I’m incredibly proud of my daughter Bella. She’s just 18 and already creating waves with her bazaars. This coming weekend she will have another bazaar – this time at the Proscenium in Rockwell – and I couldn’t be more excited for her latest project. I have no doubt she will be the Bazaar Queen she’s always dreamt of becoming.

Like entrepreneurs her age, she’s mastered how to use social media to promote her business. Last year, I shared how she got some brand endorsement deals through her TikTok content and how she came up with her own line of scents; and now she’s organizing bazaars. With her latest venture, she’s not just building her own brand but also helping many small businesses get their start. More marketplaces mean more opportunities for our MSMEs to thrive.

I’d like to believe she gets her entrepreneurial streak from both sides of the family. It helps that she has grandfathers like Salvador Araneta and Jose Concepcion Jr., but this being the day after Mother’s Day, the mothers in our family should take equal credit in raising kids as industrious, disciplined and family-centered like Bella.

I recall being told a story that, during the Japanese occupation of Manila, Bella’s great-grandmother on my mom’s side – Lola Victoria Lopez-Araneta – thought of buying rice from the biyaheros from the provinces. She bought by the sack, and so she had enough stock for the family and to sell even during the most difficult times.

Lola Vic also accumulated a lot of liquor, like whisky, brandy and rum, which she was able to sell for a profit during Liberation. More than that, Lola Vic went through a lot – like the loss of her loved ones and her home – during the war, but she never lost her faith in God and carried on helping provide for the family. She would later on be the indispensable partner of my Lolo Badong when she worked as treasurer of the family’s airline company, Far Eastern Transport Inc. (FEATI). This is on top of making sure the children got a proper education.

She went on to found White Cross orphanage, which my mother, Marivic, continued to grow as part of its Board of Trustees, and where she pours her hard work and dedication providing proper care and temporary shelter to children in need.

My mother herself has done exceptional deeds for our family, which constantly remind us of our admiration for her as a mom. Mothers like her endlessly serve as the anchors to the family and they embrace us with their unconditional love.

She’s always lived a simple life, so extreme at times that my sisters have to push her to shop. I remember that one of her most cherished possessions was a sewing machine, which my dad, in a state of panic when a fire struck near our house, carried down a flight of stairs to rescue.

She was a devoted wife to my dad and she saw him through difficult times up until the time he left us last year. She supported him during the Namfrel days, when he served government as secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as in his many activities in the ASEAN and in civil society.

And while she was very aware of her role in supporting Dad’s career, she always found time to be her own person. In the earlier years while we growing up, she was the president of Admiral Hotel. She was managing that hotel for many years, and I remember having lunch with her when I was studying in De La Salle University-Taft.

She was ever-protective of Dad. He was diabetic, you see, but he always managed to get someone to sneak in some sweets for him. Of course she’d lose it every time it would happen, but would forgive everything just because these little treats were something Dad truly enjoyed.

She was the disciplinarian. As my brother once observed, she is very Old Testament when it comes to disciplining us unruly Concepcion kids. There is a rule of thumb among us kids back then, which pretty much summarized the order of things: if you want clothes, ask Mom. If you want toys, ask Dad. But we are ever grateful for having someone instill order in our lives. One of my sisters once remarked that were it not for Mom (and the fire that razed our house), Dad would have been going around in baduy clothes.

I’d like to believe the dynamic in the Concepcion family is one seen in many ordinary Filipino families. The mother is always the “ilaw ng tahanan.” She serves as an example for the children and is the quiet strength that reassures everybody. I see this in the nanays who put up small businesses to augment the family income, who endure having to be both mother and father in OFW families and who have to balance work and family and keep it together for the sake of everybody. It’s not easy and it’s unpaid work. This is especially significant and amazing if you put it in the context of the fact that more than half of our MSMEs are led by women.

As I reflect on these qualities, I see Bella embodying the same resilience and creativity that has been passed down through generations. Her determination to uplift others through her bazaars mirrors Lola Vic’s spirit of resourcefulness, while her compassion reflects my mother’s – and her mother’s – nurturing heart. In supporting her ventures, Bella is not only crafting her own legacy but also honoring the lineage of strong women who came before her. It’s a beautiful cycle of empowerment, where each generation inspires the next to dream bigger and work harder. As Bella prepares for her next great venture, I am filled with hope for her future, knowing she carries the strength of our family’s history with her.

Originally Published in Philippine Star