Bobby Mariano interviewed by Dr. Steven McKay

In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Bobby Mariano speaks with Dr. Steve McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Bobby describes his father, Marcelino “Bob” Mariano’s immigration and labor histories including his migration from the Philippines to Hawai’i then from Hawai’i to California and his lifelong work in agriculture first as a migrant laborer and eventually as a foreman. He also discusses his mother, Hazel Maxine Bickle, whose family immigrated to Watsonville from Oklahoma during the 1920s. Bobby discusses his parents’ interracial marriage as well as the other mixed-race families in Watsonville that he knew growing up. He also describes his father’s military service during World War II and his own experience enlisting in the Army during the 1960s. Bobby shares memories of going to cockfights with his father and his experiences in school. Throughout the interview, Bobby expresses that his parents shielded him from experiences of racism and economic hardship as well as his childhood perception of Watsonville as a multicultural community without racial or class divides. Additionally, Bobby discusses his parents and other families in Watsonville who overcame experiences of racism and poverty. In doing so, he articulates beliefs about Filipinos in Watsonville that align with the model minority narrative.

Bobby Mariano and Dr. Steven McKay

January 10, 2022

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

Dr. Steven McKay

Bobby Mariano

Zoom

.wav

1:29:40

[2:51] Biographical information for Bobby and his parents Marcelino “Bob” Mariano and Hazel Maxine Bickle
[4:12] Father’s background, estrangement from his family in the Philippines and immigration to Hawai’i to work in the sugar plantations
[6:51] Father’s immigration to California in 1930s, work as a cook in Los Angeles, and his experience being drafted into the First Filipino Regiment in 1942
[8:56] Mother’s family’s immigration to Watsonville from Oklahoma
[11:23] How parents’ met at a Halloween Party at Fort Ord
[13:12] WWII and the First Filipino Regiment
[15:37] Parents’ interracial marriage
[20:36] Parents’ life in Watsonville and home on Lincoln Street
[22:32] Fathers’ work as a migrant laborer and mother’s work in Watsonville Canneries
[26:33] Discussion of migrant work and labor camps as well as a discussion of how Bob became a foreman of a Filipino crew
[26:24] Bob eventually worked for Crosetti later in life until his retirement
[26:30] Discussion of multiculturalism in Watsonville and Bobby’s belief that he and others did not experience racial oppression while growing up
[33:41] Mixed-race families in Watsonville
[36:29] Memories of cockfights
[44:11] Community organizations Bob participated in including being president of the Filipino Community
[44:36] Bobby’s understanding that his parents “shielded” him from hardships including racism and poverty
[48:22] Childhood and going to private school
[52:33] Experience as an only child
[55:52] Bobby’s and his father’s cars
[58:53] Divide between manong and their descendants and post-65 immigrant families at the Watsonville Filipino Community Hall
[1:02:30] Parents’ buying their first home in Watsonville on Meredith Way
[1:06:26] Memory of working in cantaloupe fields in El Centro with his dad as a child
[1:08:26] Bobby’s experience enlisting in the Army in 1963
[1:09:48] Bobby’s career as a drummer and musician
[1:19:42] Discussion of the working-class neighborhood he grew up in and his belief that he and other children were not aware of class divisions
[1:21:13] Fishing
[1:22:38] Bobby’s perception of Filipinos as a model minority