Bai Diding is proof that glamour is beautiful
DAGUPAN CITY—So who says glamour is only for the young?
Not this 101 years old lola, her face fully made-up, her fingernails painted with modern nail art, who came forward as one glamourous lady to accept the honor bestowed on her by the Dagupan City government.
Meet Aurelia Dimacali Landingin, or popularly known in Bonuan Sabangan this city as Bai Diding, an ageless charmer, who always wears make up, especially her favorite red lipstick coating her thin lips.
She was honored last Friday) as the known oldest living Dagupeňa during the 67th Agew na Dagupan (Dagupan Day) celebration.
Bai Diding, her “kikay kit” essentials by her side that contains her array of lipsticks, pressed powder and other make up items, habitually retouches her lipstick from the moment she wakes up until she rests at night.
“I don’t feel good if I don’t have my “uniform in my face,” she said, referring to her make up.
Gia, Bai Diding’s great granddaughter, said as soon as her super lola gets up from bed, the first thing she would do is to put on her red lipstick.
Her housemates swear the old lady would not face any visitor unless and until she has put on her make- up.
Visited weekly by a manicurist, she loves to dress up and she has two cabinets full of her clothes to prove it.
Her eldest daughter, Angelina, 80, however could be mistaken as the younger sister of Bai diding. Angelina uses a crawler to aid her in walking, but her mom Diding stands without any cane or crawler but only needs someone to hold her to keep her balance.
When asked to what she attributes her long life, she gamely revealed her regimen – strict diet of fish, vegetables, fruits in her meals and adult milk before bedtime. Rarely does she eat meat.
She attributes her physical strength to regular exercise in her younger years.
Her memory may fail her occasionally but one thing she can never forget are the lyrics of her favoirite song Atin Cu Pung Singsing. Bai Diding is originally from Floridablanca, Pampanga.
And her other favorite song? Paul Anka’s “Diana”, a hit song in the early 60s about a younger man in love with an older woman.
And if others may forget her birthday but she won’t. She’ll readily tell anyone that she was born on Feb. 19, 1913! What she didn’t say was whether she remembers her wedding date to her late husband Venancio Landingin, a US Army soldier.
She also mentioned her three children’s names, Angelina, Lucita and Mercedita. She has 13 grandchildren and a number of great grandchildren. To ask her for all their names would have been truly unfair.
CITY’S AWARD
When she stepped forward to acknowledge the honor being bestowed on her during the Agew na Dagupan program, Bai Diding easily impressed the audience gathered at the CSI Stadia with her flair for glamour, exuding with self-confidence, beaming with pride.
After receiving from the mayor and other city officials her P5,000 cash incentive and a plaque for being the oldest living resident here, she gamely sang her two favorite songs that quickly won the hearts of her audience.
So, if you see a glamourous 100 year-old in church, at the bank, or shopping, that can only be Bai Diding!- (Tita Roces)
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