At my first exhibit I got a call from Leonides Benesa. He said, “Hello, Impy, this is Leo Benesa. I visited your exhibit and I am writing about your show. Can we see each other for a few questions about your work?” I found out that he was, at that time, the premier art critic in the land. Leo Benesa reviewed every exhibit I ever did until he passed away in 1984. I can only describe him as a pure soul who never succumbed to the lure of money or celebrity. He told me of the countless times he was offered huge gifts just to write a nice review of an artist. But he chose to keep his sense of decency and his clear conscience intact. He was renting a room at a friend’s place and he took the jeepney or walked to wherever he needed to go every day. It’s like I have been reborn with a new perspective—one of deeper love and respect for everything that manifests itself into physical form, as well as those of the etheric and heavenly. The positive attitudes instilled in me by my parents helped me carry out the role of a professional artist and constantly affirm, “Yes, this is what I want to do in my life.” That took me to a higher dimension. My parents have taught me how to balance discipline and freedom, which became valuable when I had a child growing up when technology and computers have taken over our lives. My daughter is now an adult with a well-rounded and stable personality.
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