Matrona (

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

for "matron") is a story arc of the

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

comic strip series ''

Pugad Baboy ''Pugad Baboy'' (literally, "swine's nest" in Tagalog) is a comic strip created by Filipino cartoonist Apolonio "Pol" Medina, Jr. The strip is about a Manila community of mostly obese people – "fat as pigs" (''baboy'' is Tagalog for pig). It ...

'', created by

Pol Medina Jr. Apolonio "Pol" Medina Jr. (born April 6, 1960) is a Filipino cartoonist best known for his comic strip ''Pugad Baboy''. Biography Education and early career Pol Medina graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in 1983 with a degree in Archit ...

and originally published in the

Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded bro ...

. This particular story arc lasts 23 strips long. In 1998, the story arc was reprinted in ''Pugad Baboy X'', the tenth book compilation of the comic strip series.

Synopsis

Bab takes Tiny on a date to the Soft Jazz Café. There, an elderly woman dressed in a revealing outfit asks Bab for a light and later, when Tiny goes off to the ladies' room, makes a pass at him. Bab later gets the scare of his life when he discovers that the woman, named "Girlie", is his mother's friend who had just come home from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and was staying over at their place. Cecille, Bab's mom, later relates the reason why Girlie had come home; she was looking for a way to have her marriage in Canada annulled due to her husband's impotence. Bab helps out by introducing Girlie to Attorney Adriano. Girlie, however, soon acquires a distasteful reputation among the men of Pugad Baboy, as even Dagul was not safe from her wiles. Girlie soon confesses to Cecille that

menopause Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...

was one of the reasons for her behavior. She was afraid of being old and unwanted. Cecille counsels her; telling her that she was experiencing a new phase in life. Cecille's advise seemed to work wonders on Girlie; she soon ditched her flirtatious image and began wearing clothes appropriate for her mature age. As she takes her leave for a trip back to Canada, she even lectures Tomas on showing respect when speaking to older persons, suddenly speaking in Tagalog (she spoke in English the whole time she had her flirtatious image).

Trivia

*Although the word "matron" has a positive connotation in the

Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

s, the same may not be said for ''matrona'', which

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

sometimes use to describe a mature, affluent woman with questionable sexual morals. *''Matrona'' also has the alternate meaning of "

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

". *This is Attorney Adriano's second appearance in a story arc; his first was in Col. Manyakis. *Impotence is sufficient ground for annulment, although Attorney Adriano disagrees with this. *When Girlie confides in Bab that she hated sleeping alone, Bab tells her that he would send "Dongski" to sleep with her. Dongski turns out to be Bab's pet Tamagotchi. *The Soft Jazz Café may be an oblique reference to the

Hard Rock Café Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and rol ...

. Pugad Baboy {{comic-strip-stub