Mary Florendo Perry interviewed by Dr. Steven McKay

In this interview conducted in person, Mary Florendo Perry speaks with Dr. Steven McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Perry discusses her family's immigration story from the Philippines and Mexicali as well as their "Mexi-pino," mixed-race identity. She also discusses their labor working in the agricultural fields and canneries. Perry also talks about her time in college at Vassar College. She also offers memories of her uncle who lived in a camp with other Filipino bachelors. Lastly, she discusses her knowledge of the Watsonville Race Riots.

Mary Florendo Perry and Dr. Steven McKay

June 4, 2021

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.

English

Oral History

FLO.2021.34

Dr. Steven McKay

Mary Florendo Perry

Aptos, CA

.wav

1:44:48

[1:47] Memories of growing up in Watsonville
[3:14] How parents met and how Maria and other family members migrated from Mexicali to Watsonville
[12:58] Experiences of her family members in Watsonville who were undocumented
[20:37] Memories of family gatherings and food
[24:29] Family members speaking Spanish, Ilokano, and English
[25:37] Stories and memories that Clemente Sr. shared with Mary
[29:06] Clemente Sr.’s agricultural labor
[36:14] Mexi-pino identity
[38:48] Mary’s collection of family letters
[42:225] Businesses in Watsonville that the Filipino community frequented
[52:02] Mother’s work in the canning industry
[59:54] Mary’s experience with higher education
[1:04:19] Mary’s discussion of photographs in her family collection
[1:11:40] Mary’s current family dynamics between California and Mexico
[1:20:23] Memories of uncles and manongs who spent time with Clemente Sr.
[1:27:38] Discussion of photographs from Clemente Sr.’s collection
[1:37:12] Learning about racism against Filipinos later in life