![Even If - Lea Salonga [video lyrics]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110623112708im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vW8jFrfamaM/0.jpg "Even If - Lea Salonga [video lyrics]")
| Name | Lea Salonga |
|---|---|
| Caption | Lea Salonga at the 2009 Volvo Voice of Leadership Gala Night and Elocution Finals in Makati City. |
| Birth date | February 22, 1971 |
| Birth place | Angeles City and Manila, Philippines |
| Birth name | Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga |
| Spouse | Robert Charles Chien (2004–present) |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Occupation | singer, actress |
| Voicetype | Mezzo soprano |
| Website | http://www.leasalonga.com/ |
| Tonyawards | Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical1991 Miss Saigon |
| Laurenceolivierawards | Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical1990 Miss Saigon |
| Dramadeskaward | Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Musical1991 Miss Saigon |
| Outercriticssicrlceaward | Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical1991 Miss Saigon |
| Theatreworldaward | Theatre World Award for Best Actress in a Musical1991 Miss Saigon |
Lea Salonga-Chien for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World Awards.
She was the first Asian to play Éponine as well as the first Asian to play Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and was the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin (1992) and Mulan for Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004).
She began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, Small Voice, which received a gold certification. A song on the album, the duet "Happiness", marked her first recording collaboration with her younger brother Gerard Salonga, who would, years later, work with her as musical director or creative director in her concerts and recordings. Her second album, "Lea", was released in 1988.
In addition to performing in musical theater and recordings, Salonga hosted her own musical television show, Love, Lea, Like Father, Like Son, Ninja Kids, Captain Barbell, and Pik Pak Boom. She also opened for international acts such as Menudo and Stevie Wonder in their concerts in Manila in 1985 and in 1988, respectively. and three wins from the Aliw (literally, "entertainment") Awards as Best Child Performer. For her audition, the 17-year-old Salonga chose to sing Boublil and Schönberg's "On My Own" from Les Misérables and was later asked to sing "Sun and Moon" to test the compatibility of her voice quality with the songs in the musical. The members of the panel were impressed with Salonga's rendition of the songs, noting that from Salonga’s very first note, they already knew they had a potential Kim. Salonga was offered the lead role, with Wilson as the alternate (who was also assigned the role of bar girl Mimi).
For her performance as Kim, Salonga won the Olivier for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for the 1989–1990 season. From its original London home, Miss Saigon moved to Broadway in April 1991. Salonga subsequently won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Theatre World Awards for the same role. In 1999, she was invited back to London to close the musical, and in 2001, at the age of 29 and after doing the Manila run of the musical, Salonga returned to Broadway to close the Broadway production.
In 1990, Salonga performed in a homecoming concert in Manila entitled A Miss Called Lea. She also received a Presidential Award of Merit from Philippine president Corazon Aquino. and later flew to Los Angeles to perform the song "A Whole New World" of Disney's Aladdin with Brad Kane at the 65th Annual Academy Awards, where the song won an Oscar. That same year, she released her self-titled international debut album with Atlantic Records, which has modest sales in the USA but went platinum in the Philippines and sold 3 million copies worldwide.
In 1994, Salonga played in various musical theater productions in the Philippines and Singapore. as Sonia Walks in They're Playing Our Song, and as The Witch in Into The Woods.
Back in the U.S. in 1995, Salonga played the role of Geri Riordan, an 18-year-old adopted Vietnamese American child in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie Redwood Curtain, which starred John Lithgow and Jeff Daniels. She then flew back to the Philippines to star with Filipino matinee idol Aga Muhlach in the critically-acclaimed film Sana Maulit Muli, which gave her a second Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) award nomination, this time for Best Actress. She accepted an invitation from Sir Cameron Mackintosh to play the role of Éponine in his 10th anniversary production called Les Miserables in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. Salonga performed along with Colm Wilkinson, Michael Ball, Judy Kuhn, and Philip Quast.
In 1996, Salonga was in Les Misérables once again. She played Éponine in the London production of the musical, then continued on to do the role in the musical's U.S. national tour in Hawaii. That recording was followed by "Lea...In Love" in 1998 and "By Heart" in 2000, with both albums reaching multiple platinum status in the Philippines. She also performed in four concerts: The Homecoming Concert, The Millennium Concert, The Best of Manila and Songs from the Screen – the last two being benefit shows.
After Miss Saigon's closing on Broadway in 2001, Salonga recreated the role of Lien Hughes originally played by Ming-Na Wen in the soap opera As The World Turns. After completing her contract that year, she was asked to return to the role in 2003. She guested on Russell Watson's The Voice concert, narrated for the television special My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, and appeared on the Christmas episode of the TV medical drama E.R., playing the role of a patient with lymphoma.
In 2002, Salonga returned to Broadway to play the role of a Chinese immigrant in a reinterpretation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song opposite Jose Llana. and with the show garnering multiple wins and nominations, including Lead Actress in a Musical for Salonga, from the Theatre Los Angeles Ovation Awards. The show, given a brand new libretto and considered one of the 10 best plays on Broadway in 2002 by Time Magazine, garnered Tony Award nominations for Best Book, Best Costume Designer, and Best Choreographer, and earned nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, the Drama League, the Astaire Awards, and Broadway.com's Audience Awards and Broadwayworld.com's Fans' Choice Awards as well. The Salonga-led Broadway revival cast album was also a top contender at the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Musical Show Album. While Ms. Salonga's performance was received positively by theater critics such as Matthew Murray, Heather Cross, Patrick Purdon, and John Simon, among others, she was not nominated at the Tony Awards for her brief stint on Broadway that season, although she did get nominations for Distinguished Performance from the Drama League, for Favorite Lead Actress in a Broadway Musical from Broadway.com's Audience Awards, and for Best Lead Actress in a Musical from Broadwayworld.com's Fans' Choice Awards. at the Philippine International Convention Center. She also sang with Harry Connick, Peter Gallagher, and Michelle Lee in a tribute number for Richard Rodgers at the 56th Tony Awards.
