by Rose Cruz Churma
This publication is a “medley of factual romances, happy or tragical, most of which made the news,” as described on its front cover.
Ten stories are included, all very interesting, sometimes unbelievable, but all true.
As they say, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
The author had a long journalistic career and, in that capacity, had come across interesting bits of news whose backstories are worth documenting as timeless love stories.
In the first story, the author’s colleague—well-known columnist Teodoro Valencia, figured prominently as an improbable cupid to a Japanese girl and a poor Filipino boxer from the barrios. He was part of the Philippine boxing delegation to Japan.
Doroy Valencia had to intervene because, during those days, soon after WWII (in the late 1950s), no visitor visas for the Philippines were granted in Japan; only business visas were allowed.
It is through his intercession that the boy meets the girl and eventually marries her—a fairy tale ending to an otherwise impossible pairing.
Another story that would forever haunt me is that of a Filipina ballerina and a Yugoslavian refugee.
Tita Layag won a scholarship to Madrid after she graduated from the University of the Philippines.
In Madrid, she enrolled at the Universidad Central, where she worked for her doctorate in philosophy and renewed her ballet studies under prominent ballet teachers in Spain.
There, she met Ante Radaic, a Yugoslavian refugee who also had a scholarship in Spain. Boy meets girl and both fall in love—and despite the initial protests from her family, boy moves to the Philippines to be with her.
For those who consider themselves “Rizalists”—those who join Knights of Rizal groups and read all of Rizal’s works or those written about him, you’ve probably encountered the name Ante Radaic—the protagonist of this love story.
He wrote an unpublished essay on Rizal titled “Rizal from Within: An Introduction to the Study of Rizal’s Inferiority Complex.” It is an intriguing psycho-analysis of Rizal, blaming Rizal’s alleged insecurities for his short stature.
The story of Stella Marquez and Jorge Araneta was also included in this story—she was of the Miss International fame, and he was the scion of the Araneta family.
It is sweet, romantic, and has a happy ending—both blessed with good looks, loving family ties, and financial resources.
But the one story that touched me was that of the former Ambassador Emil Behasa.
He was on the third cohort of the “State Department Boys” sent to Washington D.C. soon after independence to be trained as a diplomat to serve the newly formed Republic of the Philippines.
In the late 1950s, he served as the Consul General in Honolulu and stayed in the islands for five years. It was reported that he brought his entire family to this post in the Pacific (unlike in his other posts).
But while serving in Israel, his wife died, after which the widower was sent to serve as the chief diplomat in Germany.
While in Bonn, he would hire a German translator-interpreter, Mrs. Roy Spangler (nee von Kleist), whose former husband was an American agent of the CIA.
Monique von Kleist, as she was called, was the eldest daughter of a German baron, which made her a baroness. This story is aptly titled “The Ambassador and the Baroness.”
In the process of telling this “love relationship,” the dirty linen, so to speak, of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs was laid out for all to observe, dissect, and read in the newspapers and discussed in the halls of Congress.
Theirs is a heartfelt “love relationship” that one wished has ended well, and maybe it did—after all the public scrutiny had died down—as well as the interference of public officials (and their domineering wives).
The ten stories are preceded by a preface penned by the author sharing his views on “Love in the Philippines” and ended with a postscript by the British author Caroline Kennedy titled “Filipinos Are Clumsy Lovers?”
She would eventually marry Filipino artist BenCab in 1969.
This medley of stories is easy to read, especially with the style of writing that is uniquely Nick Joaquin’s.
He is a novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, and biographer whose works—written in English—depict the diversity of the Filipino people.
He started as a proofreader for the Philippines Free Press and went up the ranks to contributing editor and essayist using the name “Quijano de Manila.”
ROSE CRUZ CHURMA established Kalamansi Books & Things three decades ago. It has evolved from a mail-order bookstore into an online advocacy with the intent of helping global Pinoys discover their heritage by promoting books of value from the Philippines and those written by Filipinos in the Diaspora. We can be reached at kalamansibooks@gmail.com.
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