A peek into the worlds of Loida & Karen

When celebrity broadcast journalist Karen Davila hosted a dinner recently for Fil-Am tycoon Loida Nicolas-Lewis, the main dish was… the Philippines, and how to help it further.

Karen’s corner unit at One Roxas Triangle in Makati is in itself a cocoon of Philippine art pieces — from H.R. Ocampo to Kenneth Cobonpue. But to me, the star of Karen and husband D.J. Sta. Ana’s art collection is a painting by the late Fernando Zobel (uncle of Don Jaime Zobel), which they bought at an auction.

Also present at the dinner were Olivier Ochanine, the French-American conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) and his Filipino wife, Twinkle; Fil-Am sports journalist Ryan Songalia and Rustan’s Sevrine Miailhe (whose husband Edouard’s family has lived and done business in Binondo for almost a century now).

Karen served lechon de leche and proceeded to chop it up with a plate, to the delight of Olivier, who took over from her. Prawns thermidor and paella complemented the crisp suckling pig. For dessert, we had Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate truffles, R & M chocolate-dipped dried mangoes and Jill cookies, all from Cebu. Karen also served Food for the Gods from Valerie’s Kitchen. Olivier especially loved the Food for the Gods while I adored the chocolate truffles, which are made from 100 percent local tablea chocolates.

Olivier is trying to raise funds for a concert featuring the PPO at the Carnegie Hall in New York, and Karen and Loida gave him sound advice on how to get the project off the ground.

(From left) DJ Sta. Ana, Carissa Villacorta, Ryan Songalia, Twinkle and Olivier Ochanine, Karen Davila, Loida Nicolas-Lewis and the author.

Also present at the dinner was Carissa Villacorta of Ogilvy Manila, who was there to extend the invitation of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce to visit and uncover the best of Cebu through the Creative Industries Summit slated this Friday, June 14th, at SM City Cinema One. Karen had just been to Cebu with Carissa and was raving about the enterprise, the creativity and the drive to succeed of the Cebuanos.

We all agreed that perhaps a lack of natural and mineral resources has motivated Cebuanos to tap their other resources, particularly their human resources. I told Karen and Loida that what was once said of The Netherlands — “God created the world but the Dutch created The Netherlands” — could be said of Cebu. God created the world but the Cebuanos created Cebu.

***

Loida, a good friend and supporter of Hillary Clinton (a strong contender in the next US presidential elections), is one of the producers of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, a grand opera performance on Oct. 5, at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College at 695 Park Avenue, New York City. (For more info, please e-mail [email protected].)

(Noli Me Tangere opera was composed by Philippine National Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon with a libretto by Philippine National Artist for Visual Arts Guillermo Tolentino. Since its debut in 1957, it is the most staged Philippine opera.)

Someone asked Loida if the thought of remarrying ever crossed her mind. Though she admits there were men who did express interest in pursuing her after she was widowed, she never considered remarriage.

Didn’t she ever get lonely? “No, I was never lonely,” said Loida.

She had, and has, no time to be lonely.

After the death of her husband Reginald Lewis, the first African-American to be accepted at Harvard without having to take an exam, and the first African-American to have a building named in his honor at Harvard, Loida took over the reins of his firm TLC Beatrice.  Loida, the first Filipina to pass the New York Bar without attending law school in the US, quickly cut costs and sold underperforming assets, including the corporate jet and limousines. By 2000, after being at the helm of TLC Beatrice for six years, Loida not only steered the company past the $2-billion sales mark, she also reaped a stunning 35 percent return for its shareholders.

Though still chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice, LLC, Loida spends more time with her advocacies nowadays, and that includes uplifting the lives of her kababayans, including artists and those she feels have been denied justice. She is a stalwart of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.

Loida related how and why her late husband, who was once on the list of Forbes’ wealthiest men, donated $3 million to Harvard. She said that during one particularly bad day during Reginald’s lean and hungry days, someone suggested to him that he go to the student assistance office of Harvard for some help. The counselor at the office immediately wrote him a check, no questions asked. So when Harvard later solicited his help, Reginald didn’t think twice about writing it a check for $3 million, the biggest single donation to Harvard at the time. So what goes around, comes around. Truly.

***

Karen, our gracious host, was the picture of a loving mom who just happens to be a successful broadcast journalist. She shared how she took an active hand in raising her son David Joshua when she found out he had a form of autism. She researched on the best diet (gluten- and dairy-free) for those with autism and put David on it. Upon learning of the benefits of fat stem cell therapy from her friends Doctors Z and Aivee Teo, including for those with autism, Karen had fat stem cells harvested from her own body and  injected into David. The week after the injection, David was talking better and learning faster. Today, David is a healthy, well-behaved and smart kid.

Empowered women are those who accept life’s graces and challenges, but don’t hesitate to grip the steering wheel of their lives to get them to where they choose to go.

Look at Loida. Look at Karen. (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)