MDJ Superstar

My papa passed away 15 years ago, less than a month shy of my 15th birthday. He didn’t get to see me graduate with honours from the Ateneo Grade School, but that was okay – I was an overachiever as a child (sigh), I’m sure he was bored of those things by then.

I was trapped in that netherworld between being a child and being a man, so my memories of him at that point were both few and fuzzy.

People told me he was a big name in advertising, a pioneer, a tiger. I suppose that explains why the industry is so near and dear to my heart; it’s genetic. I’ve met so many people who actually got to work with him, were interviewed by him, sat in his talks, were shoved into a pool by him, and one thing they always tell me is – you have big shoes to fill, De Joya.

How so? I was curious, and so I Googled for him over the weekend. Here’s my favorite search result. It’s an excerpt from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s keynote address at the 2003 Philippine Advertising Congress.

“Anywhere in the world, there will be Filipino country business managers, marketing directors, top advertising personnel. It is a not strange to us that the founding chairman of the Asian Federation of Advertising Agencies was Antonio de Joya, a Filipino. In all fields, in fact, intellectual and physical, from Antonio de Joya to Manny Pacquiao, we are world class.”

- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Philippine Advertising Congress 2003

How many people get to have their names mentioned in the same breath as the words ”Manny Pacquiao” and ”world class” by the President? I think that’s pretty bad-ass.

R.I.P. Papa. Hope you’re proud of everything I’m doing with my life.