This is 100: The life & love of Angelita Cruz
She dances to exercise twice a week, answers crossword puzzles daily, can’t live without her smart phone and iPad, and remains the pillar of the construction firm that her pioneering engineer husband FF Cruz began in 1949.
She is 100 years old.
But Angelita Almeda Cruz defies her age. With her neatly combed chignon framed by white pearls matching a simple white lace dress, Nanay —as she is fondly called—is a picture of dignity and serene elegance, wearing no makeup except for light lipstick.
On this afternoon Angelita, together with her eldest celebrity daughter, Josie Cruz-Natori, shares secrets and stories at the Cruz residence.
“I have never used makeup all my life, except for Johnson’s Baby Powder,” she smiles.
Her beauty and longevity secrets? “No special diet. I always eat eggs, rice, tinapa, vegetables, whatever is on the table. I eat to live.” Once in while, she enjoys crabs and aligue.
She remains the pillar of the construction company built by her late husband FF Cruz.
A contrast to her late husband, Felipe Francisco “FF” Cruz—fondly called Tatay—a gourmet who believed in living to eat (laughs Josie), and who exercised by golfing early in the morning and worked from dawn to evening every day. Born in 1919 in Angat, Bulacan, Tatay passed on at age 93 in 2013, leaving behind a legacy of a life’s work and an ethic marked by brilliance, ingenuity, perseverance, humility and compassion.
FF and Angelita were perfect soulmates. Both always in trademark white, they had purity of spirit. FF was a visionary, a maverick whose dream was to “rise above the common.” Angelita was the pragmatic one, making sure the numbers were right. Her work went beyond financial management. She was adept at negotiating with banks. She nurtured the growth of the company that became one of the country’s top builders.
The Cruz house is warmly bathed in art, heritage and stories told in photographs on the walls. The love story of FF and Angelita could make a romantic movie.
They came from contrasting family backgrounds. FF Cruz would catch fish for the family breakfast and walk to school barefoot or in tattered slippers. His parents, Bonifacio Cruz and Estefania Francisco, worked hard to provide for the education of their 10 children. FF was class valedictorian. He was so brilliant, a scholar who always scored high marks.
Angelita was a colegiala taking piano and Spanish lessons on the side. Her parents, Dr. Dominador Almeda and pharmacist Josefa Mendoza, owned three pharmacies and sent their eight children to private schools.
At the University of the Philippines in Manila, FF Cruz met fellow engineering student David Consunji who came from an affluent family. FF and David had their eyes on two pretty Almeda sisters, Angelita and Fredesvinda, both pharmacy students who were playing volleyball.
“Matanda naman ako sa yo, kaya una na akong pipili,” FF told David. “Sa iyo yung mas mataas (Fredy), akin yung mas maliit (Angelita).”
Later, when FF proposed marriage to Angelita right after their graduation, Ate Fredy told Angelita: “Pumayag ka na, magaling yan.”
At that time, there was no holding hands and no dating between couples. “We just had an agreement to get married and promised to keep it secret for two years,” Angelita explained. So, with just Ate Fredy and another friend as witnesses, the two got married in simple rites at San Beda College in 1946. When the Archbishop of Naga learned about their secret marriage, he admonished the two to stay together as a husband and wife should.
Armed with their degrees (FF finished geodetic and civil engineering and Angelita topped the board exam for pharmacists), the two became teachers—FF taught surveying while Angelita taught chemistry to pre-med students at universities in Manila.
It was during the postwar years that FF laid the groundwork for his construction company. The excellence and integrity of FF’s work led to many national projects, and later for the US government, starting from the Southeast Pacific to North Pacific to Alaska, from the US Mainland to Vietnam. When FF made his first million, he treated his parents-in-law to a world tour.
While traveling for work, FF never failed to write letters to his wife and children. He pampered Angelita, who was his valued partner at work. His latest engineering technology gave him the cutting edge in the industry. He said that “FF” actually stands for “Filipino First,” attributing his success to Filipino engineering expertise.
“My father believed in helping connect the islands,” says son Philip, citing for instance that “in 2012, we built 11 bridges in six months.”
FF built our first overpass ever made, in Ortigas. He was so proud of the landmark flyover along EDSA-Ortigas in 1991, saying, “Kahit daanan ng tangke de giyera yan, hindi magigiba.” The Makati-Mandaluyong bridge in 1983, the Naga coal-fired thermal plant in 1986, the EDSA-Kamias-Timog interchange in 1992, and dams, lahar dikes, drainage systems nationwide—too many to mention—were among his works.
