is a mix of classic and comfort. I like being fashionable but comfortable.

 My favorite designer is Rajo Laurel. And I still use the clothes that were made for me by the late Joe Salazar.

A prince and two consul generals: Prince Albert II of Monaco is flanked by Dr. Stephen Zuellig and Fortune Ledesma.

 What would you never wear?

 I wouldn’t wear things that are not appropriate for my age.

What is your dream right now?

 I have four dreams: That I celebrate my diamond anniversary with Rene, the love of my life. That my children all have happy, God-centered marriages. That I see my grandchildren grow up to be productive members of society. And that I get to make lamutak (hugs and hugs) my great grandchildren.