Emilio
Dizon Jacinto was born on December 15, 1875 in Trozo, Manila to Don Mariano
Jacinto, a bookkeeper, and Josefa Dizon, a midwife.
As
a boy, he learned Spanish by rote, then known as the lengua de tienda.
He mastered this kind of language but that did not interfere with his mastery
of his native tongue.
When
his father died, his mother had to work harder to support his studies.
His mother bought unredeemed clothes for him from the Casa de Agencia.
He tore pieces of a black rug for his shoe strings, and a long piece from
the hemline of his mother's skirt for his belt. This made him the
target of other children's jokes.
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