Yosi tayo, pare

Jojo Camacho and Tad Abello puffing away in the 2-D classroom

In 1970's Manila, smoking was as natural as eating. Everyone smoked - your lolo (grandfather), your tito (uncle), your driver, the fish ball vendor along Katipunan road, the pizzamaker at Shakey's, the teachers and the priests in school- they all smoked. In that kind of environment, no wonder we were experimenting with smokes in grade school.

It starts out from the experimental puff from a tito or an older cousin; usually after dinner at a family get together when all the boys are outside hanging out by the cars on the street. A swig of San Miguel beer

almost automatically follows. This was the first right of passage to manhood in 70's Manila. Of course, the cigarettes tasted like crap, but with more practice, the smokes became more tolerable.

By grade seven, several of the studs in our batch were already smoking at the local hangout - The Pink House pool hall along a narrow alley off Katipunan road. The Ateneo High School allowed students with parent permission slips to smoke on campus during breaks and after school. The freshman wing at that time was right smack in the middle of campus where the chapel stood and where the Virgin Mary stood guard in the middle of the freshman lawn. It's hard to sneak a smoke when the Virgin Mary was staring down your throat.

However, our 1-D freshman class trip to Baguio would change all that cautiousness. Dennis Isleta, whose father was a high ranking officer in the military, arranged for our class to stay in the Philippine Military Academy barracks. After our bus excursion around the nightlife of Baguio and a failed attempt at hiring hookers at the local disco, we ended up back in the barracks smoking our massive stash of cigarettes on top of bunk beds - chatting about our class aspirations, girls and more girls.

We were pros by the time we entered our second year. We freely smoked during breaks and lunches as the rest of the class kept an eye for teachers. Our barkada (group) composed of Yeyet Estrada, Tad Abello, Alex Araneta, Jojo Camacho, Leo Suarez, Yoo Hoo Villanueva and Eric Jurado were the lead smokers and "promotors" of our class. The Marlboro "Blue Seal" was our smoke of choice. The blue seal was the label on top of the pack that identified the cigarette as American made. With our colonial mentality, anything imported was better. In this case though, the blue seal was far more smoother in taste that the Pinoy made Marlboros. Though more expensive than the locally made Marlboro's, the "blue seal" was also more socially acceptable and definitely the Atenean's preferred brand at soirees. The sight of a blue seal in one's chest pocket or inside one's briefcase was an immediate status builder. Though, Dunhill's didn't look that bad either.