A granddaughter’s tribute to Virginia O. de Guia

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

(Ann de Guia Ericksson, granddaughter of former Baguio mayor and civic leader Virginia O. de Guia, who just passed away, writes this week’s piece)

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I found it difficult to try and formulate what to say about my dear Lola. Not for lack of anything to say, but rather for the difficulty in having to select what to include. The task of commemorating someone’s life in just a few minutes is difficult enough as it is- and my Lola… what a life she led!

I will not enumerate all of my Lola’s civic, social and political (?) accomplishments as there are all around us and showcased in all these pictures and placards- instead I thought I would share with you my understanding of her as a granddaughter to her grandmother.

Lola was 74 years old when I was born; as a result, during the years when she was still very active, I was too much of a child to remember anything.  And by the time I became adult, ready to consciously form relationships, Lola was old (and I say “old” because Lola didn’t really become “old” in the true sense of the word until about 8 years ago) and frail.

But that is not to say that I didn’t have strong bond with my Lola, or that I struggled to find anything relatable about her. I have many strong impressions of her from my childhood, that I still consider true.

Lola was not an ordinary lola. She did not knit, own a lot of cats, or sit at home and go to bed early. Lola was a lakwachera and layas. Between her Soroptimist group, were sororities, her girl scouts, her YWCA groups and her various social engagements and trips abroad, I rarely ever found Lola at a loss for company or at a loss for words. Her house was always a whirl of people, and she always seemed to know what to say in every situation.

She was a socialite, and remained one well into her late years. Rarely did I walk down Session Road with her without someone coming up and greeting her. She was not only well liked, but respected.

Lola cared a lot. About everyone. If you ever came around Lola’s house, you have probably been asked the question emblematic of Lola’s hospitality: “Kumain ka na?” If you hadn’t, she would immediately offer you some food, and if you had she would ask when and if you wouldn’t like to eat again. Sometimes it wasn’t even a question, but a matter of fact statement, that “oh, you’re here, you should eat!”

As a child growing up in Lola’s house, constantly peopled, I often heard of Lola helping someone with some problem they may have had, and many came seeking her help on all sorts of matters. The details of these affairs slipped through my child’s naïve head, but I understood that Lola loved to help people, and tried to as best as she could. Whether it was providing more profound help, or simply a matter of the stomach, Lola wanted to see to it that your needs were met.

Lola cared about Baguio. She was born here, grew up here, and dedicated her life to the growth and beauty of this city. I cannot imagine a life more intrinsically entwined to something as Lola’s was to the City of Baguio. She watched it grow and change, and Lola did all she could to ensure that those changes were for the better.

With all her social engagements and civic duties, I could see that Lola was/is a goddess- just not a domestic one. Lola never cooked or baked. She visited us in Sweden once, and, wanting to help out with the preparation of the food, she suggested that she would pick some salad from the garden. She came back clutching a whole salad head, roots and all, soil crumbling all over our kitchen floor, but with a grin stretching from ear to ear. I hadn’t the heart to tell her she had done it wrong. But I learned that Lola’s shortcomings when it came to house tasks hardly mattered, for she succeeded in creating a warm home. She was a loving wife and mother to 4 children, and later a loving Lola to her grand and great-grandchildren.

Lola was a fierce, strong woman. The significance of all she had accomplished in becoming mayor and councilor at a time when the world was run solely by men, is something I could really appreciate when I became a little older.

But even if I was unable to fully understand the context in which Lola had made here name, an intimation of it seeped into my child’s brain through the pictures I saw of her ( a sole woman, surrounded by men), through the things I heard of about her, ( the first and only female mayor, how she had to work 3 time as as hard to prove her worth) and through the things she had done (her campaigning for women’s suffrage).

I cannot express to you how incredibly important it is for a little girl to have someone such as Lola to look up to, what it meant  for me as a little girl to  hear of these things accomplished by my Lola a woman.

Lola’s life, in my eyes, is a lesson in being a woman, in every sense of the word. She showed me that a woman could be powerful, influential, friendly and smart, fiercely independent and still loving and warm. Lola pulled all of this off with a grace and style very few possess today – her poised and incredible sense of style is evident in all these pictures (I think its safe to say, that even now Lola, you look better than most of us in this room). She showed me that an ambitious woman can still be a loving mother, that a forthright and intelligent woman is a beautiful woman, that a kind and helpful woman is a person to be respected. You literally had it all Lola. For all of this, for all of your love, your direction, grace and intelligence- sharing all of this with me - Lola , I thank you.