LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2005/ FW/ --- She was the First Lady of the Philippines for two decades, yet Imelda Marcos is better known for her love of shoes than anything she had done for her country, good or otherwise.

And her people, Filipino expats living in Southern California has given her the dubious honor of a new play, “Imelda: A New Musical,” which traces her life as a young girl being named Miss Manila, her marriage to Ferdinand E. Marcos and his rise to power, culminating to their escape from the Philippines in 1986 during the People Power revolution where not one single drop of blood was shed.

The Filipinos have a love-hate relationship with Imelda. Some literally worship her, hence called ‘Marcos loyalists’ in Philippine parlance.

Then, there are those who hate her for the abuse of power and grand lifestyle she lived while the whole country lived in poverty.

And then of course, her love of shoes! Ferragamo, Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Valentino, Armani – name it and she has at least one pair.

When the Marcoses left Malacanang Palace, the residence of the Philippine President (equivalent to the U.S. White House), a whole section of the palace’s basement was just storage for her shoes – all 2,000 pairs of them displayed in racks like in a department store, some of them never been worn.

And that was what was just left and “on display.” It did not include the ones still in boxes and the ones in the many residences around the world that the Marcoses maintained.

The Marcoses are accused of stealing roughly US$13 billion from the Philippine coffers, which incidentally was equivalent to the country’s national debt when they were deposed from power.

Rumor has it that Christina Onassis and Imelda Marcos accidentally met while shopping. Onassis who was being offered a pair of shoes said, “Give it to her [Imelda Marcos]. She owns a country, I only have an island.”

Yet, although the whole world knows about Imelda Marcos and her love of shoes, the question still remains, “Who is the real Imelda Marcos?”

She had been the topic of several books, mostly written by Filipinos who are either expats or still living in the Philippines. From these books and also from interviews with the Filipinos living in West Covina, CA, also known as “Philippines Town” the East West Players of the David Henry Hwang Theater created the first original musical about Imelda Marcos.

Yet, the producers and writers of “Imelda: A New Musical” insist and very adamant in saying that the play is NOT a documentary. Rather, it was written to entertain.

"IMELDA: A NEW MUSICAL"
Where: David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 N. Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles (LittleTokyo)
When: 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (no shows May 7 and 14); through June 19. ASL-interpreted performance 2 p.m. June 4
Tickets: $10-$38