Corazon Aquino: Jan. 25, 1933 – Aug. 1, 2009
A look back at Cory Aquino, installed as President of the Philippines by the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution.
I heard about the death of Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino in an email from good friend and former Inquirer staff photographer Michael Perez (he was laid off last winter). That was a perfect way to get the news, as we each shared a part of her life story. As a Filipino American, Cory's life is a part of Mike's family's history. As photojournalist, witnessing the events of the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines, that history is one of the most exhilarating, important, fulfilling stories I ever covered.
I just happened to have a saved digital version of this photo from the day, Feb. 25, 1986, she was inaugurated as President of the Philippines. On that morning, in the ballroom of Club Filipino, an exclusive club in San Juan, Manila, after going days without sleep, shooting and transmitting my black and white photos late into each night as the coup against President Ferdinand E. Marcos was unfolding, I popped a roll of Kodachrome into one of my Nikons. I felt like I was at Independence Hall photographing Thomas Jefferson. I didn't even think about whether the newspaper could ever use it or not - I knew I was a fortunate witness to history and wanted a real, color, permananent record of the event. I think I shot three frames.