The Iron Butterfly

I have always known Imelda Marcos as the “Iron Butterfly”, the wife of the former 20-year president Ferdinand Marcos, the woman who owns a total of shoes more than all my clothes and my shoes combined. I'm not much into History but I know the gist of the story. And from what I heard and what I believe until now, her husband was a smart and great president. He somehow made Philippines better, although he abused his power and forgot why he ran for president in the first place: to serve the country. I believe Imelda Marcos has a huge part in his decisions, especially the declaration of Martial Law. For me, she was the reason for Ferdinand's downfall. And after watching the documentary, I started to get more irritated to her.

Her explanations for different things were illogical, at least for me. First, her reason for her all her shoes and her lavish style of clothing were, according to her, for the Filipinos to have a model and to help them see how to dress well. Yes, I understand her good intentions, but it doesn't make sense. It's like she's boasting about their riches. She said that when she goes to small towns, she has an obligation to dress well to let people see the right way in getting dressed. But really, can those Filipinos afford the clothes she wear? Why can't she just dress in simplicity and show that you don't need expensive clothes in order to look nice?

I also didn't like the way she was so confident about her beauty. Although I like what she said that “It is not expensive to be beautiful. It takes only a little effort to be presentable and beautiful. But it takes some effort.” These words though don't match to her actions and her other words. She is a smart woman but her words contradict. She said the quote above but it doesn't show with her luxurious lifestyle. It's good to be confident about one's self but too much confidence is not good anymore. And her self-confidence is just so apparent. She's so confident about herself that she thinks she'll be in the dictionary someday. I mean, okay she's a famous woman and a lot of people know her, not just from the Philippines but from other countries as well. But why did she have to boast about her beauty and herr legacy? A little humility wouldn't hurt. And I didn't really see that in her.

Lastly, I don't get what she meant when she said that they wanted to preserve democracy when her husband declared Martial Law. Where was the democracy in that? She is good in words and someone might actually believe her explanations because she does speak well. But a lot of what she said didn't really make any sense. It's sad that an intelligent woman like her wasted her beauty and power because of her seemingly narcissistic character.

Chrystine L. Cobarrubias

2013 - 59986