The Beauty Essay

While it was clear that Marcos was the strongman and calling the shots, Imelda was never out of the equation. She travelled extensively, domestically and overseas, every other public appearance, or so it seemed, was marked by a different couture terno - paid for by public money, of course- that did not belie the innate features and the growing vanity of the former Muse of Manila, a title given to the young Imelda Romualdez by the city mayor as a consolation prize after she, allegedly, protested her second place finish in the Miss Manila contest in tears[1].