In 2003, Salonga did her first "all-Filipino" concert in Manila called Songs from Home, which later won a second Aliw Award as Entertainer of the Year; she also won the previous year. Upon her return to the U.S., she performed in several shows at the Mohegan Sun in Montville, Connecticut. This was followed by a Christmas concert in the Philippines called Home for Christmas at the end of the year, which was nominated for the 18th Aliw Awards, and performances at the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in Marlton, New Jersey the following year, in 2004. Later that year, she played Lizzie in the Manila production of the musical Baby, which earned her another nomination from the Aliw Awards.
In 2007, Salonga released her first studio album in seven years called "Inspired", which has been certified platinum, and finished another stint in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway, this time as Fantine. She was scheduled to appear in a number of musical events scheduled in different countries until 2008.
Salonga received the Order of Lakandula Award from Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in recognition of her excellence in her craft and for using her talents to benefit Philippine society. It was also announced that she would return to Broadway in the musical Les Misérables, replacing Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine on March 6. Her tenure started, however, on March 2, four days earlier than planned. Her casting on the show has been credited with boosting the musical's ticket sales on Broadway. On September 27, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was in New York, watched Salonga in her new role in the musical, whose cast that night included Filipino Americans Adam Jacobs as Marius and Ali Ewoldt as Cosette. Her contract with the musical ended on October 21, 2007 and she was succeeded by Broadway's original Cosette Judy Kuhn. For her performances in this revival, Salonga received rave reviews and made it again to the short list of Broadway.com's Audience Award favorites—this time for Best Replacement for her new role as Fantine. During her stint on Broadway this season, she appeared on Broadway on Broadway 2007 and Stars in the Alley 2007, spoke at the Broadway Artists Alliance Summer Intensives, guested on the Broadway musical 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and participated in Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS' 12th Annual Nothing Like A Dame event to benefit the women's health initiative of The Actors Fund. Right after doing Les Misérables, she performed in two events: at the US Military Academy Band's concert in West Point where she sang four songs and an encore and in her own concert at the Tarrytown Music Hall in New York.
As of November 2007, a number of performances were scheduled for the rest of the year and for 2008, including a Christmas presentation in Manila, concerts in other parts of the Philippines and in California, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Guam and Broadway Asia Entertainment's international tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, where she plays the lead.
From late July 2008 to mid 2009, Salonga played the title role in a 30-week Asian tour of Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella, opening in Manila and continuing to China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. According to Billboard.com, Salonga was scheduled to perform in Nevada, Washington, California, Indiana, New York, Hawaii and more in 2009 and was also asked to dance novelty Filipino dances "Ocho-ocho" and "Spaghetti".
In July 2009 Salonga agreed to advertise the Avon Products line of anti-aging skin care products Anew Rejuvenate in the Philippines.
Also in the same month, Lea was invited to sing at the 95th Anniversary Special of Iglesia Ni Cristo. She was given a standing ovation after her first song, which was an original Iglesia Ni Cristo composition and arranged by Ryan Cayabyab.
On August 5, 2009, at the final requiem mass for President Corazon Aquino, Lea Salonga sang "Bayan Ko" as the final song right before Aquino's cortege was brought out from the Manila Cathedral.
Lea celebrated 20 years of Miss Saigon by performing in a concert called "Lea Salonga...Your Songs", at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Plenary Hall on December 11 and 12, 2009. Lea conducted an online poll via www.LEAyoursongs.com where fans could request songs they wanted to hear. The concert had crooner Richard Poon, the award-winning dance group Philippine All Stars and Concert Comedy Queen Ai-Ai de las Alas as special guests. "Lea Salonga...Your Songs" was under the musical direction of her brother, Gerard Salonga along with the FILharmoniKA.
From July 23 - August 22, 2010, Lea played the role of Grizabella in the Manila run of the Asia-Pacific tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She returned to Les Misérables on 3 October in the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables as Fantine, fifteen years after appearing in the 10th Anniversary as Eponine.
On January 10, 2004, Salonga married Robert Charles Chien, a Chinese-Japanese managing director of an entertainment software company in Los Angeles, California, whom she met while doing Flower Drum Song. They have a daughter, Nicole Beverly, who was born on May 16, 2006, named after Salonga's late mother-in-law, Beverly. She is also an avid video game enthusiast, and has mentioned her love for the hobby in several of her print articles.
On 15 October 2010, Lea Salonga was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
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Category:Filipino musical theatre actors Category:Filipino child actors Category:Filipino female singers Category:Filipino Roman Catholics Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Olivier Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:People from Manila Category:People from Pampanga Category:Kapampangan people Category:1971 births Category:Living people
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| Name | Sean McDermott |
|---|---|
| Color | #DDDDDD |
| Dateofbirth | March 21, 1974 |
| Birthplace | Omaha, Nebraska |
| College | William and Mary |
| Position | Defensive coordinator |
| Coach | yes |
| Coachingyears | 1998 1998 1999-2000 2001 2002-03 2004-06 2007 2008 2009-2010 |
| Coachingteams | William and Mary (Graduate Assistant) Philadelphia Eagles (Scouting Administrative Coordinator) Philadelphia Eagles (Assistant to the Head Coach) Philadelphia Eagles (Defensive Assistant/Quality Control) Philadelphia Eagles (Assistant Defensive Backs Coach) Philadelphia Eagles (Secondary Coach/Safeties) Philadelphia Eagles (Linebackers Coach) Philadelphia Eagles (Secondary Coach) Philadelphia Eagles (Defensive Coordinator) |
In 2007, McDermott was assigned linebackers coach, after Spagnuolo had left to take the defensive coordinator job for the New York Giants. On January 28, 2008, Eagles head coach Andy Reid named McDermott secondary coach again.
