https://wiith-archive.ucsc.edu/files/original/13b96a02a1ed6130cd0c68c6c718c5d5.pdf 6351d548adf3f54ab7be707aa2dafc73 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sulay Family Collection Description An account of the resource Mamerto Agustin “Max” Sulay was born in 1907 and raised by his siblings in the municipality of Licab, in the province of Nueva Ecija, in the Philippines. He went to school in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, and obtained a sixth-grade education. In September 1928, he immigrated to Honolulu with his father-in-law and nephew-in-law from his first marriage. The three traveled to Hawai‘i on a ship called the Sandviken. In 1930, Mamerto and his nephew-in-law left Hawai‘i to work in California, arriving first in Wilmington. Mamerto's father-in-law returned to Ilocos Sur in the Philippines. In the continental United States, Mamerto worked as a farm laborer, crew boss, and contractor. He traveled along the west coast following seasonal crop rotations. Census data first documents Mamerto in Union, California where he resided in Camp 5 of the Canal Ranch on Peltier Road. In the summer of 1939, while working as a laborer in a pea field in Arroyo Grande, he met Virginia Alice Viner. Virginia was born in Shed, Oregon in 1922. Her parents traveled extensively throughout the United States but briefly settled in San Luis Obispo County. The Viners lived behind a church where her father worked as a groundskeeper. On August 5, 1940, Mamerto and Virginia traveled to Vancouver, Washington to marry to evade anti-miscegenation laws in California. After their marriage, the two settled in the Pajaro Valley at Rowe Ranch in a Filipino labor camp. The Pajaro Valley was a frequent stop along the agricultural circuit, and many of Mamerto's friends also settled in the area. In 1944, the couple purchased a one-bedroom house on Broadis Street in Watsonville next to a member of the Crosetti family, which had been a long-time employer of Mamerto and his friends. The property was placed in Virginia’s name due to exclusionary property laws that barred Filipinos from owning land. In the 1950s, the house was remodeled by fellow manong, Eddie and Ray Castro. Mamerto and Virginia had six children: Juanita Sulay Wilson, Manzanita Garcia, Mamerto “Sonny” Sulay, Cristine “Cris” Sulay, Alberto “Bert” Sulay, and Mariano “Mario” Telodro Sulay. Mamerto also had a son, Quirino Sulay, in the Philippines, who immigrated to the United States and settled in Watsonville with his family in the 1970s. The Sulay children attended the gatherings, picnics, parties, and celebrations of the organizations to which their parents belonged including the Aglipay Lodge #26 of the Caballeros de Dimas-Alang, the Filipino Community of Watsonville, and the Filipino Women’s Club of Watsonville. Virginia passed in 1988, and Mamerto in 1995. The Sulay Family Collection was contributed to Watsonville is in the Heart by Mamerto and Virginia Sulay's children, Juanita Sulay Wilson and Mariano "Mario" Telodro Sulay, in 2021 and 2022. The collection contains four hundred and twenty-eight items total. It includes two oral history interviews conducted with Juanita and Mario. In the interviews, they reflect on their fathers' migration and labor histories, their parents' marriage, and their experiences growing up mixed-race in Watsonville. In her interview, Juanita also discusses her dedication to researching and archiving her family history. The collection also contains ninety photographs documenting Mamerto's early life as a migrant worker during the 1930s, the family's life in Watsonville, and Mamerto and Virginia's participation in community organizations such as Caballeros de Dimas-Alang and the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Juanita Sulay Wilson Mariano "Mario" Telodro Sulay Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Juanita Sulay Wilson Location The location of the interview San Francisco, CA Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data .wav Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 3:22:28 URL <span style="font-weight: 400;">Link to audio recording on escholarship: </span><a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/21k6p4rw#supplemental" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Juanita Sulay Wilson interviewed by Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez</a> Time Summary A summary of an interview given for different time stamps throughout the interview [0:00] Father, Mamerto “Max” Sulay’s family history [03:59] Max’s migration to Hawai‘i [05:31] Mother, Virginia Viner Sulay’s family history [12:25] Max and Virginia’s meeting and marriage [14:14] Max and Virginia’s decision to settle in the Pajaro Valley [15:10] Max’s early life and migrant labor in the 1930s [20:32] Juanita’s research into her father’s early life [26:21] Max’s and his families leisure activities including cockfighting and attending picnics [31:53] Filipino food that was served at picnics and made by Virginia and Max [38:17] Max and Virginia’s meeting and marriage [40:06] The challenges and prejudice Max and Virginia faced as an interracial couple [42:01] The Sulay family formation in Watsonville and biographical information for all of the Sulay children [45:25] Memories of growing-up in Watsonville [52:54] Feelings and experiences of prejudice [1:03:49] Sulays’ extended family and friend network [1:09:29] Max’s work as a migrant labor contractor [1:13:53] Silences surrounding Max and other manongs’ experiences of racism [1:20:14] How Juanita met her husband Allen and how they ended up living in San Francisco [1:24:46] Allen working with Max in the lettuce fields [1:29:00] Juanita and Allen’s daughter’s mixed-race identity [1:32:43] Challenges faced as a mixed-race couple and mixed-race identity [1:40:17] Discussion of Watsonville and labor camps [1:42:46] Returning to the Philippines and genetic connections between folks in the Watsonville community [1:56:52] Establishing the Filipino Youth Club as a space to celebrate identity [1:59:44] Filipino folk dancing and hula [2:03:38] Ties between Watsonville and Hawai‘i and Juanita’s hula dancing [2:08:28] Pajaro Valley’s unique environment [2:11:38] Change in Watsonville’s environment, built environment, and demographics over time [2:21:54] Disconnect between descendents of the manong and post-1965 Filipino immigrants [2:30:00] Connecting with family in the Philippines [2:48:08] The importance of historical preservation and the Watsonville is in the Heart project Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Juanita Sulay Wilson interviewed by Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez Description An account of the resource In this interview, originally recorded in person and on video, Juanita Sulay Wilson and Allen Wilson speak with Dr. Kathleen “Kat” Cruz Gutierrez, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team, and her father, Hermes Gutierrez. Wilson gives an overview of her family’s history settling in the Pajaro Valley and her father’s experience working in the fields along the California coast as migrant workers. She details her parents’ experience navigating race relations in the Pajaro Valley as a mixed-race couple. Wilson also discusses what it was like growing up in the Pajaro Valley as a mixed-race woman and the desire of her extended family to shelter her and her siblings from the racism they experienced as Filipino agricultural laborers. She also discusses the development of Watsonville alongside the changing Filipino demographics after the 1950s. Joined by her husband, Allen Wilson, they discussed how they met and moved up to San Francisco. Lastly, Wilson discusses her extracurricular activities including hula and archiving her family’s personal materials. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Juanita Sulay Wilson and Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 4, 2021 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 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 escholarship. 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 A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SUL.2021.64 Caballeros de Dimas-Alang Dances Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville Filipino Youth Club Hawai'i J.J. Crosetti Ranch Philippines Picnics Race Rowe Ranch Watsonville