Imelda Is Back

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…or has she ever left us?

Nowadays, she may not be taken seriously as a political threat, having reduced herself into a laughing stock for all things pathetically ostentatious and of delusional grandeur. The younger generation may have a very limited knowledge about her, granting they’ve been studiously bent over their erroneous history textbooks. But every once in a while she manages to pop up on tv news to tell all what being “imeldific” means.

Early November of last year, we saw the launch of the Imelda Marcos Fashion Collection. The brand is to include jewellery designed by daughter Imee, clothes, and of course, shoes. Reportedly sold at prices within reach.

And then comes Here Lies Love, a music theatre piece by multimedia artist David Byrne, opening February 3 at the Carnegie Hall in New York. It is inspired by and tells the story of Imelda from her beginnings as a child who grew up in poverty, and her emergence to power with Ferdinand, up to her displacement from Malacañang. A story all too familiar to us who grew up witnessing the emergence of People Power. In the late 80’s up to the early 90’s, I do recall some works inspired by her, but these are either comical skits on her personality and circumstances, or more thought provoking but with a limited audience reach. There was a B-movie made in Sri Lanka.

But this one should be interesting. Research on the material was done by Byrne as early as 2005. He actually did his homework. Or took it to the Philippines for a firsthand experience.

“I suppose besides gathering some more research and archival material (hours spent watching archival materials and looking through old books at the Cultural Center are missing from this journal.) I hope also to catch and absorb some whiff of the Philippine ethos, sensibility and awareness — by osmosis — and by conversation, too. I believe that politics is an expression of the landscape — the streets, eroticism and hum-drum lives — as much it is of backrooms, ideologies and legislature. Geography, religion, sex, weather, music, food — these all contribute to a national policy and how it functions.”

from his Journal entry, dated December, 2005

He even got to collaborate with Fatboy Slim on the music. While musical theatre often gets us thinking of singing with an orchestral accompaniment, this one has only drums, keyboard and guitars. How cool is that?

Now… does she have your attention?

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