On May 18, 2009, McDermott was named the interim defensive coordinator as a result of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's medical leave of absence. On July 24, 2009, due to the continuing decline of Johnson, the Eagles announced McDermott would take over as full time defensive coordinator. Johnson died on July 28, 2009. McDermott implemented a variety of blitzes in his defense, thanks in part to his mentor, former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.McDermott was fired as the defensive coordinator on January 15, 2011.
Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:People from Omaha, Nebraska Category:American football defensive backs Category:William & Mary Tribe football players Category:Philadelphia Eagles coaches
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Pocahontas |
|---|---|
| Caption | 1616 engraving of Pocahontas by Simon de Passe |
| Birth name | Matoaka |
| Birth date | c. 1595 |
| Birth place | Virginia |
| Death date | March 21, 1595 |
| Death place | Gravesend, Kent, England |
| Resting place | St George's Church, Gravesend |
| Resting place coordinates | |
| Ethnicity | American Indian |
| Other names | Matoaka, Rebecca Rolfe |
| Known for | Association with Jamestown colony, according to legend saving the life of John Smith |
| Spouse | KocoumJohn Rolfe |
| Children | Thomas Rolfe |
| Parents | Chief Powhatan (father) |
Pocahontas (c. 1595 – March 21, 1617), later known as Rebecca Rolfe, was a Virginia Indian chief's daughter notable for having assisted colonial settlers at Jamestown. She converted to Christianity and married the English settler John Rolfe. After they traveled to London, she became famous in the last year of her life. She was a daughter of Wahunsunacawh, better known as Chief or Emperor Powhatan (to indicate his primacy), who headed a network of tributary tribal nations in the Tidewater region of Virginia (called Tenakomakah by the Powhatan). These tribes made up what is known as the Powhatan Chiefdom and spoke a language of the Algonquian family.
John Smith's account is the only source for this story. Since the 1860s, historians have increasingly expressed doubts about its veracity and have continued the debate into the 21st century. Despite having published two earlier books about Virginia, Smith did not write about his rescue by Pocahontas until 1616, years after his own return to England and nearly ten years after the event. He recounted the story in a letter asking Queen Anne to treat Pocahontas with dignity on her visit to London.
In True Travels (1630), Smith told a similar story of having been rescued by the intervention of a young girl after having been captured in 1602 by Turks in Hungary. Karen Kupperman suggests that he "presented those remembered events from decades earlier" when telling the story of Pocahontas. A different theory suggests that Smith may have misunderstood the event. He may have been subject to a tribal ritual intended to symbolize his death and rebirth as a member of the tribe. David A. Price notes that little is known of Powhatan rituals, nor is there evidence of similar rituals among other North American tribes.
Early histories did establish that Pocahontas befriended Smith and the Jamestown colony. Pocahontas often went to the settlement and played games with the boys there. When the colonists were starving, "every once in four or five days, Pocahontas with her attendants brought him [Smith] so much provision that saved many of their lives that else for all this had starved with hunger." As the colonists expanded their settlement further, the Virginia Indians felt their lands were threatened, and conflicts arose again.
In 1609, an injury from a gunpowder explosion forced Smith to return to England for medical care. The English told the natives that Smith was dead. Pocahontas believed that account until she learned that he was living in England when she traveled there several years later, already the wife of John Rolfe.
According to 17th-century historian William Strachey, Pocahontas married a Powhatan warrior called Kocoum at some point before 1612. Nothing more is known about this marriage.
Historical records do not suggest that Smith and Pocahontas were lovers. The romance is featured only (but repeatedly) in fictional versions of their relationship (such as the 1995 animated film by Walt Disney). The first romance was written about them in the early 19th century, suggesting the story's mythic appeal. Accounts of such a romance have been repeated in films made in the United States as late as 2009.
When two English colonists began trading with the Patawomec, they discovered Pocahontas. With the help of Japazaws, they tricked Pocahontas into captivity. They intended to hold her for ransom and release her in exchange for English prisoners held by Chief Powhatan, along with various weapons and tools stolen by the Powhatan. Powhatan returned the prisoners, but failed to satisfy the colonists with the number of weapons and tools he returned. A long standoff ensued, during which the English kept Pocahontas captive.
During the year-long wait, she was held at Henricus, in modern-day Chesterfield County, Virginia. Little is known about her life there, although colonist Ralph Hamor wrote that she received "extraordinary courteous usage." The minister Alexander Whitaker taught her about Christianity and helped her to improve her English. Upon her baptism, Pocahontas took the Christian name "Rebecca".
In March 1614, the standoff built up to a violent confrontation between hundreds of English and Powhatan men on the Pamunkey River. At the Powhatan town of Matchcot, the English encountered a group of some senior Powhatan leaders (but not Chief Powhatan, who was away). The English permitted Pocahontas to talk to her countrymen. Pocahontas reportedly rebuked her father for valuing her "less than old swords, pieces, or axes," and told the Powhatan she preferred to live with the English.
During her stay in Henricus, Pocahontas met John Rolfe. Rolfe, whose English-born wife had died, had successfully cultivated a new strain of tobacco in Virginia and spent much of his time there tending to his crop. He was a pious man who agonized over the potential moral repercussions of marrying a heathen. In a long letter to the governor requesting permission to wed her, he expressed both his love for her and his belief he would be saving her soul claiming he was:
motivated not by the unbridled desire of carnal affection, but for the good of this plantation, for the honor of our country, for the Glory of God, for my own salvation... namely Pocahontas, to whom my hearty and best thoughts are, and have been a long time so entangled, and enthralled in so intricate a labyrinth that I was even a-wearied to unwind myself thereoutPocahontas's feelings about Rolfe and the marriage are unknown.
