An accomplished actor in film & television, Ms. Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino is known for her stunning beauty. In a field full of mestiza celebrities with angular, aquiline features & whitish skin tone, Angel stands exceptional with her alluring blend of soft, classic kayumanggi features. If Botong Francisco had a chance to paint the mythical Maganda emerging from a split bamboo, Angel would have been the perfect model.
But beyond her drop dead looks, Angel reminded me of her association with Tulong Dunong (TD), the tutorial and scholarship program instituted by the late James O’Brian, SJ in the mid-1970s. This shared experience allowed me to muster enough guts to introduce myself to TD’s muse, a 51 year young woman of warmth, grace, and charm transformed from a shy teenage school girl, like the proverbial duckling turning into a radiant swan.
Raised in the working class neighborhood of Barangka, Marikina amidst shoe making workshops, Angel was the eldest of four siblings in a struggling family of limited means. TD selected her for a high school scholarship at St. Bridget School, a private Catholic school run by Good Shepherd sisters. She then majored in journalism at UP, and from there became a model and eventually an actor.
Angel was a TD tutee and scholar in the 80s, but when TD evolved into an autonomous, Ateneo-affiliated foundation, she became its ambassador, raising awareness about its mission and participating in fundraising events. For Angel & many more, TD was an opportunity to chart a journey beyond the limitations of their circumstance, to dream & to aspire. Her story serves as an inspiration to Tulong Dunong students. (You can hear the poignant story in her own voice in this video https://youtu.be/m07VAyggCSs?si=oOIczzUmQDqcxfSd ).
