TRAILS UP NORTH

Glo Abaeo Tuazon
Marky’s end of the line

BAGUIO CITY -- Everybody was in a somber mood as a disciplined line of people slowly made their way towards here to the altar of the Church of Resurrection. The varnished pine of the church pews and walls were the hue of amber, the filtering lights of the early morning sun casting rays of gold and white towards that solitary box in the middle. If this was in a Shakespeare play, the scene would have been perfect, but....

Too fast, too soon for a young life to be snuffed out like a candle put to rest with the coming of dawn. A young, promising life that would have given this lad a chance to shine more, a chance to show the world what one is made of, a chance to smell the flowers, a chance to roam other worlds, a chance to love, a chance to be loved, a chance to understand and be understood, a chance for everything great and small. But then again God must have had a purpose and this is Marky's end of the line, a time to go home and wander the lands beyond.

Marky is just a name. One among the crowd of kids, living in oblivion until a chance of a lifetime came. With nothing to lose, armed with will and determination, he pushed on to join a talent search, one that would eventually propel him to fame.

The search was not uneventful though. Being part of a highland breed, the term Igorot always creates stir in most lowland social gatherings. It cannot be denied that racial discrimination still exists and prevails in this so-called modern world we live in. For us who are part of this race, the stigma of being one hounds us like a leech.

Not that it is something to be ashamed of, just that the ignorance of people about cultural and traditional diversity makes us less than what we are in their eyes. That the word tail (in reference to the bahag or g-string or loin cloth) still makes us low-down, primitive people with no education. Marky had to prove otherwise.

And with the outrage that came with an on-air comment from a fellow aspirant, the Cordilleran support for Marky poured in. It became a race to save a beautiful breed and a beautiful culture from degradation and animosity. And Marky (and all the Igorots) stood out to win that search.

Sadly though, the end came too soon. The lad that has served as an icon of hope for many Cordilleran youths completed his circle of life and had to advance further. Not that he also left and that is that. In his stead is a legacy that what we sometimes think as impossible can be attained with a lot of hope, and with people to push one up instead of pulling him down, one we term as unity, we can crawl out of any situation and someday stand above too.

To Marky, the land beyond has sunrises and sunsets far greater than what is down here. Up there, there is no more proving as to what we are, what race we belong, or what talents we can do. -- email: twilight_glo@yahoo.com