They were married on April 5, 1614, and lived for two years on Rolfe's plantation, Varina Farms, which was located across the James River from the new community of Henricus. They had a child, Thomas Rolfe, born on January 30, 1615.
Their marriage was unsuccessful in winning the English captives back, but it did create a climate of peace between the Jamestown colonists and Powhatan's tribes for several years; in 1615, Ralph Hamor wrote:
Since the wedding we have had friendly commerce and trade not only with Powhatan but also with his subjects round about us.
The Virginia Colony's sponsors found it difficult to lure new colonists and investors to Jamestown and so they used Pocahontas as a symbol to convince people in Europe the New World's natives could be colonized, and the settlement made safe. In 1616, the Rolfes traveled to England, arriving at the port of Plymouth on the 12th of June and then journeying to London by coach. They were accompanied by a group of about eleven other Powhatan natives including a holy man named Tomocomo. John Smith was living in London at the time and while Pocahontas was in Plymouth, she learned he was still alive. Smith did not meet Pocahontas, but wrote to Queen Anne urging that Pocahontas be treated with respect as a royal visitor. He suggested that if she were treated badly, her "present love to us and Christianity might turn to... scorn and fury", and England might lose the chance to "rightly have a Kingdom by her means." She was taken ashore and died. It is unknown what caused her death, but theories range from smallpox, pneumonia, or tuberculosis, to her having been poisoned. According to Rolfe, she died saying, "all must die, but tis enough that her child liveth." Her funeral took place on March 21, 1617 in the parish of Saint George's, Gravesend. The site of her grave is unknown, but her memory is honored in Gravesend with a life-size bronze statue at St. George's Church.
Her "blood" was introduced to the Randolph family of Virginia via the marriage of her great-great-granddaughter, Jane Bolling, to Richard Randolph.
However, although the young Pocahontas was a favorite of her powerful father (his "delight and darling" according to one of the colonists) her own society did not regard her as having a high social rank. Powhatan society was structured differently from that of Europe and while women could inherit power, Pocahontas could not have done so because weroances inheritance was matrilineal. In A Map of Virginia John Smith explains:
Because of this, Pocahontas would not have inherited her father's power under any circumstances. Furthermore, her mother's status was probably lowly. In his Relation of Virginia (1609), Henry Spelman explains that Powhatan had many wives. He sent each away after she had given birth to their first child, so the women resumed their commoner status. It is not certain whether Pocahontas' status was regarded as equal only to her mother's.
Regardless of the nature of Pocahontas' status among the Powhatan, in England she was generally regarded as a princess. One example of this is a 1616 engraving of Pocahontas. Its inscription reads "MATOAKA ALS REBECCA FILIA POTENTISS : PRINC : POWHATANI IMP:VIRGINIÆ". This translates as: "Matoaka, alias Rebecca, daughter of the most powerful prince of the Powhatan Empire of Virginia." Some contemporary English recognised Wahunsunacock as ruler of an empire, and presumably accorded what they considered as appropriate status to his daughter. Captain John Smith's 1616 letter to Queen Anne (King James' wife) refers to "Powhatan their chief King". When he met her again in London, Smith referred to her deferentially as a "Kings daughter". Another view is obvious in the description of Powhatan as a "barbarous prince", by Lord Carew - as reported by Charles Dudley Warner in his essay on Pocahontas.
Pocahontas was introduced to King James at a masque, at which she was described as "well placed", that is, given a good seat that suited her status. The Bishop of London "entertained her with festival state and pomp beyond what I have seen in his greate hospitalitie afforded to other ladies."
The myths that arose around Pocahontas' story portrayed her as one who demonstrated the potential of Native Americans to be assimilated into European society. For example, the United States Capitol displays an 1840 painting by John Gadsby Chapman, The Baptism of Pocahontas, in the Rotunda. A government pamphlet, entitled The Picture of the Baptism of Pocahontas, explained the characters in the painting, and praised the Jamestown settlers for introducing Christianity to the "heathen savages."
In another development, Pocahontas' story was romanticized. Some writers preferred accounts of a love story between her and John Smith. The first to publish such a story at length was John Davis in his Travels in the United States of America (1803). In the 19th century, John Brougham produced a burlesque, Po-ca-hon-tas, or The Gentle Savage.
Several films about Pocahontas have been made, beginning with a silent film in 1924. Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953) was released in mid-century. In more recent films since the late 20th century, Pocahontas has represented the perceived moral superiority of traditional Native American values over Western ones. The Walt Disney Company's 1995 animated feature Pocahontas presented a fictional love affair between Pocahontas and John Smith. In addition, Pocahontas teaches Smith respect for nature. The sequel, , depicts her journey to England.
(1995) is the second feature film based on her life. Terrence Malick tried for more historical accuracy in his film The New World (2005), but still portrayed Pocahontas and Smith as lovers.
