Bersamin Family Collection

Eulalio “Max” Valera Brazil Bersamin was born on December 14, 1911, in the municipality of Bangued, in the province ofAbra of the Philippines. His parents, Calixto and Hipolita Brazil Bersamin, had four other children: Paulino “Paul,” Alejandro “Alex,” Rosario, and Jovita Bersamin. In 1931, Max followed his two older brothers, Paulino and Alejandro, to Hawai‘i where they had been working on a sugar plantation in Wahiawa, O‘ahu. Eventually, the three brothers traveled to California and joined the migrant farm labor circuit. They first settled in Guadalupe before traveling throughout California, Arizona, and along the Pacific coast for work. During World War II, Max's brothers joined the First Filipino Infantry and served in the Pacific Theater. He, however, was unable to join due to a heart condition. Max, nonetheless, continued to labor in the fields for over fifty years.

In 1946, while working in the Imperial Valley, Max met another manong, who introduced him to Victoria Quiroz Quintero, a Mexican woman who worked as a waitress in Mexicali. Victoria was born on March 6, 1917, in Mexcaltitán, Sinaloa, Mexico. She joined Max in the United States, and the two married in Lordsburg, New Mexico on April 27, 1947. Soon after, they settled in Watsonville. Together they raised five children: Linda Alcala (b. unknown) and Alba Reyes (b.1938)—both of whom were Victoria’s children from a previous relationship and were adopted by Max—Evangelina Harried (b. 1947), Juanita “Nita” Roberts (b.1948), and Manuel Bersamin (b. 1957).

In Watsonville, Max continued to work in the fields while Victoria worked in the canneries, including J.J. Crosetti Frozen Foods. The family participated in Filipino community organizations including the Filipino Community of Watsonville and the Fil-Visayan Association of America. Max was an avid cook and prepared Filipino meals at family parties in the Pajaro Valley. He was also an active and passionate member of the United Farm Workers of America. As the first person in her family to settle in the United States, Victoria facilitated many family members’ migration. Her sisters, Maria de los Angeles Quintero Florendo and Alejandrina Quintero Bayuga, married other Watsonville manong, resulting in a large, mixed-race family network.

Max passed in 1996, and Victoria in 2017.

The Bersamin Family Collection was contributed to Watsonville is in the Heart by Max and Victoria Bersamin's son, Manuel, in 2021. The collection contains a total of thirteen items. This includes one oral history interview with Manuel during which he reflects on his father's life-long career as a migrant farm worker and his own experiences growing up in a mixed-race family in Watsonville. The collection also includes twelve photographs that document the Bersamin family's life and leisure, most notably Max's prized fighting roosters.

Manuel Bersamin