Tita Nena’s 95th birthday

TITA Nena Lacson-Garcia… a one of a kind lady! I think I have never met anyone from my parents’ peers to this generation who is anything like her.

Tita Nena is fun and flamboyant. She is daring and devoted. She is loving and loved much. She is a Grand Dame but a cut above the rest.

From the pre-war parties in the University Club (UC), Masinadyahon, KAHIRUP to the glory days of the ballroom scene in the late 1990s, if there was anyone who was the toast of the party and who made the event a fun event, it was Tita Nena who would attend these early on celebrations with Tito Ed (Dr. Eduardo Garcia Sr.).

As a couple, they were attractive to behold and they made an occasion eventful. Tita Nena is, was and will always be a fashionista. In a Valera or a Valentino, her porcelain skin and graceful moves always made her a standout. Flamboyant but always classy.

For mere mortals like us who did not spend weekends on horseback or play a musical instrument with her family, Tita Nena has bested us. But her devotion to Tito Ed, her children Bob, Philip and Edward, is beyond compare.

Tita Nena is loving. She is adored by her nephews and nieces because of the love she has showered them. I may not be a member of her immediate family or her extended one but from the time I was a child, (my parents chose her as my godmother for my confirmation), I could always feel the warmth of her genuine affection and concern.

There is nothing plastic about Tita Nena. She may be quick to retort but only because she knows that it has to be said.

This love for Tita Nena is most felt by the people in her employ. The best test of love is when one is willing to give a part of yourself to the person you love. When Tita Nena was stricken quite ill a few years ago, Jose, their driver, volunteered to donate his blood. And Jose was even willing to give more, only there are parameters of how much one can give for the day.

On Tita Nena’s 95th birthday, this love she has showered on so many was evident. Relatives from the Garcia, de Leon and Jayme clans were visible. Nephews and nieces from her Lacson side came all the way from Manila and elsewhere to greet her. Friends of her sons also wanted to be part of her special day.

Love can never be stifled. When you give, so also do you receive even more so abundantly? Tita Nena’s 95th proved that.