Francine Tabasa Lopes interviewed by Una Lynch, Christina Ayson Plank, and Meleia Simon-Reynolds
Dublin Core
Title
Francine Tabasa Lopes interviewed by Una Lynch, Christina Ayson Plank, and Meleia Simon-Reynolds
Description
In this interview, originally recorded in-person at Paradise Villa Assisted Living and Memory Care in Live Oak, California, Francine Tabasa Lopes speaks with Una Lynch, Christina Ayson Plank, and Meleia Simon-Reynolds, members of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Francine shares stories about her parents, Jesus Torrente Tabasa and Rosita Dionisio Tabasa-Estrada. She explains how her parents migrated to the United States from the Philippines during the 1920s and 1930s and eventually settled in Watsonville. Francine discusses Jesus’s agricultural labor and the restaurants and other businesses both of her parents owned and operated in Watsonville. She provides details about Rosita’s restaurant business, Philippine Gardens (originally Oriental Cafe). She describes the restaurant’s various locations in downtown Watsonville and the gambling operations that existed within the restaurant. Francine also reflects on her experiences growing up under the care of her maternal grandmother, Benita Carpio Dionisio.
Creator
Francine Tabasa Lopes
Una Lynch
Christina Ayson Plank
Meleia Simon-Reynolds
Date
May 1, 2023
Rights
Watsonville is in the Heart (WIITH) is a community-driven public history initiative to preserve and uplift stories of Filipino migration and labor in the city of Watsonville and greater Pajaro Valley. All oral history interviews are donated to WIITH by the narrators. Copyright is held by WIITH. Oral history interview recordings and transcripts are available for unrestricted use and reproduction by educators and researchers. Please note that the recordings on this website are provided via Soundcloud. For access to oral history audio files, please contact the project director at wiith@ucsc.edu. If you are an oral history narrator and would like to remove your interview from the archive website, please contact the project director.
Language
English
Type
Oral History
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Una Lynch
Christina Ayson Plank
Meleia Simon-Reynolds
Interviewee
Francine Tabasa Lopes
Original Format
.wav
Duration
1:12:06
URL
Link to audio recording on escholarship: Francine Tabasa Lopes interviewed by Una Lynch, Christina Ayson Plank, and Meleia Simon-Reynolds
Files
Collection
Citation
Francine Tabasa Lopes et al., “Francine Tabasa Lopes interviewed by Una Lynch, Christina Ayson Plank, and Meleia Simon-Reynolds,” Watsonville is in the Heart: Community Digital Archive, accessed December 5, 2025, https://wiith-archive.ucsc.edu/items/show/1237.
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