Neil Young recorded a song about Pocahontas on his album Rust Never Sleeps (1979). , 1907]]
Category:1590s births Category:1617 deaths Category:American folklore Category:Converts to Christianity Category:Gravesham Category:Rolfe family of Virginia Category:People of the Powhatan Confederacy Category:Native American people Category:People from Virginia Category:Algonquian personal names Category:Burial place unknown Category:Bolling family of Virginia
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| Name | Corazon C. Aquino |
|---|---|
| Alt | Corazon Aquino, 2009 |
| Office | 11th President of the Philippines |
| Primeminister | Salvador Laurel |
| Vicepresident | Salvador Laurel |
| Term start | February 25, 1986 |
| Term end | June 30, 1992 |
| Predecessor | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Successor | Fidel Ramos |
| Birth date | January 25, 1933 |
| Birth place | Paniqui, Philippines |
| Death date | August 01, 2009 |
| Death place | Makati City, Philippines |
| Resting place | Manila Memorial Park, Parañaque City |
| Party | Liberal PartyUNIDOPDP-Laban |
| Profession | Housewife |
| Spouse | Ninoy Aquino |
| Alma mater | College of Mount Saint Vincent |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Signature | Aquino Sig.svg |
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office. Aquino was also the first popularly and democratically-elected female president and head of state in Asia. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled the authoritarian regime of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines. "Tita (Auntie) Cory", as she was affectionately known, is revered by many Filipinos as an icon of democracy and was hailed by TIME Magazine in 1986 as its 'Woman of the Year.'
A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., the popular opposition leader and staunchest critic of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Senator Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983 upon returning to the Philippines after three years in exile in the United States.
After her husband's assassination, the widowed Aquino became the reluctant leader of the opposition against the authoritarian rule of the Marcos regime. She united the fragmented opposition and strengthened its moral crusade against the abuses and excesses of President Marcos' martial rule. In late 1985, when President Marcos called for a snap election, Cory Aquino challenged his regime. Aquino thrust herself into the political arena after one million signatures urging her to run for president were presented to her.
Despite having no political experience, Aquino proved to be an effective leader, inspiring orator and skilled campaigner. She ran for president with former senator Salvador Laurel as her vice-presidential running mate. After the elections were held on February 7, 1986, the Marcos-controlled Batasang Pambansa proclaimed him the winner in the elections, Aquino called for massive civil disobedience protests against him, declaring herself as having been cheated and as the real winner in the elections. Filipinos enthusiastically heeded her call and rallied behind her. These series of events eventually led to the ouster of Marcos and the installation of Aquino as President of the Philippines on February 25, 1986 through the People Power Revolution.
As President, Aquino oversaw the restoration of democracy in the Philippines and the promulgation of a new constitution, which limited the powers of the presidency and established a bicameral legislature. Her administration gave strong emphasis and concern for civil liberties and human rights, peace talks and dialogues with communist insurgents and Muslim secessionists. Aquino's economic policies, meanwhile, centered on bringing back economic health and confidence and focused on creating a market-oriented and socially-responsible economy. Despite these achievements, Aquino's presidency was not smooth-sailing as she had to face series of coup attempts against her administration and destructive natural calamities and disasters until the end of her term in 1992.
Succeeded by Fidel V. Ramos as President in 1992, Aquino returned to private life although she remained active in the public eye, constantly voicing her views and opinions on the pressing political issues in the country. In 2008, Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer and after a one-year battle with the disease, died on August 1, 2009.
She, like her sisters Josephine, Teresita ("Terê") and Maria Paz, as well as their uncle Eduardo's wife Josephine "Nene" Murphy, studied in Saint Scholastica's College, Manila, an all girl's Catholic school run by German nuns in pre-war Manila.
Unlike her siblings, the young Cory was unassuming and simple. She wore hand-me-down uniforms used by her sister Terê. Her favorite subject was Mathematics, and upon graduating from elementary school, she received the highest honours. Her studies were interrupted when the Japanese invaded Manila. After World War II, she and her siblings as well as her cousins Ramon Cojuangco and Lourdes (now Mrs. Luis Tirso Rivilla) was sent by her father to the United States.
The young Ms. Cory divided her time between the Cojuangco homes in New York (USA), Pasay, Ermita, Punta in Santa Ana district, the northern city of Baguio, the Hacienda Luisita and their hometown of Paniqui, Tarlac.
For some summers in the United States, she was treated by her father, Don Pepe, to excursions to Washington, DC and trans-Atlantic voyages aboard the RMS Queen Mary.
While studying in New England, she would develop a love of the French language. Besides English, Tagalog, and Kapampangan, she would also remain fluent in French for the rest of her life.
Upon her own choosing, her secluded and easy years ended with her marriage to the grandson of General Servillano Aquino, Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.
The couple produced five children, four girls and one boy, namely: Maria Elena "Ballsy" Aquino Cruz (born 1955), Aurora Corazon "Pinky" Aquino Abellada (born 1957), Philippine President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino, III (born February 8, 1960), Victoria Elisa "Viel" Aquino Dee (born 1961) and Kristina Bernadette "Kris" Aquino Yap (born February 14, 1971).
Aquino had initial difficulty adjusting to provincial life when she and Ninoy moved to Concepcion, Tarlac in 1955, after the latter was elected the town's mayor at the age of 22. The American-educated Aquino found herself bored in Concepcion, and welcomed the opportunity to have dinner with her husband inside the American military facility at nearby Clark Field.
A member of the Liberal Party, Aquino's husband Ninoy rose to become the youngest governor in the country and eventually became the youngest senator ever elected in the Senate of the Philippines in 1967. During her husband's political career, Aquino remained a housewife who helped raise their children and played hostess to her spouse's political allies who would frequent their Quezon City home. She would decline to join her husband on stage during campaign rallies, preferring instead to stand at the back of the audience and listen to him. The family settled in Boston, and Aquino would later call the next three years as the happiest days of her marriage and family life.
Reluctant at first, Aquino was eventually prevailed upon to heed the people's clamor, after one million signatures urging her to run for president were presented to her. Despite this, the erstwhile favorite opposite candidate, Laurel, did not immediately gave way to her best friend's widow. Laurel was only convinced to slide down as Cory's running-mate upon the urging of the influential Manila Cardinal Archbishop Jaime Sin. As a compromise, Aquino agreed to run under Laurel's machinery, the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO), then the country's largest opposition party. With that, the Aquino-Laurel tandem was formally launched to challenge Marcos and finally put an end to his twenty-year martial rule.
