Modesto Orlando Tuzon and Rita Louise Tuzon interviewed by Kathleen “Kat” Cruz Gutierrez Part 2 of 2
Dublin Core
Title
Modesto Orlando Tuzon and Rita Louise Tuzon interviewed by Kathleen “Kat” Cruz Gutierrez Part 2 of 2
Description
In this interview, originally recorded in-person, Modesto Orlando Tuzon and Rita Louise Tuzon speak with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Dr. Kathleen “Kat” Cruz Gutierrez. Modesto Orlando and Rita discuss their mother, Linda Ardell Tuzon’s integration into the Filipino community and culture through food and music as well as her feelings of exclusion from the Filipino community as a white woman. Modesto Orlando and Rita also discuss their father, Modesto Tuzon’s band, the genres of music he played, and the Filipino songs they learned to sing as children. Additionally, they speak about Modesto Tuzon’s farm labor and the families’ exposure to dangerous agricultural pesticides. Finally, they reflect on community silences surrounding the 1930s Watsonville Race Riots; their fathers’ and other manongs’ opinions of the United Farm Workers (UFW) movement; and undocumented migrants who worked in Pajaro Valley fields alongside Filipinos.
Creator
Modesto Orlando Tuzon
Rita Louise Tuzon
Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez
Date
June 28, 2021
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.
Type
Oral History
Identifier
TUZ.2021.55
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez
Interviewee
Modesto Orlando Tuzon
Rita Louise Tuzon
Location
Tuzon Residence, Los Angeles, CA
Original Format
.mp4
Duration
1:50:27
Time Summary
[0:00] Linda Ardell Tuzon’s education in Filipino culture, including Filipino food and songs
[8:28] Modesto Tuzon’s music and band
[17:15] Linda Ardell Tuzon’s personality and career as an educator
[23:03] Ethno-racial and social dynamics in Watsonville and Las Lomas
[26:01] Neighborhood and community relations, including sharing food
[30:11] Modesto Tuzon’s heart condition
[34:55] Farm workers’ and their families’ exposure to pesticides
[40:39] Family dynamics between Modesto and Linda Ardell Tuzon
[45:34] Linda Ardell Tuzon’s feelings of exclusion from the Filipino community
[49:26] Filipino cultural traditions passed down in the community
[53:01] Tuzon family participation in Filipino Community events
[58:41] Tuzon family’s extended friend and family network
[1:07:04] Modesto Orlando and Rita Tuzon’s differing gendered experiences growing up and in their relationship with their father
[1:13:07] 1930s Watsonville Race Riots and silences about traumatic histories
[1:20:43] Tuzon family’s rural home on Lewis Road
[1:31:58] Varieties of labor available to women and children
[1:40:57] Modesto Tuzon’s opinion of United Farm Workers (UFW)
[1:45:12] Undocumented farm workers and the Lazo farm
[8:28] Modesto Tuzon’s music and band
[17:15] Linda Ardell Tuzon’s personality and career as an educator
[23:03] Ethno-racial and social dynamics in Watsonville and Las Lomas
[26:01] Neighborhood and community relations, including sharing food
[30:11] Modesto Tuzon’s heart condition
[34:55] Farm workers’ and their families’ exposure to pesticides
[40:39] Family dynamics between Modesto and Linda Ardell Tuzon
[45:34] Linda Ardell Tuzon’s feelings of exclusion from the Filipino community
[49:26] Filipino cultural traditions passed down in the community
[53:01] Tuzon family participation in Filipino Community events
[58:41] Tuzon family’s extended friend and family network
[1:07:04] Modesto Orlando and Rita Tuzon’s differing gendered experiences growing up and in their relationship with their father
[1:13:07] 1930s Watsonville Race Riots and silences about traumatic histories
[1:20:43] Tuzon family’s rural home on Lewis Road
[1:31:58] Varieties of labor available to women and children
[1:40:57] Modesto Tuzon’s opinion of United Farm Workers (UFW)
[1:45:12] Undocumented farm workers and the Lazo farm
URL
Link to audio recording on escholarship: Modesto Orlando and Rita Louise Tuzon interviewed by Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez
Files
Collection
Citation
Modesto Orlando Tuzon, Rita Louise Tuzon, and Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez, “Modesto Orlando Tuzon and Rita Louise Tuzon interviewed by Kathleen “Kat” Cruz Gutierrez Part 2 of 2,” Watsonville is in the Heart: Community Digital Archive, accessed December 4, 2024, https://wiith-archive.ucsc.edu/items/show/665.
Comments
Michael Rodgers
I somewhat randomly came upon this interview, and it is fascinating. I remember the Tuzon siblings from Watsonville High School, though they were not in my class (class of 1976). I didn't really know them, just knew they were top students. They described some aspects of Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley that were new to me, even though I grew up here. I'll look into other entries of "Watsonville is in the Heart". And, it sounds like they have done great in their lives -- awesome.
Michael Rodgers
Meleia Simon-Reynolds
Hi Michael, Thank you for sharing! How cool that you stumbled on to your old classmates interview!