A Kapihan brew of politics, opera and grandmotherhood with Loida Nicolas Lewis

Her faith, she said, defines her. The FilAm photo

Her faith, she said, defines her. The FilAm photo

By Cristina DC Pastor

Loida Nicolas Lewis will always be known as that millionaire matriarch, perhaps the most recognizable Filipino face in America. Hers is the an inspiring presence to some, a source of unease to others maybe because some of us are still aspiring to what she has already accomplished.

When the Filipino American Press Club of New York made the decision to invite her to its monthly Kapihan (“coffee chat”), the idea was for the community, and also the media, to get to know Lewis up close apart from her numerous causes, namely: China’s incursions into Philippine waters, Medicare portability, the release of OFW Dondon Lanuza from a Saudi prison, the political empowerment of Filipino Americans.

Lewis arrived solo at Jeepney Gastropub shortly before 6 for the July 17 slated Kapihan. She emerged from the bustle of the dinner crowd smiling broadly. She wore a simple black-and-white shift with a single-strand pearl necklace for accent. She eased herself into a long table finding herself in the middle of a pair of in-the-buff images of Filipinas in Playboy. “You OK there, you don’t mind the pictures?” we asked. She shrugged and pulled a chair, establishing pleasantries and a mood of easygoing banter.

Questions on China’s intrusions into Philippine seas came pouring in. She replied to all with a surge of passion she had to stand up to make her point.

China is a rogue state, she began. It does not follow the rule of law. For the Chinese government to say the Philippines does not engage in a dialogue is “total bunk,” she quickly added. “Every time we talk to them, they never answer us.”

She issued a call for FilAms to join a protest rally against China’s “bullying” at the United Nations headquarters on July 24. It’s a lunch-time rally. Those who work in Manhattan can go back to their offices after the march, she said. She has no illusions that the rallies she has been organizing would reverse the rapacious actions of the Beijing government, but she stated, “We are (aiming) for world opinion. We mean to shame them.”

She said Filipinos in the Philippines may not be able express themselves on the issue because their economy is closely tied to China. But Filipino Americans are not indebted to China in any way. Bringing to fore her faith, she said China may be a “nation of warships, but the Philippines is a nation of worship.”

Lewis then invited FilAms to support the Noli me Tangere opera, which she is co-producing with the Foundation for Filipino Artists, led by Aida Bartolome. She first saw a production of Noli in Chicago, and thought to herself, “We have to bring this to New York. If it’s not shown in New York it did not happen.” The guests chortled.

She said Noli has a projected budget of $300,000, and tickets need to be sold out to cover the cost. Tickets for the opera, to be staged at Hunter College’s The Kaye Playhouse October 4 to 6, are priced at $60, 80 and $100, except for the Gala Night which sells for $150. She said group sales are encouraged as they are heavily discounted.

As the guests got settled into their dinners, Lewis waited for hers, and the conversation quickly turned more personal.

Lifestyle CEO Martha Stewart has admitted to wading into the dating pool via Match.com. I asked Lewis if she too is dating. I was prepared to be rebuffed. Surprisingly, she replied. It was a flat “no,” and explained. She said that before she met African American businessman Reginald Lewis in the 1960s, she thought she was not going to marry at all, that she would end up being alone all her life. “I did not date then, why should I date now?”

She added that she does not even encourage those who are “umaaligid-aligid” by going out to dinners because that would only send them signals that she is interested, and she is not.

She talked about her grandchildren – two kids adopted from Rwanda by her daughter Leslie and one of Christina, her younger daughter. “They don’t call me ‘lola,’ they call me ‘nanay,’” accent on the second syllable, as in ‘manay.’ She said Christina has moved recently to Manhattan from Brooklyn and would occasionally leave her son with her.

She cooks, and one of her favorites is this recipe from Peg Bracken’s “The I Hate to Cook Cookbook,” with a whole chicken baking for two hours while swimming in that familiar kitchen standby, Lipton canned soup. “Oh, how my grandchildren love it.”

For fitness, she does yoga, not golf, a past-time typically associated with people of means and CEOs, like her.

She said someone gifted her an entire set of the teleserye, “Please Be Careful with My Heart,” and she did not know what to do with them at first. She would watch one series at a time, usually toward midnight until it put her to sleep. She likes that the soap opera is well made and entertaining.

Asked if she thought Hillary Clinton should run for president, Lewis replied with a declaration that if she did, “She will win.”

Lewis with members of the Filipino American Press Club and guests at the Jeepney Gastropub: Kapihan the way coffee chats should be. Photo by Loren San Diego

Lewis with members of the Filipino American Press Club and guests at the Jeepney Gastropub: Kapihan the way coffee chats should be. Photo by Loren San Diego

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2 Comments

  1. m.matthews wrote:

    Great woman and one of the moving force in the Fil-am community in NY/USA/Philippines.

  2. […] Asked if she thought Hillary Clinton should run for president, Lewis replied with a declaration that if she did, “She will win.” – The FilAm […]

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