Today was election day in the Philippines, with Benigno Aquino in the lead for President. Imelda Marcos, the country's former First Lady, is up for congress and spoke with BBC News in an interview the BBC set to songs from the David Byrne / Fatboy Slim song cycle on her life, Here Lies Love. The album also features Aquino's father, whom Imelda once dated and who was imprisoned for his opposition to the Marcos regime.
Today was election day in the Philippines, with Benigno Aquino, the son of former President Corazon Aquino, currently in the lead. Imelda Marcos, the country's former First Lady and a former candidate for President herself, is on the ballot this time around for a congressional seat. She spoke with BBC News about her hopes for the country and offers her own perspective on her late husband's autocratic rule under martial law. In an interesting twist, the BBC has set the interview to clips from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's recently released song cycle on her life, Here Lies Love.
In the interview, Marcos—who recently told the New York Times, after hearing Here Lies Love, "I'm flattered; I can't believe it!"—recounts for the BBC the story that inspired the project's title. They are the words, she explains, she hopes to have inscribed on her tombstone. Or, as the title song's lyrics explain, "When I am called by God above / Don't have my name inscribed into the stone / Just say: 'Here lies love.'"
Marcos also speaks freely about her infamous shoe collection, a topic Byrne chose not to address in Here Lies Love. Byrne's album does, however, feature Aquino's father, also named Benigno, whom Imelda once dated and who was imprisoned for his opposition to the regime and later assassinated.
You can watch the interview with Imelda Marcos at bbc.co.uk.
For his part, Byrne spoke with BBC News show Breakfast about Here Lies Love in late March. You'll find that interview on bbc.co.uk as well.
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