On her 94th birthday last July, Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, was feted with song and dance at the presidential palace in Manila. Social media buzzed with chatter about her attire (a red embroidered gown featuring her iconic butterfly sleeves), the guest list (an array of friends and family), and the music (her beloved Tagalog love songs).
In the Philippines, Imelda Marcos is etched in public memory as the fabulous queen of camp, renowned for her dazzling clothes and jewels, so over the top that a word, “Imeldific,” was coined in her honor. Her larger-than-life, rags-to-(ill-gotten)-riches tale still fascinates observers near and far. In a Manila suburb, a former rice mill converted into a shoe museum showcases 250 pairs from her fabled collection. On Broadway, a musical that opened last summer chronicles her dramatic ascent and descent, set to the pulsating rhythm of disco.
Imelda and her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, presided over a regime that arrested, tortured, and jailed tens of thousands of people. They are believed to have amassed a $10 billion fortune that they hid in overseas bank accounts and foundations. Stolen wealth bankrolled Imelda’s infamous shopping sprees—Manhattan real estate, artwork, and crates of jewelry. When a revolt by enraged citizens ousted the pair and sent them into exile in Hawaii in 1986, many Filipinos thought the Marcoses were history.
Improbable as their comeback might have seemed then, the Marcos family has since reclaimed its political status in the Philippines.
