Frank Madalora interviewed by Olivia Sawi

In this interview, originally recorded over Zoom, Frank Madalora speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Olivia Sawi. Frank discusses his parents, Santiago Madalora and Apolonia Sagaysay and both of their families’ origins in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. He describes Santiago’s immigration to Hawai’i to work in the plantations followed by his migration to Watsonville, California where he worked as a migrant agricultural laborer. Frank discusses how his parents’ met while Santiago was serving in the army during World War II. Frank also describes his own experiences as a young child in Bacarra before immigrating to the United States with his mother in 1957. Throughout the interview, Frank provides memories of leisure and labor he and his family participated in while living in Pajaro, CA; his family’s dynamic including the challenges that his parents faced in their marriage; and his own experiences navigating class and racial stratification in the Pajaro Valley region. Finally, Frank speaks about his educational journey and his various careers.

Frank Madalora and Olivia Sawi

May 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

MAD.2021.1

Olivia Sawi

Frank Madalora

.mp3

1:20:56

[3:00] Biographical information and migration histories for Frank, his sister Veronica, and their parents, Santiago Madalora and Apolonia Sagaysay
[5:38] Santiago’s migration to Hawai’i in 1926 then to California where he settled in Watsonville and worked as a migrant laborer
[7:00] Santiago’s enlistment in the Army during World War II
[7:25] Santiago’s and Apolonia’s arranged marriage
[9:23] Frank’s and Apolonia’s immigration to the United States in 1957
[10:09] Memories of Frank’s maternal grandparents, Doroteo Sagaysay and Leona Sagisi, in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, Philippines
[11:32] Family dynamics and the challenges of Santiago’s and Apolonia’s marriage
[15:00] Parents’ labor to support their family
[16:31] Extended Filipino kinship networks of folks from Bacarra who lived in Pajaro, California
[18:10] Santiago’s silences regarding his experiences of racial discrimination, the 1930 Watsonville Race Riots, and World War II
[19:14] Frank’s and Apolonia’s experiences of racism and how it affected their outlook on living in the United States
[23:05] Socioeconomic dynamics of Pajaro, Watsonville, and the greater Pajaro Valley region
[24:02] Frank’s “assimilation” into American culture
[26:17] Frank’s relationship with his father
[27:14] Class and racial dynamics in Pajaro Valley and feelings of exclusion
[30:40] Frank’s college experience at UC Santa Cruz and his decision to pursue social/cultural anthropology
[34:47] Frank’s relationship with his mother and her feelings of exclusion from the larger Filipino community in Watsonville
[37:02] Madalora family home and leisure activities
[40:32] Frank’s careers after graduating from UCSC and pursuing graduate school
[49:14] Leisure activities while growing up in Watsonville
[55:31] Frank’s work in agriculture and as a school janitor as a teenager
[56:42] Description of a typical day for Frank while in high school
[59:11] Feelings of exclusion experienced in Watsonville
[1:00:52] Extended kinship network in Pajaro
[1:06:25] Frank’s marriage and family
[1:14:26] Frank’s pursuit of higher education and his various careers