Maurice Carrillo interviewed by Nicholas Nasser

In this interview, originally recorded in person, Maurice Carrillo speaks with Nicholas Nasser, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Maurice describes his childhood, specifically memories of traveling with his father, Pacifico “Frank” Cabegon Carrillo, as he engaged in seasonal migrant agricultural work, staying in labor camps with his father and other Filipino men, and living with other mixed-race Filipino families while his father was away working. He also discusses the other white women his father had relationships with after separating from Maurice’s birth mother, Ethel Patheal. Most notably, he talks about his step mother, Louella Carter, who was the primary caretaker for Maurice, his brother, James, and three other children from mixed-race, Filipino families whose parents had separated. Throughout the interview, Maurice reflects on his mixed-race identity as well as experiences of exclusion from the Filipino Community of Watsonville due to his identity. He also discusses his passion for community service which began with his involvement in the Filipino Youth Club during high school and continued throughout his life through leadership roles in organizations including but not limited to the Rotary Club of Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz AIDS Project. Finally, Maurice shares stories regarding his business career in downtown Santa Cruz, his extended family, and coming out as a gay man in 1986.

Maurice Carrillo and Nicholas Nasser

December 7, 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

Nicholas Nasser

Maurice Carrillo

.m4a

1:45:09

[0:01] Biographical information for Maurice
[0:41] Childhood in Watsonville, parents’ separation, traveling for migrant labor with their father
[2:14] Women his father, Pacifico “Frank” Cabegon Carrillo, had relationships with, stepmother Louella Carter, and other mixed-race families Maurice lived with
[4:10] Memories of working with Frank in the fields and living in labor camps
[6:57] Filipino labor camp on Marchant Street in Watsonville
[11:38] “Social box” Filipino dances
[11:48] Meeting his sister, Frances, and his birth mother’s background
[12:37] Learning dances with other Filipino kids
[14:06] Experiences in school
[14:37] Frank’s agricultural labor and childhood memories
[18:32] Frank’s relationships with women
[20:33] Fourth of July parades and the Filipino Youth Club
[22:25] Memories of traveling with Frank and living in camps
[24:14] Memory of working with Frank in lettuce fields in Hayward
[26:21] Understanding that Frank expressed his love for his children by working hard to support them
[27:34] Interracial relationships between white women and Filipino men
[29:02] Mixed-race identity and prejudice against Brown and Mexican folks in Watsonville
[32:14] Maurice’s move to Santa Cruz after high school
[36:34] Comparing Watsonville and Santa Cruz
[40:40] Mixed-race families whose parents separated and Louella as their primary caretaker
[45:26] Maurice’s career in business in Santa Cruz and service in the National Guard
[49:03] Meeting his best friend, Mike Fox, and wife, Sarge Soya, a half-Filipina from Santa Cruz
[55:20] Multi-generational household with Maurice’s and Sarge’s extended families
[58:40] Frank and Sarge’s Filipino father, Joe, returning to the Philippines later in life, marrying young Filipinas who returned to the US with them, and fathering additional children
[1:04:52] Experience of exclusion from the Filipino Community of Watsonville due to mixed-race identity during the 1970s
[1:11:50] Maurice’s decision to come out as a gay man in 1986
[1:13:59] Maurice’s passion and experiences with various community service organizations
[1:19:29] Becoming active within the Santa Cruz queer community
[1:21:23] Maurice’s research about his family history and maintaining connections with members of the Filipino Youth Club
[1:23:27] Becoming involved in the Santa Cruz AIDs Project
[1:27:42] The film “A Dollar a Day, 10 cents a Dance”
[1:32:05] Accepting the multiple parts of his identity
[:37:36] Discussion of friends from school
[1:41:33] Vivid memories from childhood including Frank’s gardening and cooking