Queen for a Day
Dichi Arenas
Iloilo's old name old wealth personalities were treated to a queen's banquet when manor-born lady and philanthropist, Mercedes "Dichi" Ledesma-Arenas celebrated her diamond birthday in her fabulous 112-year-old ancestral home in one of the city's historic quarters -- Sto. Rosario Street. It used to be the embassy row during the early 1900s. The guests relished the sumptuous buffet of all-time favorites complete with salad bar, roast beef station (courtesy of daughter Melanie Arenas-Caguiat) and a calorific dessert counter by culinary wiz Ding Montelibano.