With the Aquinos, it's always a 'doll' moment

Modern history is being recorded not just in books, blogs and Facebook sites. It is being recorded through toys, too from Barbie (whose look has transformed to reflect the past five decades) to GI Joes, from Superman dolls to Cory Dolls. Dolls don’t just evoke a little girl’s maternal instinct or a little boy’s desire to hero-worship they arouse the grown-ups’ nationalistic fervor, too, and become a symbol of their desire to have a keepsake of the times.

The need to have a memento an autograph or a photograph of JFK, a chunk of the Berlin Wall, a piece of barbed wire from the ‘80s barricades of Mendiola, a Cory Doll is part of the badge we like to wear as living witnesses of history. Nowadays, a historical figure’s prominence can be gauged not just by biographies of him, but by the souvenirs that bear his likeness. At the JFK Library and Museum in Boston, one of the busiest areas is the gift shop that sells keepsakes of the late American president and his equally iconic wife Jacqueline.

It is 2010, 24 years after EDSA and a year after the death of Cory Aquino. How do you explain the near mania for Cory watches, dolls, pins and mugs? Some of the 18-inch Cory Dolls that were given to diplomats and visiting dignitaries in the ‘80s are now finding their way to eBay, and retailing for a minimum of $1,000 each.

And how do you explain the demand for Noynoy dolls, watches and T-shirts even if the country’s 15th President has barely just begun his term? Methinks it’s because the people know they’re witnessing anew history in the making in the second Aquino administration.

Wearyourheart, a private group that sells authorized mementoes of Ninoy and Cory Aquino, says the Aquino dolls and watches are a “tribute” to the couple, “both of whom showed moral decency not only in their public lives, but also in their private lives.” Ninoy, whose 27th death anniversary is being marked this Saturday, said the Filipino is worth dying for and walked his talk. His widow Cory carried on his fight for the restoration of democracy, and now their only son is perpetuating their legacy.

Part of the proceeds from the sale of the mementoes sold by wearyourheart goes to the Ninoy and Cory Foundation.

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 Unprecedented, too, is the demand for dolls bearing the likeness of the four Aquino sisters Ballsy, Pinky, Viel and Kris. Kris, the celebrity sister, is no new face in the public eye. But unlike Kris, Ballsy, Pinky and Viel could walk around the mall without being recognized or besieged by autograph-seekers before President Cory Aquino’s death on Aug. 1 last year. And after they campaigned all over the country for their only brother in the last elections, the sisters couldn’t put back on their veil of privacy again.

“I really want to be invisible,” Viel told us during the unveiling of the Cory porcelain doll recently, “but after the campaign, we just had to keep our promises to the people and do the best we can to help.”

Close to Viel’s heart is the plight of indigenous communities. Viel is with the Assisi Foundation, whose main advocacy is uplifting the condition of indigenous people. So when concerns about them are brought to her, she makes sure these concerns are brought to the attention of the Presidential Management Staff.

But the concerns brought to her attention are nothing compared to those transmitted to her eldest sister Ballsy. “Bayong-bayong” is how Viel describes the quantity of letters that fall on Ballsy’s lap.

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Viel agrees to represent her older sisters Ballsy and Pinky when they have previous commitments or are indisposed. Last week, she received the first of the limited edition porcelain figurine of her late mother designed by Sam Butcher of the famous American brand Precious Moments. It shows a little girl looking at a shoe presumably vacated by the late President, and she is thinking: “Who’s gonna fill your shoes?”

The figurines will be limited to their 2010 run, after which “the mold will be destroyed and production will cease,” according to Sam Butcher. The figurine sells for P1,890.

“This particular figurine is, first of all, made from very fine porcelain bisque, which can only be found in certain countries. Second, the processes that the figurine goes through are all done by hand,” stresses Butcher, who first met Mrs. Aquino in 1986 when he made a hefty donation to her Bigay Puso Foundation. He was acknowledged as the biggest individual donor to the Foundation. Butcher then presented to President Cory the iconic Cory Doll, a special limited edition composed of only 100 pieces. The Cory Doll was never commercially available, making it a collectible (hence its popularity on eBay today). Butcher commissioned orphans at the Asilo de Molo in Iloilo City to embroider the yellow dress worn by the Cory Doll.

In 1989, he included a Cory Doll in his Children of the World Collection. This year, Precious Moments reintroduced the Cory Doll from the 1989 collection. The nine-inch doll sells at P850 each.

“The icon of democracy in action may have passed on, but her legacy lives forever,” says Butcher.

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Supporters of the Aquinos may look at these dolls and mementoes as a barometer of the significance, even the popularity, of the Aquino name and Noynoy’s presidency. When President Noynoy wants to know how highly the people still regard him, he may want to check on the demand for the Noynoy dolls and watches. When people want to have a part of him still, an autograph or a photograph, a watch or a doll, then he can be sure they still treasure him. When the people suddenly lose interest, he should take notice.

After all, these “doll” moments are now perking up his presidency.

(For more information on Precious Moments, call (02) 856-6615 or visit www.wearyourheart.net.)

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