WIITH Oral History Interview Collection

This collection contains oral history interviews collected by the Watsonville is in the Heart (WIITH) research team that chronicle the lives of the descendants of the manong (older brother) generation of Filipino agricultural workers who settled in the Pajaro Valley of Central California in the early twentieth century. The collection includes interviews conducted by University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) professors Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez and Dr. Steven McKay; UCSC graduate and undergraduate students Christina Ayson Plank, Meleia Simon-Reynolds, Nicholas Nasser, Toby Baylon, Markus Faye Portacio, Katrina Pagaduan, Ian Hunte Doyle, Una Lynch, Hana Yamamoto, and Maia Mislang; and community members Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio, Jr., Amanda Gamban, and Olivia Sawi. The interviews are organized by family last name. They include: Alminiana (Eva Alminiana Monroe), Ancheta (Shirley Ancheta), Asunción(Anastacio "Stosh" Asunción), Baniaga (Tony Baniaga and Ruby Baniaga Kaldonis), Bersamin (Manuel Bersamin), Bongolan (Lorraine "Rain" Bongolan), Carrillo (Maurice Carillo), Castillo (Fred "Freddie" Leo Castillo), Cawaling (Loren Cawaling), Deocampo (Veronica Hernandez, Antoinette Deocampo-Lechtenberg, and Paul Phillip Deocampo), Fallorina (Daniel "Dan" Kerubin Fallorina, Florendo (Mary Grace Florendo Perry), Irao-de los Reyes and Ibao (Joanne de los Reyes-Hilario), Lopez (Rosario "Rose" Lopez and Anthony "Tony" Bernard Tapiz Jr.), Madalora (Frank Madalora), Mariano (Bobby Mariano), Marquez (John Marquez and Evelyn Marquez), Nabor (Albert "Bert" Thomas Nabor), Nerona-Sanchez (Raymond "Ray" Gonzalez), Ragsac (Ben "Raggy" Ragsac, John "Sibby" Quenga Ragsac, Letecia "Tisha" Remedios Ragsac, and Francisco "Frisco" Quenga Ragsac), Recio (Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio, Jr.), Sales (Dana Sales), Sulay (Juanita Sulay Wilson and Mariano "Mario" Sulay), Tabancay (Ruth Tabancay), Tabasa (Greg Tabasa and Francine Lorraine Tabasa Lopes), Tabios and Tana (Estelita Tabios), Taytayon (Erlinda Taytayon Heebner), Tejada (Fred Tejada), Tumbaga (Lydia Tumbaga Brumblay), Tuzon (Modesto Orlando Tuzon and Rita Louise Tuzon), and Yoro (Samuel "Sammy" Yoro). These interviews cover family immigration histories to the Pajaro Valley in the 1920s-1930s; their memories of the manongs; stories they heard about working in the agricultural fields and canneries; labor organizing and strikes, including United Farm Workers strikes in the 1970s; race relations in Watsonville, California, including the Watsonville Race Riots in January 1930; growing up in the Pajaro Valley from the 1940s-1990s; mixed-race experiences; Filipino owned- businesses; their involvement in community organizations including the Caballeros de Dimas-Alang, Filipino Community Organization, Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville, Filipino Catholic Association, and Filipino Visayans Association of America; popular leisure activities including community barbeques and parties, picnics, fishing, cockfighting, gardening, and travel; and their experience with creating a community archive. Interviews were conducted both in-person and using Zoom video conferencing software from May 2021 to August 2024.