For some reason, I was the only male member in my family (of eight boys and four girls) to be invited to her lunches and parties Was it perhaps because she felt an affinity for a fellow artist? Or maybe because we shared the same passion for food and travel, that lust for life? One time over lunch, when she was already in her late seventies, she complained to me how she couldn’t move her little finger, after having eaten something sinful just days earlier. "My arthritis is catching up on me," she said. "My God," I told her coyly, "you can’t move your little finger and you’re complaining! I couldn’t get out of bed for a week when I turned 30 because of my gout! How I wish I’d get to your age and still eat and dance the way you do." With that, she smiled that knowing smile and forgot her woes.
November 9 was always a red-letter day in our calendar – her birthday. But once every five years, the celebration would start on Nov. 7. This was lunch for her employees and relatives. Day 2 was reserved for another lunch, this time for her clients. My loyal paroquianas, she fondly called them. Then for the grand finale, a dinner/dance exclusive to her dancing amigas (New Supremes Club every Monday, Tuesday Club, Merry Makers every Wednesday, and Smiles Club every Thursday) and select friends.
I could only imagine what preparations were done for the D-day. All the guests would anticipate with bated breath the theme for the dance exhibition. Would it be Spanish flamenco, Japanese or some Latin costume? Always, her giveaway souvenirs were in her favorite color lilac.
While doing the layout for her book, one could already tell she had the flair and confidence of a young lady who knew exactly what her mission in life was just by looking at the photos taken during her teens. It was that single-minded determination that made her succeed in her chosen field. For one, how many couture houses ever reach the centenary, a major milestone in any successful institution, a testament to its lasting endurance? Secondly, in the history of Philippine fashion, who could ever claim having dressed all the first ladies starting with Mrs. Aurora Quezon (except for Dr. Loi Ejercito), including Presidents Cory Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (and Manila’s 400 in every administration.)
Started in 1902 by her mother Roberta Tablante Paras in Angeles, Pampanga, she moved to the big city just after several years, not finding the challenge in her native town. She moved to Fraternal Street in Quiapo in 1912, then to Calle Sevilla in Binondo in 1918, and then to Avenida Rizal where she opened a dressmaking school simultaneously.
The art and exacting craft of couture of Aling Belta, as she was fondly called, was passed to her daughter Inang. Still in her teens, Inang helped in the shop and at the same time attended school at St. Theresa’s College. Continuing her schooling at Jose Rizal College, she graduated with honors in Commercial Science, at the same time finishing her training at the R.T. Paras School of Dressmaking. By 1952, Aling Belta passed away, the equally strong-willed Inang continued the design house and in 1957 moved the House of R.T. Paras to its present location along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. Here she continued the tradition of dressing up Manila’s beautiful set till her death last year, a year short of her 90th birthday. Tita Inang lived a life so full of exuberance and boundless energy. She could have danced all night!
And the silken mantle has been passed on to the third generation. The dutiful son, Roy, a long time Paris-based accomplished designer in his own right – having worked at Pierre Cardin, and later to become the head designer for the houses of Jean Patou and Lecoanet-Hemant at one time or the other in his more than 30 years in Paris – returns home finally to continue the legacy his Lola Belta and Mamá started. Life comes to a full circle.