Look at these dapper Igorot gentlemen from 120 years ago.
I came across this photo taken in 1904 of five Igorot men wearing European clothes and hats while posing for a photographer at the St. Louis World's Fair in Missouri.
There are dozens of photos of Igorots from this fair. Most of these are depressing and saddening because one can't look at them without thinking of the exploitation the Igorots had to go through.
But this is one of few photos that I actually liked. Gave me a smile even. At least our boys looked like they had fun putting on those oversized clothes and hats. I hope so.
The St. Louis Wordl's Fair, also called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was the fair where many Igorots were brought to be exhibited for western audiences. They were instructed to build an Igorot village inside the fair and to recreate their daily lives back in the mountains of Luzon in the Philippines.
Original caption for the historical photo: "Igorrotes in European clothing in the Philippine Reservation, Department of Anthropology at the 1904 World's Fair"