In the subsequent political developments and events, Marcos charged that Aquino was being supported by communists and agreed to share power with them once elected into power. A political novice, Aquino categorically denied Marcos' charge and even stated that she would not appoint a single communist to her cabinet. Running on the offensive, the ailing Marcos also accused Aquino of playing "political football" with the United States with respect to the continued United States military presence in the Philippines at Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base. Further, the male strongman derided Aquino's womanhood, by saying that she was "just a woman" whose place was in the bedroom. Furthermore, Aquino rejected a power-sharing agreement proposed by the American diplomat Philip Habib, who had been sent as an emissary by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to help defuse the tension. As such, Aquino promulgated two landmark legal codes, namely, the Family Code of 1987, which reformed the civil law on family relations, and the Administrative Code of 1987, which reorganized the structure of the executive branch of government. Another landmark law that was enacted during her tenure was the 1991 Local Government Code, which devolved national government powers to local government units (LGUs). The new Code also enhanced the power of LGUs to enact local taxation measures and assured them of a share in the national revenue.
Likewise, Aquino closed down the Marcos-dominated Batasang Pambansa to prevent the new Marcos loyalist opposition from undermining her democratic reforms and reorganized the membership of the Supreme Court to restore its independence. In May 1986, the reorganized Supreme Court declared the Aquino government as “not merely a de facto government but in fact and law a de jure government�, whose legitimacy had been affirmed by the community of nations. This Supreme Court decision significantly affirmed the status of Aquino as the new, legitimate and rightful leader of the Philippines.
To fast-track the restoration of a full constitutional government and the writing of a new charter, President Aquino appointed 48 members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission (Con-Com), led by retired activist Supreme Court Associate Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma. The Con-Com completed its final draft in October 1986. On February 2, 1987, the new Constitution of the Philippines, which put strong emphasis on civil liberties, human rights and social justice, was overwhelmingly approved by the Filipino people. The ratification of the new Constitution was followed by the election of senators and congress that same year and the holding of local elections in 1988.
In response to cronyism, she dismantled the various monopolies that were perpetrated by Marcos during his stay in power.
She also moved quickly to tackle the issue of the US$26 billion foreign debt incurred by her predecessor. Aquino chose to honor all the debts that were previously incurred. Her decision proved to be unpopular but Aquino defended that it was the most practical move. It was crucial for the country at that time to regain the investors' confidence in the Philippine economy. Since 1986, the Aquino administration has paid off $4 billion of the country's outstanding debts to regain good international credit ratings and attract the attention of future markets. Nevertheless, the administration borrowed an additional $9 billion, increasing the national debt by $5 billion within six years time since the ouster of former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
Further, the Aquino administration also sought to bring back fiscal discipline in order as it aimed to trim down the government's budget deficit that ballooned during Marcos' term through privatization of bad government assets and deregulation of many vital industries. It was also during Aquino's time that vital economic laws such as the Built-Operate-Transfer Law, Foreign Investments Act and the Consumer Protection and Welfare Act were enacted.
The economy posted a positive growth of 3.4% during her first year in office. But in the aftermath of the 1989 coup attempt by the rightist Reform the Armed Forces Movement, the Philippine economy remained stagnant. In her final year in office, inflation was raging at 17%, and unemployment was slightly over 10%, higher than the Marcos years. Overall, the economy under Aquino had an average growth of 3.8% from 1986 to 1992.
On February 22, 1987, three weeks after the resounding ratification of the 1987 Constitution, agrarian workers and farmers marched to the historic Mendiola Street near Malacanang Palace to demand genuine land reform from Aquino's administration. However, the supposedly peaceful farmers' march turned bloody and violent when Marine forces fired at farmers who tried to go beyond the designated demarcation line set by the police. As a result, 12 farmers were killed and 19 were injured in this incident now known as the Mendiola Massacre. This tragic incident led some prominent members of the Aquino Cabinet like the nationalist and progressive senator Jose W. Diokno to quit from their government posts. Though Aquino did not have any personal and official involvement with the drastic actions taken by some police elements, her administration has been faulted since then for failing to solve land disputes in the country.
In response to calls for agrarian reform, President Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229 on July 22, 1987, which outlined the her land reform program, which included sugar lands. In 1988, with the backing of Aquino, the new Congress of the Philippines passed Republic Act No. 6657, more popularly known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law." The law paved the way for the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners, who were paid in exchange by the government through just compensation but were also allowed to retain not more than five hectares of land. However, corporate landowners were also allowed under the law to “voluntarily divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries�, in lieu of turning over their land to the government for redistribution. Despite the flaws in the law, the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality in 1989, declaring that the implementation of the comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP), provided by the said law) was “a revolutionary kind of expropriation.�
Despite the implementation of CARP, Aquino was not spared from the controversies that eventually centered on Hacienda Luisita, a 6,453-hectare estate located in the Province of Tarlac, which she, together with her siblings inherited from her father Jose Cojuangco (Don Pepe). Critics argued that Aquino bowed to pressure from relatives by allowing stock redistribution under Executive Order 229. Instead of land distribution, Hacienda Luisita reorganized itself into a corporation and distributed stock. As such, ownership of agricultural portions of the hacienda were transferred to the corporation, which in turn, gave its shares of stocks to farmers. killing around 300 people and causing widespread long-term devastation of agricultural lands in Central Luzon. The worst loss of life occurred when Tropical Storm Thelma (also known as Typhoon Uring) caused massive flooding in Ormoc City in November 1991, leaving around 6,000 dead in what was considered to be the deadliest typhoon in Philippine history. It was also during Aquino's term that the MV Doña Paz sank, which is the World's worst peace-time maritime disaster of the 20th century. The disaster occurred in December 1987 which killed more than 1,700 people.
