Now come the individual expressions of love of artists and writers to Gilda Cordero Fernando in their text and FB messages.

Chit Roces-Santos, Inquirer Lifestyle columnist: “It’s so sad that she weakened before our eyes, and we couldn’t do anything about it.”

Mariel N. Francisco, writer and wellness teacher: “What a privilege to spend a good part of our lives with her.”

Noel Soler Cuizon, mixed media artist and art teacher: “Naalala ko yung dancing namin sa kalye near a gallery in Pasay. I was drunk and I told her na-i-intimidate ako sa kanya. Sabi lang ng goddess Gilda, ‘Gaga!’ I’m not even sure if I really had a brief phone conversation with her before my angioplasty sa Philippine General Hospital. I remember her telling me, ‘Kaya mo yan!’”

Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, writer and performance artist: “Gilda has left us for a new adventure. It is like her to leave like this. For her there is always more to see and be, and now it is the other world that has her. She has most likely arrived there in style.

“I can’t cry. She’d slap my shoulder, she’d laugh, she’d shake me. She’d move her arms in winged movements, dance around as I try not to cry into some iced lemongrass tea. She’d say, dance instead. I would. I would, if this reality were not so hard.

“You, Clinton Palanca and Randy Bustamante are gone. And weren’t we all just dancing around in those times together, wild with body paint and bohemian energy, at your house? I shall miss the clink of those bangled arms. Those arms that throw themselves up like wings. And that verve!”

Literary mother

Danton Remoto, poet and novelist: “This just broke my heart. Gilda Cordero Fernando, the last of my four literary mothers (Chitang Nakpil, Kerima Polotan and Edith Tiempo) has just passed away. When I dreamed about you last night, I knew you were leaving. Gilda used to tease me as looking ‘like a studious movie star’ in my TV show; she sent touching messages when my father died, and when my mother died a month later; she was a peerless writer and witty conversationalist. The food in her house was always very good; the stories, more so. Not goodbye, but see you again, Gilda.”

Bibeth Orteza, scriptwriter-director: “She was closing shop (Gilda’s antique shop Junque) in Malate that afternoon I passed by. I browsed, saw something I liked but couldn’t afford. I bid her goodbye. She asked why I wasn’t buying. I told her I had just paid tuition for my brother in med school so next time na lang. She said, ‘Wala na ako rito next time mo.’ She wrapped what I’d been looking at in brown paper. ‘O, iyo na.’ Soon as I had heard she went ahead, I found myself staring at her gift from years ago. She’d actually given me so much more. And not just me. All of us.”

Olive Tripon, writer-editor: “You will live on with your books and paintings and the many wacky events only your creative mind can generate, from the state of the nation fashion show to aswangs and wheelchair art!”

Julie Lluch, sculptor: “Go with God, our dearest Gilda! You live forever in our hearts and memories. You had so much to teach us about life, how to be women in our time. We smile as our tears fall, thinking of your loveliness. There is none like you, praise God!”

Nicolas Pichay, poet and playwright: “She is timeless in the way that she is able to talk to artists from different generations working in various disciplines. She was timely in her interjections in literature and fashion; in theater and publishing. Sometimes, I thought she was Mother Time herself, appearing at the exact moment that you needed her. Like that time when she gave me a Buddha Belly walking stick because only by walking would I have resolved a personal quandary.

“Didn’t she give a funeral party for herself because she knew that this time would come? I imagine a Gilda Cordero Fernando, smiling; behind her head, a halo made of a ticking clock, a spiritual icon reminding us of the fantastic possibilities given the limited hours in our lives. Thank you, GCF, for the pleasure of your company and the gift of your life’s work.”

Grace Nono, singer and ethnomusicologist: “Gilda the auteur extraordinaire, Gilda the iconoclast, Gilda the beauty, Gilda the generous, Gilda the out of this world. You gave birth to a whole generation of visionary outcasts who bow to no one, stand up to anyone, with grace, wit and style. You have been a mentor of a lifetime! Let us fly with you like angels in the virtual sky!”

Nikki Coseteng, former senator and art patron: “Condolences to the family, friends, admirers and all those whose minds she straightened out! Great loss indeed!”

Joy Buensalido, public relations practitioner: “Heaven has become a much happier place with Gilda’s scintillating presence.”

Imelda Cajipe Endaya, painter: “Thank you, Gilda, for being a fun genius of the word, and of art, and of culture in daily life, for showing us how to value and enjoy being Filipino and being proud of it. We celebrate your beautiful life, your unparalleled, inimitable imagination, your productive creativity, inspiring and harnessing talents of many into artistic collaborations. Indeed, you are a great gift, a legacy to our nation.”

Myra Beltran, dancer and choreographer: “Afternoon with the diva who said her Christmas wish was ‘Siyempre, boyfriend.’ Dance with the stars now, Gilda. Thank you.”

—Elizabeth Lolarga, CONTRIBUTOR