Great to be 50!: Twinnie Biography

Pictures capture vividly precious moments in our lives. Except for a few kept by our sister, Booboop, ours in all our childhood and single blessedness have long ago been consumed by a fire. A fire that gutted a warehouse where our valuable mementos were stored after our mother had left the only place we called home then.

Let us therefore take you first into a journey of imagination through words that will try to capture the first two decades of our lives.

1959 – 1969
On August 21, 1959, Vikki and I were born. Our parents named us after our grandmothers, Ma. Victoria and Ma. Herminia. No one could simply tell us apart. Only until we got a bit older that one would notice the mole above Vikki’s eye and my longer face.

To our teachers’ delight, we went to school everyday in pigtails. It was in kindergarten that we would start a friendship with a girl who until now, despite the distance, remains our best friend.

It was also during this time where we had our first taste of dance lessons, swaying our hips to the tune of “Tiny Bubbles” at family gatherings and annual recitals, where we were to be christened the de Joya twins.

Pictures would not tell you that our grandaunt, Tita Leni, would also christen Vikki by the name of “Papuyes” and me, “Blossom”. And again, that our sister, Booboop, would call Vikki “Itchie” and me, “Moosy”. We were never Vikki and Minnie to her. To her we will always be Itchie and Moosy.

1970 - 1979
Still in grade school, we had our first taste of cooking classes. While Vikki never really took to it, I was challenged. I knew I wanted to learn more after I prepared corned beef hash that was too salty even to my taste and burned baked pork chops in the oven. I was my mother’s kitchen helper throughout the holidays.

Gone were the pigtails in high school as we graduated from grade school with Vikki as salutatorian. We were no longer in the same class. Aside from our school uniform we were starting to discover our own style, Vikki the more fashionable one and me the more casual one.

We finally bade our cloistered alma mater for a more diverse environment that is the University of the Philippines.

It was also during this time when we discovered our passion for travel visiting the US all by ourselves for the first time.

1980 – 1989
After burning the midnight oil countless times, we both graduated from different fields of studies and discovered more passions.

While Vikki literally traveled the world as the last Baron Travel Girl, I created my own small world transforming blank canvasses into monochromes and splashes of colors, and tried my hand at interior design.

We have embarked on our own lives and have pictures to show now. While I married the college sweet talker early on after graduation, Vikki later married the then provincial doctor who would travel down to Manila from Baguio every weekend just to see her.

And then the babies started coming. While I had two during this decade, Gino in 1982 and Rianna in 1987, born in the US while I lived there for three years, Vikki had Paolo in 1986. Funny, I thought I would have had three then when I had what felt like labor pains while we were traveling across the country in the US. I turned to Reggie then and said “Maybe Vikki’s giving birth” and true enough, she really was.

1990 – 2000
I had my last child, Regina, in 1992. For Vikki though, she decided that “the shop was closed”. No more babies followed.

We pretty much had our own lives to keep us occupied and made more friends.

2001 – 2009
The travel bug bites us again! We started off with a trip to Europe with our high school friends, catching up on our lives that was once so sheltered.

With our sister, Twinkie, Vikki discovered the charm of the Mediterranean islands while I discovered the pleasures of the Carribean.

We traveled our own seas with Vikki learning the intricate world of Spanish flamenco and I studying the enchanting flavours of Saigon and Tuscany, both of us enjoying as well the sights and cultures of the East and West. I too discovered the many adventures and culinary treats our own country has to offer.

We have gone back to our interests finding even more pleasure in them. Vikki has returned to dancing, not only performing but teaching as well. I have returned to the arts, creating a Christmas card and discovering the joy of writing. While Vikki executes a fiery flamenco and a sensual belly dance, I whip up tangy dishes in the kitchen to satisfy one’s belly.

We went on our own spiritual journeys, with Vikki joining Bible studies and I doing volunteer work, teaching arts and crafts to underprivileged children.

Even our own children have gone to a higher level as we sat down at each of their graduation ceremonies. And as only time will take us, we are now grandaunts to our sister, Booboop’s adorable grandson.

Now at 50, we have realized that we have both gone full circle, rediscovering our passions as artists – Vikki, the performing artist and me, the visual and culinary artist.

There will be more memories to weave, more chapters in our lives that is yet to be, more stories to write. As I once wrote before, just like a book, we write our own ending.