During Aquino's presidency, electric blackouts became common in Manila. The capital experienced blackouts of seven to 12 hours, bringing numerous businesses to a halt. By the departure of Aquino in June 1992, businesses in Manila and nearby provinces have lost nearly $800 million since March 1992. The Aquino administration knew for years that country's power plants were failing, but they did not act to solve the problem. It was only during the time of her successor, Fidel Ramos, that the government decisively solved the severe power outages that were common during her tenure.
As the end of her presidency drew near, close advisers and friends told Aquino that since she was not inaugurated under the 1987 Constitution, she was still eligible to seek the presidency again in the upcoming 1992 elections, the first presidential elections under normal and peaceful circumstances since 1965. President Aquino strongly declined the requests for her to seek reelection and wanted to set an example to both citizens and politicians that the presidency is not a lifetime position.
Initially, she named Ramon V. Mitra, a friend of her husband Ninoy and then Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, as her candidate for the presidential race in 1992. However, she later on backtracked and instead threw her support behind the candidacy of her defense secretary and EDSA Revolution hero, General Fidel V. Ramos, who constantly stood by and defended her government from the various coup attempts and rebellions that were launched against her. Her sudden change of mind and withdrawal of support from Mitra drew criticisms not only from her supporters in the liberal and social democratic sectors but also from the Roman Catholic Church, as well, which questioned her anointing of Ramos since the latter was a Protestant. Nevertheless, Aquino's candidate eventually won the 1992 elections, albeit with 23.58 percent of the total votes only, and was sworn in as the 12th President of the Philippines on June 30, 1992.
Though Aquino retired to private life, following the end of her term, she remained active in the Philippine political scene, constantly voicing opposition and dissent to government actions and policies, which she deemed as threats to the liberal traditions and democratic foundations of the country.
In 1997, Aquino, together with the influential Cardinal Jaime Sin, led a huge rally which succeeded in thwarting then President Fidel Ramos' attempt to extend his term by amending the 1987 Constitution's restriction on presidential term limits. In 1998, Aquino endorsed the candidacy of former police general and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim for president. Lim, however, lost to then Vice-President Joseph Estrada, who won by a landslide. The following year, Aquino again with Cardinal Sin successfully opposed President Estrada's plan of amending the Constitution, which he said was intended to lift provisions that 'restrict' economic activities and investments; he denied that it was another ploy for him to extend his stay in office. In 2000, Aquino joined the mounting calls for Estrada to resign from office, amid strong allegations of bribery chargers and gambling kickbacks and series of corruption scandals, which eventually led to his unsuccessful impeachment in December of that year. In January 2001, during the EDSA Revolution of 2001 which ousted Estrada, Aquino enthusiastically supported the ascendancy of another woman, then Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, into power.
In 2005, after series of revelations and exposes alleged and implicated President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in rigging the 2004 presidential elections, Aquino called on her erstwhile ally to make the 'supreme sacrifice' of resigning in order to prevent bloodshed, violence and further political deterioration. As such, Aquino was once again in the streets leading massive demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Arroyo.
In the 2007 senatorial elections, Aquino actively campaigned for the senatorial bid of her only son, Noynoy Aquino, who ran and won under the triumphant opposition banner.
In December 2008, Aquino publicly expressed some regrets for her participation in the EDSA Revolution of 2001, which installed Arroyo into power. She apologized to former President Joseph Estrada for the role she played in his ouster in 2001. For this action, many politicians criticized Aquino.
In June 2009, two months before her death, Aquino issued a public statement which strongly denounced and condemned the Arroyo administration's plan of amending the 1987 Constitution, calling such attempt as a "shameless abuse of power."
On March 24, 2008, the Aquino family announced to the shock of the entire nation that she had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. While she was earlier informed by her doctors that she had only three months to live, Aquino pursued medical treatment and chemotherapy. As a result, series of healing masses for the devout Catholic former president were held throughout the country. In a public statement made on May 13, 2008 during a healing mass for her, Aquino said that her blood tests indicated that she was responding well to the medical treatment being administered to her. However, Aquino's hair falling out and loss of appetite became very apparent and rapid.
By July 2009, Aquino's health was reported to be in a very serious condition and was confined to the Makati Medical Center due to loss of appetite and chronic baldness. Later on, it was announced that Aquino and her family had decided to cease chemotherapy and other medical interventions for her.
On August 1, 2009, after one and a half year battle with colon cancer, the 76 year-old Aquino died peacefully at the Makati Medical Center at around 3:18 a.m. due to complications of cardiorespiratory arrest.
All churches in the Philippines celebrated requiem masses simultaneously throughout the country and , and all government offices flew the Philippine flag at half mast.
Hours after her death on August 1, Aquino's body lay in state for public viewing at the La Salle Green Hills campus in Mandaluyong City. On August 3, 2009, Aquino's remains were transferred from La Salle Greenhills to the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, during which hundreds of thousands of Filipinos lined the streets to witness and escort their former leader's funeral cortege. On its way to Manila Cathedral, Aquino's funeral cortege passed by Ayala Avenue, Makati City and stopped in front of her husband Ninoy Aquino's statue, amidst throngs of thousands of Filipinos who gathered there and emotionally sang the 1986 EDSA Revolution anthem "Bayan Ko." Aquino's remains were solemnly brought inside Manila Cathedral around mid-afternoon that day. Following her death, all Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the country held requiem masses.
campus, which opened its facilities such as the university clinic and restrooms for the mourners. For comparison, the Cathedral is the green dome in the background.]]
