Veronica Hernandez interviewed by Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. and Amanda Gamban
Dublin Core
Title
Veronica Hernandez interviewed by Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. and Amanda Gamban
Description
In this interview, originally recorded on video over Zoom, Veronica Hernandez speaks with Dioscoro “Roy” Respino Recio, Jr. and Amanda Gamban who are members of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Hernandez gives a broad overview of her family’s immigration history and experience living in the Pajaro Valley as agricultural workers. She discusses her father, Paul “Skippy” Tabalan DeOcampo’s immigration from the Philippines to the United States in 1928 and her mother, Gloria Molina DeOcampo’s experience moving from Texas to California. Hernandez details memories of working in agricultural fields with her parents. She also discusses her experience growing up as mixed-race and her encounters with racism. Lastly, she discusses how working in the fields inspired her to pursue a career as an ESL teacher and her employment after leaving the fields in her 20s.
Creator
Veronica Hernandez, Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. and Amanda Gamban
Date
May 5, 2021
Contributor
Veronica Hernandez
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
Identifier
DEO.2021.84
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Dioscoro “Roy” Respino Recio, Jr. and Amanda Gamban
Interviewee
Veronica Hernandez
Location
Zoom
Transcription
[1:41] Early childhood memories
[4:43] Mother, Gloria Molina DeOcampo’s and father, Paul “Skippy” Tabalan DeOcampo’s backgrounds and how they met
[6:32] Working in the fields and cooking with Skippy
[11:02] Family’s agricultural labor and properties on San Miguel Canyon Road and in Aromas
[17:33] Challenges Skippy faced as an immigrant and an English-language learner
[20:37] Skippy’s farming equipment and its significance
[25:21] Memories of siblings, Antoinette Yvonne DeOcampo Lechtenberg and Paul Philip DeOcampo Jr., and working in the fields with their father
[29:15] Childhood leisure activities
[34:08] Veronica’s life and career trajectory—working in the fields, getting married, and going to college
[41:21] Family participation in community organizations including the Filipino Catholic Association, events, and barbeques
[47:11] Mixed-race identity and belonging
[51:30] Memories of driving and loading farm trucks
[53:52] Experiences of difference, racism, and resilience
[58:58] The Watsonville is in the Heart project and importance of historical documentation
[4:43] Mother, Gloria Molina DeOcampo’s and father, Paul “Skippy” Tabalan DeOcampo’s backgrounds and how they met
[6:32] Working in the fields and cooking with Skippy
[11:02] Family’s agricultural labor and properties on San Miguel Canyon Road and in Aromas
[17:33] Challenges Skippy faced as an immigrant and an English-language learner
[20:37] Skippy’s farming equipment and its significance
[25:21] Memories of siblings, Antoinette Yvonne DeOcampo Lechtenberg and Paul Philip DeOcampo Jr., and working in the fields with their father
[29:15] Childhood leisure activities
[34:08] Veronica’s life and career trajectory—working in the fields, getting married, and going to college
[41:21] Family participation in community organizations including the Filipino Catholic Association, events, and barbeques
[47:11] Mixed-race identity and belonging
[51:30] Memories of driving and loading farm trucks
[53:52] Experiences of difference, racism, and resilience
[58:58] The Watsonville is in the Heart project and importance of historical documentation
Original Format
mp4
Duration
1:05:41
URL
Link to audio recording on escholarship: Veronica Hernandez interviewed by Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. and Amanda Gamban
Collection
Citation
Veronica Hernandez, Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. and Amanda Gamban, “Veronica Hernandez interviewed by Dioscoro "Roy" Respino Recio Jr. and Amanda Gamban,” Watsonville is in the Heart: Community Digital Archive, accessed November 7, 2024, https://wiith-archive.ucsc.edu/items/show/4.
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