For the love of the Aetas

PAMPANGA –Hands up in the air, they flick their wrists and shuffle their bare feet across the stage. They bend their bodies in a show of grace and agility, their flaming red wrap-arounds contrasting sharply with their chocolate brown skin.

No, they are not the front act of a Big Dome show. Neither are they any of the omnipresent pop dance groups, but some 10 Aetas for whose benefit the show–topbilling Field the Spirit of ’67 at Holiday Inn Resort Clark Field –is being held. The dance group is composed of six children and four adults, all from little-known barrios called Sapang Bato and Sapang Uwak. And tonight–their special night–they are set to give the performance of their lives.

The crowd–made up of elite in Angeles and Manila–seniors with enough money to spend on a night like this–weren’t prepared for what they saw. But no one complained. In fact, the overflowing crowd that packed the grand ballroom and exceeded its 500 seating capacity, appreciated it.

They warmly applauded the petite performers whose basic education concert proceeds will help defray. Some of their Aeta friends were also in the audience, rooting for their fellow minorities, knowing that their future–at least part of it–rests on this show presented by the Sibul Ning Aeta Foundation Inc.

In the crowd that danced to the music of the Beatles, the Cascades and other oldies but goodies sung by the Spirit of ’67 was Rosalie ‘Salie’ Naguiat, founder of the Sibul Ning Aeta Foundation.

The tireless Salie has been laboring in the vineyards of the Foundation as its founder for a year now. A fan of the Spirit of ’67, whose concerts at the Rib Cage Restaurant last year she watched with uncontained ardor, Salie was first exposed to the Aetas in 1998, when her husband Serge ran for public office. As his chief campaign manager, Salie saw the plight of the Aetas with her own eyes.

"They have no running water. They live near the garbage dump. And the children will feel out of place in a regular school because they speak a different dialect. Others even call them kulot," relates Salie.

She wasted no time getting into action.

Salie hosted dinners for Japanese investors, would-be sponsors of pro-Aeta projects, in her house (a landmark in itself because of its long history). Then, she started bringing the San Juan Dental Association and the San Juan Lions to give free dental services to the Aetas every quarter.

"The ultimate goal is to teach the Aetas so they won’t rely on dole-outs. They already have skills as it is: making flutes, fashioning beads and rainsticks. We plan to convert a house in Clark to serve as a museum where the Aetas’ handiwork can be displayed. We also want to build a schoolhouse for the Aetas alone, where the means of communication is their own dialect and English. They feel so out of place in a regular school," relates Salie.

Another generous soul in the audience who saw how the band lured people to the cramped dance floor (even if typhoon Lagalag put everyone on pins and needles), was Patis Tesoro. Similarly moved by the plight of the Aetas, she has decided to hold a benefit fashion show for the foundation.

The Spirit of ’67 concert is just the start. Salie and her group, chaired by Eloisa Narciso, have many more projects under their sleeves. They know the road is long; the journey towards freeing the Aetas from undignified begging in the streets, is arduous.

But like the Spirit of ’67 members who did not whimper when they discovered on the night of their show that the Aetas will front act for them, they are not complaining. If anything, these charitable souls are willing to help.

More benefit concerts, please!