Each piece falls into place

MANILA, Philippines - Getting to the Puzzle Mansion in Tagaytay is a brainteaser in itself – we had fun spotting and following the many signs along the way, twisted through some passages, and took a chance driving down a couple of steep dirt roads until we reached the museum-cum-bed and breakfast where we were welcomed by the puzzlemaster herself, Gina Lacuna.

“I am only a high school graduate, but I have always been very interested in the masters,” Gina says as she tours us through her Guinness World Record-holding collection of puzzles, pointing out her favorite Renoir, Picasso, Monet, Klimt, Vermeer and Da Vinci.

Her interest – nay, obsession – with puzzles began 28 years ago when she was in Hong Kong for her garment business. “My favorite place there is Causeway Bay, where the SOGO Department Store is located,” she shares. There, she saw a floor full of various toys.

“What struck me most was the Mickey Mouse puzzle because it reminded me of my son, who was two years old then.”

Upon bringing that Mickey Mouse puzzle home, she recalls, “When I opened the puzzle, I was stunned, because it had 5,000 pieces! Nobody starts with 5,000 pieces.”

But Gina was motivated to complete the challenge. “While I was doing it, I felt happy and I wanted to finish it because I wanted to have the puzzle on the wall of my son’s room.” After 70 hours, she had the first puzzle of what would become a lifetime of putting pieces together.

Thousands of puzzles later, her first ever Disney puzzle remains Gina’s favorite.

From then on, she would buy puzzles in each country that she would travel to. “When I traveled, I would see the famous paintings,” she says. Recreating them as puzzles let her take the Masters back home.

She also collected puzzles with landmarks that she had visited, including the Angkor Wat, Petra in Jordan, and the Eiffel Tower. She has pop icons like Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Coca-Cola, and her beloved Disney characters.

“When I decided to go for the Guinness, we did some research. The one who held the record was from Brazil. She had 238 puzzles at that time,” says Gina. That was 2010. She realized even then that she already had more puzzles than the current record holder.

But Gina says she decided not to contest the record holder right away. “I wanted to make the number so far away from her record, so I chose to do any puzzle I could see.”

This really built the collection, which now boasts puzzles of all shapes and sizes made of cardboard, wood, plastic and crystal; some are 3D in the shape of the planets and landmarks, bears and vases; some are holographic, some can even light up.

“In August 2012 she was saying she had 500 puzzles,” says Gina of her Brazilian rival, whose progress she was monitoring on Facebook.

On Nov. 29, 2012, the Guinness World Records representative confirmed that Gina had beaten the existing record – with a total of 1,028 completed puzzles.

Now Gina has more than 1,500 puzzles, a number that increases by the day. “I want to beat my own record,” she says. Gina plans to have the record authenticated by Guinness again when she reaches 2,000 puzzles, a feat that she is sure to reach this year.

“I want to leave a legacy to my family and honor to my country,” she says on why she wants to make sure that her record will not be broken in the near future. “We will be holding the record for a long time.”

Moving on from her first 5,000-piece puzzle, Gina has also completed the world’s largest puzzle to date – a 214x76-inch jigsaw of Keith Haring’s Double Retrospect. Gina put together all 32,256 pieces on her own.

Ever since the Guinness World Record drummed up publicity for Gina’s collection, there has been a clamor to see these painstaking testaments to patience in person. Gina thus decided to open the Puzzle Mansion in her family’s Tagaytay rest house. Later on, she also opened a small bed and breakfast on the property.

On weekdays, she reports about 100 guests enter the museum, while Saturdays bring over 600 and on Sundays and holidays, they can easily expect more than 1,000 visitors from all over the world.

“They say it’s like they’ve been to many museums in one,” says Gina of the feedback she has been getting from her guests. “The children are motivated to do puzzles. The elderly are inspired,” she says, noting that at 62 it is important to keep her brain constantly active. Many guests buy boxes of puzzles to take home from the extensive selection on sale at the museum shop.

“It’s relaxing for me. There are studies that say puzzles will prevent you from getting Alzheimer’s and of course, they help with boredom,” she says on the benefits of doing puzzles. “It is a good exercise for the brain and it will teach you to be patient and instill the virtue of perseverance,” she adds.

“Every time I finish a puzzle, I feel so triumphant. It really boosts your confidence,” she adds on what keeps her motivated 1,500-plus puzzles later.

Gina says, “It makes me happy. At 62, I feel I am still young and what gives me more satisfaction now is the people, when they come to the museum.”

She admits that puzzles have really become an addiction for her – she has always had enough unfinished puzzles in stock that would last her more than a year. “Even if I am not finished with the ones I have, I keep on buying more puzzles. I will probably die doing puzzles,” she laughs.

When asked for her best advice on completing puzzles, the puzzlemaster has three top tips. Being motivated, she says, is the most important. “Second, don’t pressure yourself,” she says. “If you cannot find the right piece, stop for a break – take coffee, watch TV – and then later on come back to it.”

Finally, she reminds us that each person must go at his or her own pace. “It does not matter how long it takes for you to finish the puzzle. You are not in a contest. Just relax and enjoy.”

These pieces of advice seem not only to apply to puzzle solving, but to putting together the pieces of life as well.

“I have become successful, I have traveled the world, I have a beautiful family. I am content; what more can I ask for?” Gina asks. And, with a mischievous glint in her eye, she knows that there is only one answer: “More puzzles.”