Letizia Roxas Constantino’s family marks her 105th birth anniversary with 'Letizia: A Life in Letters' exhibit
“In my diary book of quotes, I wrote on the Nov. 17 page: 'The great use of a life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.'” Letizia Roxas Constantino—passionate nationalist, inspiring teacher, relentless chronicler, and loving wife, mother, and grandmother—wrote those words on a sheet of Stradmore stationery not knowing that she was attesting to her own life.
That letter is just one of many on display for Letizia: A Life in Letters, an immersive exhibit of Letizia’s remarkable life, as told through her letters, photos, diary entries, recipes, mementoes, to-do lists, and audio recordings of her piano playing. Taking it all in, one thought persists: Surely these were accomplished by multiple people. No one person can do all that in just one lifetime.
Except Letizia did do all that, and more.
To commemorate the 105th anniversary of her birth, and to urge a nation to remember its own history, Letizia’s family opened Letizia: A Life in Letters on April 9 at Linangan Gallery in the Constantino Foundation compound. It will run until May 30, 2025.
True loves
Letizia grew up with two enduring passions: fulfilling her duty to her country and playing the piano. When she entered the University of the Philippines as a student and met Renato Constantino, he edged out country and piano for the top spot in Letizia’s mind and heart. (Her
dedication to her original loves didn’t waver, however.)
“She was this beautiful, elegant young woman who was a very good dancer and played classical piano. Along came this smart, arrogant writer whose brain fascinated her,” says Red Constantino, managing director of the Constantino Foundation, and one of Letizia and Renato’s
grandchildren.
Their courtship involved Renato visiting Letizia in her family home carrying 10 books, which he would leave with her, expecting her to read them. On his next visit, they would discuss the books. This, she found extremely attractive. “In her diary, she wrote, ‘Such a handsome, upright man of such high integrity. But, wow, that intelligence,’” Red shares.
Renato would go on to become a highly respected historian and nationalist, fiercely supported by Letizia. Together, they would write numerous historical and nationalistic books, the most popular of which is The Philippines: A Past Revisited. The written word was the Constantinos’ choice of weapon against enemies of Philippine democracy and historical revisionists.
Immortal words
Letizia’s enduring love story is just one of the many facets of her life on display in Letizia: A Life in Letters.
Demonstrating her almost obsessive attention to detail, one exhibit panel projects Letizia’s specific instructions for her funeral rites, where she even specifies the song to play as her coffin is lowered to the ground. She wrote this in 1988; 28 years before her death.
A photo—one of many displayed across one wall—shows Letizia in horseback-riding gear. As a young woman afflicted with asthma, she would ride her horse through the hilly streets of Little Baguio in San Juan to breathe in as much of the cool, fresh air as she could.
A looped audio recording of Letizia playing the piano binds all the letters, mementoes, and photos together.
Providing a fitting ending to the exhibit is Letizia’s actual wooden desk. Strewn in organized chaos across the tabletop are her letters, postcards, and receipts kept on file. Journalist and TV host Kara David, one of the Constantino grandkids, laughs as she opens one of the envelopes on the desk addressed to her by Letizia and takes out demonetized bills amounting to P600. The money comes with a succinct note that ends with, “Love Dada Ming,” an endearment Letizia’s grandkids coined for their lola.
Letizia, a proponent of tough love, was prolific with the written word; but she also knew how to get straight to the point.
How to curate a life
The exhibit is just a tiny fraction of letters, documents, and photos that remain in boxes stored throughout the Constantino compound. Combing through everything and deciding which ones to include in the exhibit was a major process—Letizia kept lists for everything, including raffle prizes won by members of a club she once was a member of.
Broadcaster Karmina Constantino, Red’s sister, is the exhibit’s curator. Famed set designer Ohm David had roughly two months to bring the family’s vision to life.
“The aim of the exhibit is to make history relevant,” Karmina tells PhilSTAR L!fe. “It is steeped in the legacy our grandparents left us. They made sure that there is a constant and conscious effort to revisit the past and learn from it so that we will know what we should be doing in the present.”
This dedication to country, apparent to anyone viewing the exhibit, is intertwined with the Constantino couple’s devotion to their family. To them, loving their children and grandchildren meant raising them to be steadfast Filipinos working to create a better country in their own unique ways.
And Letizia knew how to make this happen: by writing letters.
“She gave each of us seven letters, where she wrote about financial freedom, the non-negotiables, how to handle arguments, how to express yourselves, and so on,” says Karmina. “And she gave those to us before we got married, and told us to read the letters with our future
partners.”
To this day, Karmina and her husband manage their finances using the strategies laid out in Letizia’s letters.
It is impossible to contain Letizia’s full life in one exhibit. What Letizia: A Life in Letters does instead is give visitors a glimpse of how one extraordinary individual can reach across time and inspire change just by living with love and writing letters.
***
Letizia: A Life in Letters runs from April 9 to May 30 at Linangan Gallery of the Constantino Foundation, 38 Panay Ave., Quezon City. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is free. Visit www.constantinofoundation.org for more details.
