By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
This sweltering summer people can get the jock itch. An itchy rash on the inner base of the upper thighs due to sweating which creates the right environment for fungal growth. It can be painfully itchy.
The other day I had a conversation with a cab driver who had been around for long. Now a senior citizen, he remembered fellow Igorots around town in G-strings but wearing “amerikana.” He related the story his father told him about Igorots in the city in the “olden” days. A member of the American colonizers wanted them to change their attire by wearing pants instead of G-strings but they refused. As found out, the reason they did not want to was because they sweated profusely in the groin during hot days when they wore pants.
So, perhaps, with G-strings, our fellow Igorots back then did not suffer from jock itch. Sadly, no Igorot around the city now might want to be wearing a G-string as a day to day attire. More so if they have big tummies just like me.
The conversation on G-strings brought back memories of Norman King, an Aeta. He really looked like one, stocky, dark with kinky hair, and who might be the first of his tribe to graduate from the University of the Philippines. During the commencement exercises, he went up the stage to receive his diploma in genuine Aeta attire. He was only wearing an Aeta “bahag” or G-string. The crowd cheered him loudly. More so his friends and fraternity brods who were shown on TV happily shouting in cheers. I would have been shouting also for him if I were there, for a brother member of a cultural minority. Well, I cheered for him in front of the TV.
His surname is King as his father (a village chieftain) and elders before him in the Clark US Air Base area were respected by the Americans so they gave them that venerated name. An aunt of his might me be the first Aeta to become a lawyer.
He struggled through his younger days in school being discriminated against. But as taught by his mother, it is those who get through adversity who end up being respected. So he worked his way doing menial jobs to finish school.
Another unforgettable lesson his mother taught him was that he could go very far only if he accepted or came to terms with his identity which of course included his cultural background or affiliation.
He ended up in UP Manila to take up AB Behavioral Sciences.
Where is he now? He is now teaching at UP Clark. When he graduated, he vowed to use his education to improve the lives of his tribe or his people. He is planning to become a lawyer. We wish him very well.
Upon his graduation from UP Manila, he became an instant celebrity and an endorser of some products like a camera brand. A short film was also made about his life which was sponsored by Safeguard (the bath soap). As one publication about him warned, if you see the film, be ready with handkerchiefs or tissue papers to wipe away the tears. As always, stories about great struggles in life are best sellers or box office hits.
Perhaps Norman King’s people, the Aetas, like the early Igorots in G-strings did not also suffer from jock itch.**
