Jaime Zobel: ‘Whatever I did, I did it my way’

It is so easy to be at home with Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala. And to fall in love with the man. This man who was ranked by Forbes magazine in 2007 as the richest person in the Philippines  — tying with Henry Sy Sr. of the SM Shoemart conglomerate — and who rules the Ayala group of companies, actually has the gift of making people laugh. His effortless sense of humor and his humility are as humongous as his business empire.

Okay, it is so easy to be starstruck. In a luncheon with  lifestyle editors at Chateau 1771 in Greenbelt 5, he holds your hand so tightly and apologizes as he returns The Proust Questionnaire you asked him to fill out (see box for his answers), saying he made a writing boo-boo somewhere. “Please forgive me,” he tells you. Immediately, you know you are going to like him.

Don Jaime starts off by answering a question that he has been asked again and again. “No, I didn’t want to escape to SoHo and live an artist’s life.” This Harvard graduate who took his BA in architectural studies, however, clarifies: “But I wasn’t going to be a slave to just business.”

He learned art from his uncle Fernando Zobel at the Ateneo where he was teaching. “I never went to art school, but I really wanted to be an artist. I wanted to express what the other half of me was begging me to do, which was art.”

Don Jaime even tried at first to venture into theater, ”but I was a lousy actor. Saturdays and Sundays were spent with Fr. Reuter. I would never, I could never make it in theater. Out!... Then, I started to draw.”

And he also started to tinker with the camera. Several art shows and photo exhibits later (oh yes, he was even chosen by the Swiss officials of Swatch to design the Philippine Centennial Watch), Jaime Zobel de Ayala proves he’s not just a business leader. He is one of the country’s cultural stalwarts and provocateurs.

Now, he is provoking Filipino artists to put together a series of cultural shows called “Bravo Filipino” — not at the CCP, but in the malls, where people can see them for free. But of course, Zobel’s companies will sponsor and spend for the exhibits.

He has been having sleepless nights these past months. “Spontaneous combustion,” he calls it. “In the middle of the night, I just don’t know what to do and I think of so many things.” For instance, he ponders: “What is the Filipino soul all about? Is it 400 years in the convent and 50 years in Hollywood? That is the easiest way to define it, but it is really difficult to explain. The Filipino has an incredible soul... You just look at the Filipino vis-à-vis other Asian people, and you see such a beautiful person, so adaptable and graceful.”

It is the essence of the Filipino soul that Jaime Zobel wants to capture in a series of shows in Greenbelt 5, the sparkling new mall that pays tribute to the best of Filipino artistry.

“If you were of my age (he is 74), you would probably think of a bit of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland,” he says, laughing. “But what we want to point out is the uniqueness of the Filipino.” So for the concert, it will be something starting with Maria Carpena, the first Filipino recording artist who sang Ang Maya, to Pilita Corrales (singing her national anthem which is Kapantay ng Langit, not A Million Thanks to You) to Freddie Aguilar of Anak fame. There will be snippets of Katy de la Cruz. Celeste Legaspi will be there. “It should be a concert that is fun, nothing deep, where people will catch a tune in a Ryan Cayabyab or Louie Ocampo sort of way, and hum along.”

The concert will also feature Filipino dancers, and this part of the series will have input from his daughter Sofia Zobel-Elizalde, who danced with Ballet Philippines and practically grew up at CCP.

“And then Sofia asks me: Have you heard of Lesley Mobo? Yes, the talented young man from Aklan who gets a scholarship and whose talents are appreciated by the daughters of Al Fayed who ask him to do designs for Harrods. So we decided to do fashion as well, and here, Sofia will hold my hand, though I was counting on my other daughter Bea — who should be here but God knows where she is, I lost her a long time ago.” (Bea has been exploring the countryside and watching Philippine artists and artisans at work.)

When Don Jaime surveyed the shops in Greenbelt 5, he was amazed. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’ve never seen such beautiful products. And I feel good that while they were purely made for export before, Filipinos can buy them right here —Avatar, Firma of Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre, Ana Rocha, Arnel Papa, Budji Layug, Tess Pasola... and Eman Pineda who sells nice designs at affordable prices at Adora. By gosh, the talents of Glecy Tantoco just filtered up to the third generation,” he gushes.

“Every day, I discover new talent and new enthusiasm in the Filipino soul. What is sad is that we have to wait to see someone succeed abroad to give that person a name, and then we go all-out to honor that person. And so I thought we should start to discover such artists here, and make them famous with the whole country supporting them,” he  explains.

”We have been free to do what we wanted,” says Don Jaime, recalling his trips to other Asian countries. “Let’s build on what we have, we can all be catalysts.” In China, he saw incredible beauty and absolutely ethnic, primitive art in the countryside. Then he saw people being taught how to appreciate music, from Mao to Mozart.

”And what else can we have? Obviously photography,” says Don Jaime whose passion for the camera is well known. This time, he is gathering  for an exhibit, not super professionals, but ordinary people who enjoy photography for the sake of photography. No, he is not featuring his own work.

”Sharing is one of my greatest passions. It’s part of me. When I do something and I see someone that does it well or even better, I’d like to work with him and let his talent bloom.”

Looking back, he muses: “I have had a great deal of fulfillment contributing to the development of my family. I was happy and proud to do what I was doing. I want to be a person who can grow old knowing I have been able to do something entirely my own... At the age of 60, I was able to turn over to two sons the business (Jaime Augusto Zobel is now chairman and CEO, while Fernando Zobel is president of the Ayala group)... It is also nice to marry young because you are able to go full circle. Now I am worrying about my grandchildren and their applications to different schools. Now I can start all over again.”

At this moment, what he worries about is how people will take to “Bravo Filipino,”  his latest pet project. “You will receive comments like ‘Bakit ngayon lang?’ or ‘Bakit hindi ako kasali?’ There will be people who are mad.”

“If it is a success, please tell me... If it is a failure, please tell me quietly,” he says, amid laughter.

But then he begs: “Please come to the concert. I will sit on all the chairs until you are there.”

Now you know why you love this man.