On August 4, in a conciliatory gesture {fact}, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Imee Marcos, children of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, paid their last respects to the woman who brought down their father in 1986. The Marcos siblings were received by Aquino's children, Maria Elena, Aurora Corazon and Victoria Eliza. The following day, during mid-dawn, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who cut short her trip in the United States, briefly paid her last respects to President Aquino, who was once her closest ally.
On August 5, a final requiem mass, presided by high-ranking Filipino Catholic Church officials such as Manila Cardinal Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales and Bishop Socrates B. Villegas, was offered for the eternal repose of Aquino's soul. After the Mass, Aquino's youngest daughter, Kris, delivered a speech. Thereafter, Aquino's Philippine flag-draped coffin was escorted from the Manila Cathedral to the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque City, where she was interred beside her husband Ninoy's resting place. Aquino's funeral procession took more than eight hours before it reached its final destination, as tens of thousands of Filipinos lined up the streets {fact} where her cortege would pass by to pay their last respects to their beloved former leader. From Manila's harbor, all ships docked blared their sirens as a sign of respect to Mrs. Aquino.
Further, ordinary Filipinos throughout the country wore either yellow shirts or held masses for Aquino as their way of paying tribute to the woman who once led them in a revolution that changed the course of their country's history. Yellow Ribbons, which were once used during Aquino's battle with Marcos, were tied along major national roads and streets as a sign of solidarity and support for the now deceased Aquino and her grieving family. In popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Filipinos posted yellow ribbons in their accounts as a tribute to the former Philippine leader.
Following her death, Filipino Catholics called on the Church to have Aquino canonized and declared as a saint. During her lifetime, Aquino has been known and praised for her strong spirituality and sincere devotion to the Catholic faith.
Days after her funeral, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that it supported calls to put the former President on the 500-Peso banknote alongside her husband, Ninoy Aquino.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, through the British Ambassador in Manila, sent a message to the Filipino people which read: "I am saddened to hear of the death of Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino the former President of the Republic of the Philippines." She also added, "I send my sincere condolences to her family and to the people of the Philippines. Signed, Elizabeth R."
Furthermore, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in a telegram to President Arroyo, said that “the name of Corazon Aquino is associated with a period of profound reforms and the democratic transformation of Filipino society.� Medvedev also lauded Aquino's sympathy to Russian people and her contribution to the improvement of Russian-Filipino relations.
Moreover, global democratic icons such as Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta and Wan Azizah, wife of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, came to the Philippines not just to express their sympathies but to attend their friend Aquino's death and funeral, as well.
Aquino was a main character in Boy Noriega's 1987 stage comedy Bongbong at Kris (Bongbong and Kris), about an imagined romantic coupling between the only son of Ferdinand Marcos and the youngest daughter of the Aquinos.
In the movie Alfredo Lim: Batas ng Maynila (Alfredo Lim: Law of Manila) Aquino was portrayed by Luz Valdez.
She was portrayed by Tess Villarama in the movie Ilaban Mo, Bayan Ko: The Obet Pagdanganan Story (My Fight, My Country) in 1997.
She was also portrayed by Geraldine Malacaman in the 1998 musical play Lean.
In the defunct comedy gag show Ispup, Madz Nicolas played a parodized version of Aquino who often reminisces about life with Ninoy.
In 2004, Aquino was portrayed by Irma Adlawan in the miniseries Sa 'Yo Lamang (Only Yours).
In 2008, a musical play about Aquino starring Isay Alvarez as Aquino, was staged at the Meralco Theater. Entitled Cory, the Musical, it was written and directed by Nestor Torre and featured a libretto of 19 original songs composed by Lourdes Pimentel, wife of Senator Aquilino Pimentel.
A two-part special of Maalaala Mo Kaya aired on January 23 and 30, 2010. Bea Alonzo played the role of Cory Aquino while Piolo Pascual portrayed Ninoy Aquino. The two-part special aired for Cory's 77th birthday.
On January 25, 2010. Corazon Aquino's monument was unveiled in Manila, beside her spouse Ninoy Aquino.
On June 15, 2010, Batasan Hills Elementary School (BHES) in Batasan Hills, Quezon City changed its name to the "President Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School" or (PCCAES).
On the first anniversary of her death, a 200x250 Photo Mosaic of President Cory Aquino was unveiled near the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta Park, Manila in the presence of her son, President Benigno Aquino III and supporters of the late President. It has been submitted to the Guinness World Records to be certified as the largest photo mosaic in the world.
Also in February 2010, Grand Prize winner Julian Eymard Paguiligan of Bulacan State University made his painting entry entitled Ika-25 ng Pebrero, 1986 in the last year's 24th Visual Arts National Competition for the Directories Philippines Corporation's directory cover as a paid tribute. He made a portrait of the late President Aquino in watercolor as a symbol for her contribution not only for democracy, but also in the successes of the EDSA Revolution in the past.
On December 16, 2010, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas unveiled the redesigned P500-bill and other denominations featuring President Cory Aquino along with her husband, Senator Ninoy Aquino. The signature of their son, President Benigno Aquino III, is also printed on the bill. According to Aquino, it is the first known banknote that featured both parents of an incumbent President, whose signature is likewise printed on the bill.
Category:1933 births Category:2009 deaths Corazon Aquino Category:Cancer deaths in the Philippines Category:Cold War leaders Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer Category:Female heads of government Category:Female heads of state Category:Filipino human rights activists Category:Filipino democracy activists Category:Filipino Roman Catholics Category:Filipino women in politics Category:Filipino people of Chinese descent Category:Nonviolence advocates Category:People from Tarlac Category:People of Kapampangan descent Category:Presidents of the Philippines Category:Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Category:Philippine Democratic Party – People's Power politicians Category:Time Persons of the Year
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