I MET RICO Maloles through his wife Jessica Maloles, one of the models of the late fashion designer Goullee Gorospe.
Goullee would tag me along to the Maloleses in Parañaque whenever he would schedule measurements or fittings of his designs and wardrobe and squeeze in a lively conversations with her.
To begin with, who is Rico Maloles?
Rico is the only son of Octavio Maloles, the very first ambassador of the Philippines to the United States, Europe and Latin America.
It was during Octavio’s time in the Commonwealth period that Philippine embassies and consular offices around the world were established and Octavio, a lawyer, was one of the point men in the foreign service among our compatriots.
Rico, being the only child, was always with Octavio and his wife, Alicia Cabarrus de Santos in California, London, Buenos Aires, among other high places.
The Maloleses are from.Sto. Tomas Batangas.
They are first cousins to the Malvars, Miguel was Octavio’s first cousin by virtue of the revolutionary hero’s wife Paula Maloles.
Rico was a well-traveled man and came from a buena familia. He was single… has remained single for eighty years before he met Jessica.
SINGLE FOR 80 YEARS
Rico was a well-traveled man and came from a buena familia.
He was single — although he admitted he fell in love with a Latina — but he has remained single for eighty years before he met Jessica.
Rico and Jessica’s love story is one for the books.
It started when Rico took a vacation in General Santos City.
He was in a restaurant eating and drinking by himself when he took notice of a lady in one corner of the eatery.
The woman who was in deep thought, almost teary-eyed, alone by herself would introduce herself as Jessica was nursing a broken heart at the time as she confessed she was a battered wife of a seaman.
The story immediately stroke a chord in Rico’s heart.
On top of it, she found Jessica beautiful so he started to court her and won her after sometime.
BOOK IN THE MAKING
This colorful episode of Rico and Jess is included in the book “Man of Destiny,” my first book written in English.
It was Jess through the intercession of my four earlier books, namely “Tio Ticong Pelikula at Pulitika Vicente Salumbides,” “Expose Movie Reporting in the Philippines,” “SekSinema (in Filipino),” “75 Writers. 75 Stories.”
When I discussed the concept of “Man of Destiny” book with Rico, there was some spiritual context that he wanted to bring out.
You see, Rico is a believer of the “angry birds” syndrome which is a metaphor of the great creative power.
I interviewed Rico several times until I got enough materials to finish one whole book.
I was the writer of the research paper and the author’s page is “as told to Boy Villasanta.”
From then on I felt and still feel that Rico shared and has been sharing the same vision with me — being an iconoclast.
