I hope to never forget

Those same hands that till the earth, once held me close

The same salt that wells in my eyes, once rolled off your nose,

From the swelling heat of working in the sun.

The dreams you packed in your suitcase,

I’ve uncaged and set free.

I send you this with love, 

from the other side of the sea.* 

When I first began working on the Watsonville is in the Heart digital archive, one of my first assignments was to generate descriptions for letters from the Florendo Family Collection. After reading through the Florendo letters, I immediately gravitated toward their stories and marveled at the family’s ability to remain connected across borders and oceans, from Mexicali to Watsonville, and from the Philippines to Watsonville. I continued processing other family collections with an understanding of the importance of nurturing kinship abroad. “Wherever I am I’ll remember you yet”: Nurturing Transnational Kinship Through Photographs and Letters gathers together eight objects from five collections that evoke a longing for transnational families and friends. For the Filipino families represented through these objects, maintaining contact through an ongoing exchange of correspondence and photographs helped nurture long-distance relationships and narrowed the emotional gap created by the difficulties of immigration or travel due to financial strain. 

The ways in which these photographs show wear and contain heartfelt inscriptions, as well as the manner by which the written correspondence expresses love and longing, indicate how much these families treasured such objects and the memories of their loved ones abroad.

The eight objects in this exhibition come from the Bosque, DeOcampo, Millares, Florendo, and the Irao-de los Reyes and Ibao family collections. Notably, they include letters from the Florendo collection, many of which were written in Spanish. The exhibition also includes photographs.

Manongs Posed on Riverside Road, a photograph from the Irao-de los Reyes and Ibao Family Collection, is arguably one of my favorite photographs from the project. The object illustrates how the sending of photographs cultivated what would become a temporary long-distance marriage between Juan “Johnny” de los Reyes and his wife, Luisa Irao de los Reyes. According to their daughter, Joanne de los Reyes-Hilario, this photograph was sent to Luisa shortly after her and Johnny’s marriage. Luisa was in the Philippines awaiting the approval of her immigration to the United States. There is an inscription on the back of the photograph that reads, “Here we are again so lonely + miss you so much.” This photograph compared to others in the family collection shows more wear with its faded ink and discoloration, possibly indicating the many times this photograph was held. 

Although Watsonville is in the Heart strives to honor manong history and that of their families, we must remember that the preservation of these histories began with these families. The fact that so many of these photographs and letters were held over many years for safe-keeping underscores the importance of these objects. It is only because of these families and their willingness to share their beloved objects and personal stories that have made this project possible. This exhibition continues this tradition by honoring their stories, memories, and relationships. 

*This poem was also written by the author and curator of this exhibition.