Pacquiao has a myth of origin equal to that of any Greek or Roman hero. Aban-doned by his father and brought up by a tough-as-nails mother, the poor boy who loves to box is rejected by a local squad but then journeys many islands away, to the country's metropolis, Manila, to make it big. Then he leaves the Philippines to make it even bigger, conquering the world again and again to bring back riches to share with his family and friends.
In Manila, his children attend one of the most exclusive and expensive private schools. He is generous to a fault, spending thousands of dollars a day feeding and entertaining guests. Some spend decades abroad, away from the ones they love, for the sake of the ones they love.
Everyone in the Philippines knows a person who has made the sacrifice or is making it. Pacquiao gives that multitude a champion's face of selflessness: the winner who takes all and gives to all. They like fantasy. And what is more of a fantasy than Manny Pacquiao? A movie has been made of his life. But Pacquiao says the full details of that life couldn't possibly fit into just one film.
There are things to clear up. For one, he did not leave ramshackle General Santos City, a camp of tin and thatch, to pursue boxing, even though he did love the sport. He left home at 14 because his mother Dionisia, who did odd jobs and factory work and hawked vegetables by roadsides, wasn't really making enough to feed her six children. As it was, he was often absent from school because the family needed him to help sell snacks and trinkets on the potholed lanes where nearly naked children with matted hair still chase rusting bicycle wheels for fun.
Pacquiao liked school, correcting and grading his classmates' homework. A decent education, however, requires several years and a lot of money. The Pacquiaos had trouble accumulating even a little. And so young Manny plotted his trip in secret. Dionisia Pacquiao is slender and slight, like her son, and has his easy smile. Except I am stronger. Dionisia recalls receiving a letter from him "saying how sorry he was [for leaving home] I was very, very sad.