Of course, a major achievement of FF and Angelita were their six accomplished children:
Josie Cruz Natori, an economics graduate in Manhattanville, the first female VP of Merrill Lynch Co, is hailed as one of the most outstanding women entrepreneurs in the US. She is internationally renowned for her distinct fashion line, which is sold in New York, Paris — and in Manila, through Rustan’s.
Philip Cruz, an architecture graduate of Pratt Institute in New York who took his master’s in engineering at Columbia University, has established his own construction company.
Aida Cruz Chinloy, a cum laude graduate in economics at UP, and a master’s degree holder from Columbia University, was director at Merrill Lynch in Wall Street. She is the president of FF Cruz Construction Co.
Eric Cruz, who finished commerce at UST, was VP for operations before he passed away. A polio victim, Eric was in the forefront of projects protecting and advancing the rights of the disabled.
Angelita “Nene” Cruz Jr. took her accounting degree at the University of Washington, and studied at the Fashion Technology Institute of New York. She was a high-powered executive in Hong Kong.
Marilou Cruz-Martinez was a magna cum laude at UP where she finished medicine. She also got diplomas in pediatrics and neonatology at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, and a master’s in epidemiology at the University of Cincinnati. She and her husband, cardiologist Dr. Gary Martinez, took care of FF who had a quadruple bypass operation, “after which he felt brand new and continued to work every day,” according to Philip.
Perhaps unknown to many is that Nanay, who was an art and music lover, and a proficient pianist herself, instilled the love for music among the Cruz children.
Josie is an accomplished pianist; Philip plays the bongo drums; Aida the marimba; Eric the accordion; Angelita Jr. and Marilou the piano.
Could the children possibly provide the music when their Nanay celebrates her 100th birthday on Oct.1? Or perhaps their 11 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren can sing FF’s favorite song, You Are Always in My Heart?
When I ask Angelita what she will do with the P100,000 gift from the government for its citizens who turn 100, she replies: “Maybe feed prisoners with warm meals and cold drinks. Or help more seminarians through scholarships.”
This aim of helping the forgotten, the neglected and the underprivileged, and making sure the towns where they grew up in have good school buildings, hospitals and churches, is a mission shared by FF and Angelita. “We have to give back to the society that helped us realize our dreams.” Having grown up with nuns and priests, Angelita has a soft spot for those in the service of God. “I never had a barkada, I was never fond of attending socials, so they are mostly my friends.”
Eldest grandchild Carissa Cruz-Evangelista says, “Nanay is a strict, formidable force that keeps family together. She has deep faith, simplicity, practicality, frugal ways, a talent in music and beautiful taste in art.”
Carissa says Tatay loved to work and build, and create projects even beyond his lifetime. At 80, he was planning a project that would take 20 years to make. “Even in the hospital when he was sick, he continued to think about work, and worried about his people.”
FF Cruz and Angelita Almeda Cruz. Tatay and Nanay. A love story for our time.
Constructive words from Tatay and Nanay:
Ff Cruz:
- Never forget to look back to your roots, the place that begat you.
- There is dignity in working with one’s hands.
- Regardless of social stature, people are all equal, whether young or old, rich or poor. They deserve your respect.
- Always do the right thing. You can improve your lot, but don’t step on anybody.
- Kung hindi ka makakatulong, huwag kang mamemerwisyo.
- Do not haggle with the less fortunate who are making a living from honest labor. Whether a peanut vendor or a machinery salesman, kailangang kumita yan.
- You should reach out to your people, hanggang baba. Eat with the drivers and the help, in the same way you eat with kings and presidents.
Angelita Cruz:
- We should always practice humility. And forgiveness. Remember we are just ordinary people.
- Learn to have an attitude of acceptance, so that you don’t feel stress and unhappiness.
- Don’t argue with your spouse when you are angry. It is hard to recover from the hurt that is caused by words.
- My mother taught me that a woman must be able to stand on her own. She must be successful both in the home and in her profession or business.
- Believe in the power of prayer. I sleep early but wake up at midnight to pray. I pray the rosary and ask for Divine Mercy.
- Material things are nothing, especially in the face of losing the one you hold most dearly.